The European Court of Human Rights held that the Russian Federation violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to regulate the operation of a steel plant in close proximity to the applicants' homes that emitted hazardous pollution and endangered the health of residents. The plant in question is the largest iron smelter in Russia and is the main contributor to pollution in the town of Cherepovets. Responsible for more than 349 tons of annual atmospheric pollution, the plant emits dangerous substances in concentrations high above the mandated safety levels. Although the Court cannot definitively attribute all of the applicants' health problems to the operation of the plant, it held that the applicants, all of whom lived in the buffer "sanitary safety zone" near the plant, had suffered sufficient actual detriment to bring their claims within the scope of Article 8. The Court held that, in failing to develop and implement an efficient public policy aimed at reducing the plant's emissions and in failing to resettle the residents who lived in the danger zone, the State violated Article 8.
Note: This case essentially follows the holding in Fadayeva.