Contaminated Water Leads to Hepatitis Outbreak in Dagestan
Almost seventy people have been positively diagnosed with Hepatitis A in the Republic of Dagestan, located in the North Caucasus. These outbreaks have been attributed to a contaminated water supply provided by two regional water supply companies, Vodkan and Chistaya Voda. Russian consumer protection agency, Rospotrebnadzor, is conducting an investigation into these companies’ safety practices; the legality of their actions is yet to be decided.
Water contamination incidents seem to be a growing trend in the Russian Federation. In March of last year, the major industrial hub of Yekaterinburg had its water supply infiltrated by trichlorethylene, which likely originated from the numerous chemical plants in the city. Trichlorethylene is an important chemical in metal production, electronics production, and is frequently used as a chemical intermediate. Extended exposure to the chemical may result in severe kidney and liver damage, especially considering that it has been categorized as a carcinogen. Criminal investigations by the local environmental prosecutors’ office were immediately undertaken.
Chechnya had its own brush with tainted water in June of 2014, when the water supply of a small village was determined to contain the adenovirus and astrovirus; subsequently rendering almost 230 residents of the village ill. Rospotrebnadzor was called into action but no updates exist on what caused the original contamination. Similarly, in the city of Yekaterinburg, water contamination investigations do not seem to be effective methods for determining the culprit(s) responsible for this toxic water pollution. Official convictions have yet to be made. These delays can be partially attributed to the Russian government’s tendency to keep any information concerning nuclear or chemical waste a secret of the state, making it difficult for external agencies to make comprehensive reports on water pollution. Otherwise, the main focus is on improving the economy, and all other major state issues, including water pollution, have been pushed aside indefinitely.
Russian water quality has been dubious from the time of Soviet rule and is most likely a legacy of the Soviet government’s negligence concerning water quality and water pollution prevention. As a result, current Russian water supplies are so prone to contamination. According to WaterWorld.com, decaying pipelines and a rapid “deterioration rate of water-supply systems”, have left Russian water transportation infrastructure and purification systems in need of a complete overhaul. Russian experts have already created a new water filter using complex nanotechnologies, which the government hopes to install throughout the country as soon as possible. Critics express worries as to the safety of the filter, because the nanotechnologies used in its production produce a nano dust which is toxic to humans.
Nevertheless the situation remains dire. No less than three quarters of Russian surface water is polluted, and half of all water available is not drinkable. Dagestan, Chechnya, and Yekaterinburg are only a few cases in a long chain water pollution incidents, some of which have been linked to extremely harmful diseases such as salmonella, cholera, typhoid fever and, as we know, hepatitis.
Lax or practically nonexistent regulations as to how companies should dispose of chemical waste allow large corporations, such as those based in the heavily polluted city of Dzerzhinsk , to use local waterways as their industrial trashcans. Private Russian companies are attempting to develop more efficient purification systems to combat the effects of lenient water pollution policies. Although their efforts are meant to aid the situation, the root problem is not being addressed. As long as corporations discard waste into waterways, there will be no respite for Russia from incidents similar to that in Dagestan. Without the necessary measures, the potable water supply could be rendered almost nonexistent.