‘Oil rain’ falling as Moscow refinery burns
A fire at the Moscow oil refinery after a Ukrainian drone attack has led to what residents describe as “oil rain” falling across the surrounding area. Residents of Zheleznodorozhny, east of Moscow, posted photographs showing a black film left on surfaces after rain mixed with petroleum combustion byproducts. In Lyubertsy, to the southeast, residents also reported a strong smell of burning.
Moscow’s environmental monitoring agency, Mosekomonitoring, stated that pollutant concentrations in the city’s air had not exceeded permissible limits as of noon.
The Moscow region Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources denied that any “oil rain” had occurred. The Russian news outlet MSK1 quoted the ministry as saying that “in Balashikha, people noticed combustion byproducts settling in the form of soot, the same kind that forms in a stove or a bonfire.” The ministry also stated that no exceedances of maximum permissible concentrations had been recorded.
Independent meteorologists forecast that precipitation mixed with combustion byproducts will continue falling across the Moscow region east of Moscow for another day.
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