February 22, 2013. On February 20, Revdinsky Investigative Department of Russia’s Internal Affairs Ministry instituted criminal proceedings related to a vitriol spill on the premises of Sredneuralsky Copper-Smelting Plant in Revda; the charges are based on Article 254 (part 1) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code (Poisoning, contamination, or other damage to the soil through negligent storage, treatment, use or transportation of hazardous chemicals resulting in damage to human health or the environment), the spokesperson for Sverdlovsk Region public prosecution authorities reports.

It was detected that on February 17, 2013, a number of railway carriages full of sulphuric acid got derailed on the premises of Sredneuralsky Copper-Smelting Plant in Revda, in the Kombinatsky-Peritnaya section of the railways. As a result, 200 tons of acid were spilled onto the area of about 100 sq m.

When informed of the emergency, Revda’s public prosecutor set off for the scene of the accident at once. To eliminate the damage caused by the accident, the company took measures to neutralize the spilled chemicals with lime. The follow-up measurements of air and water samples (taken from the River Chusovaya at about 2 km away from the scene of the accident) did not detect any pollutant content.