In an area near the far-northern Russian city of Norilsk, not far from the Arctic Ocean, a huge quantity of fuel has once again been released into the fragile environment.
 Russian mining company Nornickel said on Sunday that 44.5 tons of fuel had leaked from one of its pipelines.
 The incident took place at a site more than 100 kilometres from the city of Norilsk, which sits above the Arctic Circle. The pipeline has been shut down and measures are being taken to collect the spilled fuel, the company said, adding that the leak posed no danger to people.
This is the latest in a series of environmental scandals in Norilsk.
Nornickel, a nickel producer, was also responsible for another blow to the local environment at the end of May, when 21,000 tons of oil leaked from a combined heat and power plant and went into the ocean. Nornickel has also admitted to disposing thousands of litres of highly poisonous liquid waste in rivers. In addition, a huge industrial waste tip near Norilsk caught fire last month.