In Volokolamsk, the weekend protests continued against the work of the Yadrovo test site, the release of landfill gas on which led to the mass poisoning of schoolchildren.

On the afternoon of Saturday, March 24, a picket was held near the administration of Volokolamsk, in which several hundred people took part. They demanded to close the "Yadrovo". According to the activists, there were OMON vehicles on the territory of the administration, dozens of policemen were on duty at the scene.

On Sunday night, residents of Volokolamsk wrote on social networks that "there is nothing to breathe." The Deputy Governor of the regional government, Alexander Chuprakov, reported on March 25 that the gas discharge rate was exceeded seven times in the Yadrovo range, but then the regional administration corrected his statement that there were no excess of MPCs. MOE reported that by 10:00 am Sunday in the Volokolamsk region, 12 air measurements were carried out, exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants has not been identified, there are no threats for the city's residents.

Nevertheless, Sunday afternoon in Volokolamsk, a picket took place involving about a thousand people, local activist Anton Ishbuddin told RBC. Residents of Volokolamsk began to collect signatures under the appeal to the Council of Deputies with a request to prevent the head of the district from becoming the current acting president. Andrei Vikharev, but to support a candidate from among the Volokolamites. The new IO. head of the district Andrei Vikharev, as well as dismissed on March 22 Eugene Gavrilov, had no relation to Volokolamsk earlier. There are no specific proposals on the candidacy of the new head of the district in the petition, the residents simply want the district to be headed by a person who was born and lives in it, Ishbuddin says. Signatures will be collected within a few days.

On Sunday, there was also a protest at the Yadrovo training ground. The main requirements of the protesters are to stop the harmful impact of the current body of the test site and not to open a new site.

Moscow authorities after the mass poisoning of children on March 21 reported that they installed two aerosol cannons in Yadrovo to neutralize the unpleasant odor. At the same time, the delivery of garbage to the landfill, which was planned to be stopped on March 24, was extended until April 14. According to Chuprakov, no more than 80 garbage trucks a day will come to Yadrovo. This is necessary for the formation of the body of the landfill in accordance with the requirements of the Dutch company Multriwel, which will conduct degassing, the official explained.

After the current site of the landfill is closed, it is planned to launch a new one. The authorities promised that it would be built according to modern technology, eliminating the appearance of unpleasant odors. The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyev, said on his page "VKontakte" that the "big project of improvement of Volokolamsk" is being prepared "to breathe new life into the city".

Replacement of the district head

Residents of Volokolamsk complain of an unpleasant smell from the Yadrovo test site for several months. The situation escalated in February, and on March 3 a mass meeting was held demanding that the dump be immediately closed and the head of the district be dismissed. According to organizers, 5,000 people took part in the action - a quarter of the city's population. On March 7, the regime of emergency was introduced at the training ground.

On the night of March 21, a powerful release of landfill gas occurred in Yadrovo, over 70 children applied to the hospital. They had headaches, vomiting, cough, rash, some fainted. Some of the victims were brought to the ambulance directly from schools. Residents of Volokolamsk gathered near the hospital. Vorobiev and Gavrilov came to the scene. The head of the district was nearly beaten, and the governor was showered with snowballs, shouting "Shame!" And "Murderer!". On March 23 Vorobiev fired Gavrilov, and in his place appointed head of Losino-Petrovsky district Andrei Vikharev.