The Black Sea poses a danger to humans, warns an ecologist about the oil spill.

How can we clean the sea, and will it be safe for humans? This was discussed by Odessa ecologist and specialist from the National Ecological Center of Ukraine, Vladislav Balinsky, in an interview with Novini.LIVE.

Dangerous Sea

The most significant impact of the environmental disaster was felt in the Kerch Strait, where tanker accidents occurred. This region of the Black Sea has now become an ecological disaster zone: the most polluted areas will be off-limits to people. A portion of the Azov Sea's waters has also been affected. According to ecologist Vladislav Balinsky, despite strong winds, the majority of the oil will remain in the strait, and some hazardous substances will settle to the bottom, harming the marine environment.

"The amount of primary oil will remain there, forming a thick layer along the bottom. Soon this oil will start to solidify and become like bitumen — and that will lead to the greatest ecological catastrophe," the specialist explains.

Cleaning the Black Sea

Experts provide grim forecasts: even under the best conditions, it will take at least ten years for the sea to fully recover. This is assuming there are no additional negative factors, such as human intervention, new hazardous emissions, or global natural changes.

"How many years this may last is unknown. We can only speak about the current ecological realities that we are forced to live in. And they are not going to improve in the next 10-20 years. This means there will be a gradual influence, sometimes more, sometimes less, on biological systems. Closed systems, like our Odessa Bay, will particularly suffer due to additional anthropogenic impacts," adds Vladislav Balinsky.

Additional risks arise from the large volume of freshwater entering the Black Sea from the Dnipro-Buh Liman. The ecologist notes that after the tragedy at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station, a significant amount of water is flowing in, and the reservoir is unable to respond quickly to this load.

"We know that there are accumulations already in the form of sediment brought by the Kakhovka disaster. This was a very powerful impact. And now there is additional influence that we will feel, as I have already mentioned, for many decades. Plus, the anthropogenic factors, which have not disappeared either," the ecologist states.

Ecologists refer to the timeframe of several decades only because, during this period, the Black Sea is capable of self-cleaning. Humanity could expedite the restoration of the ecosystem, but war and the enemy's treachery make this impossible: any attempts to assist nature could be interpreted as military actions.

Let us recall that on December 15, a storm split two Russian tankers — "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" — in half near the Kerch Strait. Approximately 8,600 tons of oil ended up in the sea. Ecologists assert that due to military actions, they will be unable to eliminate the oil spill until it reaches the coastline. Meanwhile, birds contaminated with oil have already been spotted in the Odessa region.