A Turquoise Lake In Siberia Where People Have Been Taking Selfies Is Actually A Toxic Power Plant’s Ash Dump
The lake, nicknamed the “Novosibirsk Maldives” because of how tropical it looks, has provided the perfect backdrop to people’s Instagram posts. But the reason for its colour is less appealing – calcium salts and other metal oxides from the plant.
Responding to the selfies, the Russian power company that runs the plant urged people not to go near the water. But its stern warning seems to have only made people even more determined to visit.
Joking about the water being toxic, one user posted a photo of herself reclining on the banks of the CHP-5 ash dump with the caption: “It’s not Chernobyl, of course, but it’s still dangerous!”
Siberian Generating Company (SGK), which runs the coal plant, wrote on the Russian social network VKontakte in June: “DO NOT swim in the ash dump.The water is highly alkaline,” the company said. “This is because calcium salts and other metal oxides are dissolved in it. Skin contact with such water may cause an allergic reaction!”
h/t: bbc
