Ecologists pointed out the shortcomings in the restoration of Anapa's beaches.

The sand brought in after the oil spill on the beaches of Anapa has turned into a dense clay mass, complained a tourist and a local blogger. Ecologists pointed out that the new sand does not match the previous Anapa sand, pollution remains on the coast, and the cleanup from the oil spill will take several more years.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 12, Anapa's beaches were filled with vacationers, while earlier tourists and locals had repeatedly pointed out problems with the quality of the sand brought in after the oil spill. On September 11, activists suggested plowing the beaches before winter, or better yet, replacing the sand with a more suitable one for the coast.

The central beach of Anapa, after restoration work, was covered with a dense clay mass instead of the usual sand, noted a tourist from Krasnoyarsk.

"Unfortunately, we were greeted by such a beach. Last year, the beach was fenced off with a protective ditch and netting. This year we read about the readiness of the beaches and calmly went to Anapa. I don't know how it was here in the summer, how the children were digging this clay with shovels. But now it’s terrible. We are standing on a dense mound of clay, where there is no smell of sand at all," said the tourist on October 9, as quoted by the publication Kub-Inform.

Discontent with the quality of the sand was also expressed by Anapa blogger Max Anapsky. "It got a little better after sifting, but the sand sticks together, it doesn’t dry properly. You can lay a mat – people are resting," the publication quoted the blogger.

The difference between the brought sand and the previous Anapa sand was also pointed out by ecologist Zhora Kavanosyan. "All attention is on the new sand. This is the very technical sand that supposedly can replace the golden Anapa sand. Feel the difference," Kub-Inform quoted him.

It is indisputable that hundreds of tons of contaminated sand taken for processing need to be replenished. But the sand from the quarries does not match the clean and "golden" sands of Anapa, emphasized ecologist Evgeny Vitishko. "Complete elimination of the emergency situation will take from two to five years. The situation needs to be monitored, studied, and half-measures should not be taken," he said.

The condition of the sand and the remaining pollution raise concerns, pointed out ecologist Veniamin Golubitchenko. "I saw videos from Anapa's beaches, how this sand turns into some kind of clay sludge, it doesn’t resemble the sand that was there. I saw how clumps of oil appear in places, then clumps of palm oil. That is, the cleanup is not finished, and the pollution of the sea continues, and the washing out of pollutants from deeper layers of the beach soil is also ongoing. Everything is still in process. Therefore, the hasty desire to complete the elimination of the problem has led to the fact that huge resources were spent, but the result obtained is far from what was expected," his words were cited in the publication.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported on the consequences of pollution with petroleum products in other areas of the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory. Thus, on July 3, vacationers in the Tuapse district and Novorossiysk complained about traces of oil on the beaches that the authorities called safe. On June 4, activists and ecologists pointed out that a number of beaches in the Tuapse district were not ready for safe recreation after the oil spill.

Materials on the consequences of the oil spill have been collected by "Caucasian Knot" on the thematic page "Ecological disaster in Kuban".