14 DAY TRIAL // Authorities issued a public warning in West Siberia's Omsk Region Thursday after polluted snow, yellowed and oil-stained, fell over an area compassing 49 villages with a population of at least 27,000.
Russia's emergency situations ministry dispatched experts to the Siberian province to discover the cause behind the odd snowfall, as the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
"A chemical test unit will be sent to Omsk.... It's main task will be to investigate pollution in the region and establish the degree of danger represented by the anomalous snow fall," said Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov.
"Snow ranging in color from light yellow to orange and carrying a distinctive "musty" odor was observed Wednesday in five districts of Omsk province, which lies in western Siberia and borders Kazakhstan," said ITAR-TASS. "Residents are advised not to use snow for their household or technical needs and to limit walking, either by people or their pets, in this area".
"The snow fell over an area of about 1,500 square kilmeters (580 square miles) at around 1:15 p.m. Moscow time [10:15 a.m. GMT] yesterday, January 31," said Beltsov. "Experts of the ministry and the Sanitary Control Agency are currently testing snow samples to identify the pollutant, and the test results are expected to be released Friday".
"A panel of ministry officials have gathered for an emergency session to discuss measures to remove the potentially hazardous matter," he said.
Today (Friday) the experts announced the yellow snow contains no toxic substances, but the cause of the phenomenon is still unknown. "Experts have established that the substances in the snow are not toxic, but the iron content in the snow samples was four times above the norm," the press service of the local emergencies situations department said. "Snow samples have been sent for further tests in labs in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk, and we have also sent an inquiry to Kazakhstan about the possibility of industrial pollution".
The Omsk province is the center of the oil industry in Siberia and the provincial capital is one of Siberia's largest cities.