"PlyWood" is a wood-processing company operating Gorodets. The enterprise is engaged in plywood production; the exact founding date is not given in available sources, but by mid-2026 the plant was already in active production.[2]

Residents' complaints and environmental inspection

In July 2026, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Nizhny Novgorod Region began receiving appeals from Gorodets residents complaining of dark (by other descriptions, yellow) smoke from the plant's chimney and a sharp odor resembling burning, scorched rubber and plastic. According to residents, the emissions occurred most often at night or early morning, penetrated apartments and forced them to keep windows closed. Residents with chronic illnesses reported difficulty breathing and the need to use inhalers; parents of children from nearby kindergartens asked teachers not to take toddlers outside for walks during the emissions.[2] Before July 2026, the Ministry of Ecology had received no similar complaints.[3]

Earlier, residents said they had repeatedly appealed to Rospotrebnadzor, the Gorodets district administration, the Ministry of Ecology, and the prosecutor's office, but each time received replies stating there were no excesses of harmful substances. A company representative denied PlyWood's involvement in the odor, citing earlier measurements within permissible norms, and suggested that the complaints might be linked to possible civil lawsuits against the company.[2]

On August 4, 2026, specialists from the Ministry of Ecology, together with staff of the state institution "Ecology of the Region", collected ambient air samples in the vicinity of the plant; during the night hours of August 5, the work continued using a mobile laboratory. The findings showed excesses of permissible standards for a number of pollutants.[4]

Response measures

The data obtained were forwarded to the Nizhny Novgorod Interdistrict Environmental Protection Prosecutor's Office and the Rospotrebnadzor Administration for prosecutorial response measures and verification of compliance with sanitary legislation. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Nizhny Novgorod Region sent LLC "PlyWood" a warning on the inadmissibility of violating mandatory requirements in the field of atmospheric air protection.[4] The situation also remained under the personal oversight of Gorodets district head Alexander Mudrov; the district administration independently appealed to Rospotrebnadzor.[2] The issue was publicly raised by Regional Legislative Assembly deputy Vladislav Atmakhov.[1]

Sources

  1. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Residents of Gorodets choke on acrid stench: what the Ministry of Ecology says (archive)
  2. Newsroom24 — Gorodets to investigate complaints of smoke and sharp odor from enterprise (archive)
  3. Vremya N — Ministry of Ecology checked air quality in Gorodets after resident complaints (archive)
  4. Otkrytyi Nizhny — Ministry of Ecology to check air in Gorodets after resident complaints of acrid odor (archive)