Kiselyovsk
Description
Town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia
Kiselyovsk is a town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located in the foothill belt of the Salair Ridge, at the source of the Aba River, 193 km south of Kemerovo. Population: 98,365 (2010).
The Kuzbass region, where Kiselyovsk is located, supplies 60% of Russia's coal, and the town suffers from heavy pollution due to the dominance of the coal mining and processing industries. The coal ash leads to a phenomenon known as "black snow". Another danger is spontaneous combustion of discarded coal.
History
Residents of the town and Russian rights groups have campaigned for several years for the Russia government to move the city away from the immediate outskirts of the mine due to the extreme levels of pollution. In September 2019, a number of the town's residents lobbied the Canadian government to grant them status as environmental refugees.
