EMERCOM Assesses Biological Threats from Thawing Arctic Permafrost

Just imagine: a dangerous virus could break free from its long-term imprisonment in the ice and lead to an epidemic. This fantastic plot has likely been encountered in apocalypse movies and books. But it«s not so fantastic after all. Warming in the Arctic zone is indeed leading to the thawing of permafrost, which could harbor a real biological threat. The readiness of northern regions for this danger was discussed by EMERCOM.

The question of how rescue services are prepared to eliminate biological threats in the Arctic zone was raised by Mikhail Grigoryev, an academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (RAEN). He voiced it at the international forum «Arctic Projects Today and Tomorrow».

— “I want to ask about biological threats. Currently, in our Arctic zone, there is degradation of permafrost. It is beginning to thaw, and everything that was safely buried in the 60s and 80s is surfacing. This is an extremely important issue for our north.”

As an example of such a threat, Grigoryev cited the burial sites that remained after the outbreak of anthrax in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YNAO).

— “2016. Yamal. Anthrax. Two thousand reindeer and several dozen people died. It was contained. I remember how Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin personally secured four tanks of fuel oil to burn it all. How do you [EMERCOM] see the possibility of a similar incident repeating? What lessons were learned? This is an important point because these burial sites could now thaw.”

According to TASS, there are nine makeshift burial sites of northern reindeer that died in the summer of 2016 from an anthrax outbreak in the Yamal district. However, there are no official anthrax cattle burial grounds in YNAO because the permafrost conditions hinder their establishment. In 2018, these burial sites were added to a special electronic map.

The academician«s question was answered by Deputy Minister of EMERCOM of Russia Vladlen Aksyonov. He confirmed that the threat indeed exists and the ministry is trying to improve work in this direction.

— “The question is relevant. I cannot say that such a situation will never occur. Of course, we need to be prepared for any emergency situation. Frankly speaking, for a long time, attention was not paid to CBRN protection. Although this protection is also related to mobilization preparation in wartime conditions. Here, the threat of the enemy using chemical agents and emergencies that could cause mass diseases are intertwined.”

Now, according to the deputy minister, this oversight is being corrected.

— “First, we are acquiring new equipment capable of recognizing biological threats. Second, in EMERCOM, simulation of such situations is being developed. It is carried out on a planned basis. We are keeping our finger on the pulse, monitoring the condition of burial sites using aerial photography, studying the terrain, and forecasting possible water level rises to conduct measures in advance to prevent flooding of such objects.”

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