VIDEO // Protective device of 20 dams installed to limit pollution on Dniester River

Environment Minister Gheorghe Hajder has provided technical details about the operations to stop the spread of petroleum products on the Dniester River. According to the official, the intervention devices are currently concentrated in strategic points to ensure the protection of water quality and the river ecosystem.

“Along the river, 20 absorbent booms have been installed. Their role is to retain the polluting substances and limit their downstream spread. The intervention system is continuous, since as soon as a boom reaches its maximum saturation capacity, it is replaced with a new one in order to maintain the efficiency of the depollution process,” the minister explains.

The most important line of defense has been established in the locality of Arionești, Dondușeni district. Here, a complex made up of six booms has been installed, forming the first barrier for retaining petroleum residues.

In addition to physical barriers, the authorities are applying chemical neutralization measures, such as the use of biodegradable materials: every six hours, intervention teams disperse biodegradable absorbent material. The use of absorbent materials is intensified in the perimeter of water intake stations and in areas where tests indicate high concentrations of hydrocarbons.

The Ministry of Environment is monitoring the water flow and the condition of the containment devices in order to adjust the intervention system according to the dynamics of the pollutant along the Dniester.

Several localities in the north of the country, including the municipality of Bălți and the districts of Soroca, Sângerei and Florești, were left without drinking water for several days following the pollution of the Dniester River with petroleum substances. The Dniester pollution was caused by the Russian attack on the Dniester Hydropower Complex in Ukraine, during the night of 6–7 March, when explosions led to discharges of technical oils and petroleum products into the water.