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As Stench Rises, City Blames State
On warmer summer days Tallinn's Pirita coastline is occasionally visited by a repulsive odor. The Tallinn city government argues the responsibility of getting rid of the stench rests with the state.
According to Tallinn Deputy Mayor Deniss Boroditshi the problem is the state's, not the city's, since the sea floor belongs to the state, writes Postimees' website.
Tallinn's environmental protection department head investigative specialist Ingrid Jakobson said that the cause of the stench was investigated in 2008 and 2009.
"Measuring revealed that the source of the stench was piles of rotting algae the growth of which is caused by too many nutrients present in the bay," said Jakobson.
Scientists from the Sea Institute reached the same conclusion in 2009 with research concluding that the coastline between Kalarand and the Russalka monument contained nutrients which cause algae growth. Waves carry the algae to the shore where it rots.