According to him, the objects are mainly at a depth of 100 meters and 96 were thoroughly examined by underwater robots. The soil and water samples taken in those places showed that the level of petroleum did not exceed 0.2 - 0.4 maximum permissible concentration.
"Staff members of the Oceanological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Limnological Institute of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences explored 426 square kilometers of Baikal's water area in three expeditions," the spokesman said. "This area included the Maloye Sea, the Barguzinsky and Chivyrkuisky Bays and also the Baikal Port.
"Twenty objects (19 cars and one barge) were lifted to the surface and sent to be scrapped. A steamship and a metal pontoon were also brought to the surface, and the pontoon was restored and is now used as a moorage in the Bazarnaya Bay."
According to the ministry, other potentially dangerous objects (cars, motorboats, barges and several ships) are planned to be explored during future expeditions. The data from these expeditions will be entered into the register that the ministry keeps in accordance with a government resolution.
A five-year program to clean Lake Baikal is expected to be formulated by the ministry and interested territorial executive bodies before January 1, 2005, and in the first quarter of 2005, a conference on the ecological safety of Lake Baikal will be held, the spokesman added.
