COAL DUST TURNS WHITE SNOW BLACK IN SIBERIA

Moscow — A Siberian coal mining town has gotten a blanket of black snow, a regular occurrence in the region known for high industrial pollution levels. The snow in the town of Prokopyevsk, darkened by coal dust, was featured in Sunday’s Russian state TV report. Black snow also has been seen in the nearby towns of Kiselyovsk and Leninsk-Kuznetsky in Siberia’s Kemerovo region. Anatoly Volkov, the director of the Prokopyevskaya coal plant, said some emissions escape and “we can’t tackle coal dust in the streets.” Local prosecutors are checking to see if the processing plant observed industry emission standards.