Natural and anthropogenic risks after a giant landslide in the Russian Far East

Abstract

Abstract At the Bureiskoe Reservoir (Far East, Russia) in December 2018 at a temperature of 36°C below zero the giant landslide is occurred. Landslide with a total volume of 24.5 million m3 blocked the reservoir from one shore to the opposite one, disrupting the access of water to a large hydroelectric power station downstream. Blasting operations were carried out with the use of trinitrotoluene and hexogen to revive the water flow. As a result of the landslide natural hazards (direct impact of the landslide, and tsunami) were happened, and the further strong impact was caused by humans (blasting). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and elemental composition were accepted as the main indicators of water quality. Parameters of these indicators varied at different near-shore sites above and below the landslide area. More significant changes are recorded after blasting operations. Hexane and toluene dominated the water passing the artificial channel. The genesis of VOCs can be associated with the biogeochemical processes of methanogenesis, methanotrophy, and the detonation products of explosives. Mercury, methanol, toluene, and xylenes in water samples were detected. This is evidence of the presence of a prerequisite for the formation of toxic methylmercury, a risk factor for aquatic biota.