Repeated sightings of green-coloured snow in the Russian city of Pervouralsk is concerning residents.
ADVERTISEMENTRepeated sightings of green-coloured snow in the Russian city of Pervouralsk is deepening concern among residents over the possible effects of pollution, poor waste management and the activities of a nearby factory.
The most recent sighting earlier this month sparked discussions between locals, many of whom believe it is caused by emissions from a local chrome plant.
Natalya Solovey, the resident who filmed the following video, told local news outlets that she spotted the oddly-hued "poisonous snow" outside a pre-school adjacent to the plant.
"The children got sick, they had a cough and their skin turned red, with rashes on their faces," Solovey told ND News.
On Russian social networks, a similar conversation erupted under recent photos of the snow.
"Where is our prosecutor's office looking?!" one person asked in the comments.
Others described the situation as "scary."
But the local chrome plant has insisted that the phenomenon had nothing to do with its workings.
A press spokesperson for the plant was quoted in reports as saying no accidents had occurred recently, and that the discolouration could be due to the thawing of snow rather than anything hazardous.
But this is not the first incident of green snow being spotted around the city.
In 2016, an acid green stream was spotted spilling out across the snow in another district close to the plant.
The plant attributed this accident to a blockage in a draining well caused by waste accumulated from the Soviet era.