Construction of Nord Stream 2 polluting German coast: report

According to the website, toxic grease has polluted a beach and the sea and German authorities have warned people against coming into contact with it and set up a hotline for those affected.

Late last month, people living near the Bay of Greifswald, northeastern Germany, started alerting authorities about tennis ball-sized clods of pink-purple-coloured oil washing ashore, some of it into areas covered by the European Union Natura 2000 environmental protection programme, energetyka24.pl reported.

The German environment ministry said the sludge may be coming from Nord Stream 2 construction works, according to the Polish website.

The consortium building the pipeline has since pledged to clean up the toxic waste, which can irritate the eyes and skin of humans and animals and cause hormonal imbalances, energetyka24.pl reported.

But environmental activists have criticised the building company for failing to clean up the sea and doing a careless job of cleaning up the beach, with pea-sized clods of grease still polluting the area, the website added.

Nord Stream 2 is to connect Russia with Germany via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states, all of which oppose the project, saying it will decrease energy security.

The 1,200-kilometre Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is scheduled for completion in 2019, is to supply around 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year. (vb/pk)