OREANDA-NEWS Frequent flooding in the Irkutsk region can destroy the ecosystem of Lake Baikal. Such a statement was made by the Director of the Limnological Institute of the SB RAS Andrei Fedotov.

According to him, the floods really threaten Baikal, because of them the waste from the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill closed in 2013 can get into the lake. He noted that on the territory of the enterprise there still exist huge pits with harmful substances.

If the waste suddenly falls into Baikal, then zooplankton will perish in the lake and water inhabitants may suffer because of this. In addition, birds and seals will be endangered in the area.