Russian prosecutors on Wednesday said they were conducting an inspection of a facility supposed to&nbsp;treat acid runoff from an abandoned Urals mine after photographs emerged of streams running orange.&nbsp;

A bright-orange landscape near the disused copper-sulphide mine close to the village of Lyovikha in the Urals was seen in drone footage shared on social media.

According to local media, the Sverdlovsk regional government had asked for the mine to be sealed but Moscow refused on the grounds that there were still valuable resources there.

Also see:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/how-arctic-turned-red-after-russia-caused-worst-fuel-spill-303713">How Arctic turned red after Russia caused worst fuel spill</a>

Environmentalist Andrei Volegov, who chairs a local NGO Ecopravo, said on Facebook that the polluted water was supposed to be neutralised in a technical "pond" but that the pond overflows during heavy rains.

Volegov had alerted prosecutors to the situation last year and received a reply that the company in charge of the pollutants was not properly funded and could not purchase enough lime to neutralise the acid, according to a letter he published.

A major spill of fuel oil in the Arctic last month raised the profile of industrial pollution in&nbsp;Russia, where companies are often punished with only small fines and hazardous waste can be left unaddressed for years due to bureaucracy.

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Russian prosecutors on Wednesday said they were conducting an inspection of a facility supposed to treat acid runoff from an abandoned Urals mine after photographs emerged of streams running orange.

Russian prosecutors on Wednesday said they were conducting an inspection of a facility supposed to treat acid runoff from an abandoned Urals mine after photographs emerged of streams running orange. A bright-orange landscape near the disused copper-sulphide mine close to the village of Lyovikha in the Urals was seen in drone footage shared on social media. According to local media, the Sverdlovsk regional government had asked for the mine to be sealed but Moscow refused on the grounds that there were still valuable resources there. Also see: How Arctic turned red after Russia caused worst fuel spill Environmentalist Andrei Volegov, who chairs a local NGO Ecopravo, said on Facebook that the polluted water was supposed to be neutralised in a technical "pond" but that the pond overflows during heavy rains. Volegov had alerted prosecutors to the situation last year and received a reply that the company in charge of the pollutants was not properly funded and could not purchase enough lime to neutralise the acid, according to a letter he published. A major spill of fuel oil in the Arctic last month raised the profile of industrial pollution in Russia, where companies are often punished with only small fines and hazardous waste can be left unaddressed for years due to bureaucracy.

Russia launches investigation for pollution after streams run orange

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Russia launches investigation for pollution after streams run orange