The Nord Stream Pipelines
The events Leading to the day of the Burst
The Burst of the Nord Stream Pipelines was an environmental crisis that took place on Monday, September, 26, 2022. Although this was a devastating event, the events that took place before this crisis were even more unbearable. On February 24, 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian leaders claimed that the main purpose was to "demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine and ensure Ukraine's neutral status”. To assist Russia, Russia recently created a military designated alliance consisting of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Russia and these fellow countries have threatened many times saying they will start nuclear war if any other countries step in. For this reason countries will not help Ukraine with physical force but will send supplies.
The day of The burst
On September 26, 2022 the pipes were exploded by Russian forces. Nord Stream one and two were actively carrying natural gas. On this day, Russian submarines were located in the Baltic Sea around the area of the underwater part of the pipes. Vladimir Putin was accused of sabotaging western sides of the pipes which were Russian built. Although there was still natural gas in the pipes on this day that was supplied by Russia, Vladimir Putin, Russia's President declared he didn't care. During the burst there were a total of 3 leakages. These leaks were marked as one of the worst gas leaks ever, causing different satellites to detect the methane gas in space.
The Aftermath
The aftermath of the burst left many people devastated and some places not having natural gas supplied to them. These pipes leaked as much as half a million metric tons of Methane gas into the atmosphere, the biggest gas leak ever. These leaks were almost five times the amount of the largest leak leading up to the burst. According to the New York Times ¨The pressure from water entering the ruptured pipelines had stopped the gas from leaking, but the claim could not be independently verified¨.
By Eli Wright
Work Cited
Benshoff, Laura. "The Nord Stream pipelines have stopped leaking. But the methane emitted broke records." NPR-National Public Radio, NPR, 4 Oct. 2022, www.npr.org/2022/10/04/1126562195/the-nord-stream-pipelines-have-stopped-leaking-but-the-methane-emitted-broke-rec. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.
Kirby, Paul. "Why has Russia invaded Ukraine and what does Putin want?" bbc.com, BBC, 9 May 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.
Olson, Carly. "The Nord Stream pipelines have stopped leaking, the Danish Energy Agency says." NewYorkTimes.com, The New York Times Company, 2 Oct. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/10/02/world/europe/nord-stream-pipeline-damage-russia.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.