Please think twice before Instagramming from this stunning Siberian ash pond

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Please think twice before Instagramming from this stunning Siberian ash pond

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Posing in front of a breathtakingly blue body of water is an Instagram classic. This particular pond, though, should probably not be your first choice.

The pond is near the Russian city of Novosibirsk, and it's gaining popularity as an IG destination for users who want to stage a beachy shot. According to the Moscow Times, it even has a nickname — the "Novosibirsk Maldives" — and a dedicated Instagram account (@maldives_nsk). 

Unfortunately, the Novosibirsk Maldives is not a standard pond. It is not naturally occurring, but manmade, and its lovely blue waters are due to an enormous, deep ash dump from a coal plant. 

"This lake is not a natural miracle at all, but an ash dump into which CHPP-5 [the coal plant] is dumping waste," reads a story from local news website NGS.ru. 

Irina, a local who took photos by the pond last month, told Mashable via Instagram DM that while she didn't detect any odor at the scene, she'd never even consider getting in the water. "The whole periodic table is in [there]," she said.

The Siberian Generating Company, which owns the power plant, maintains that the pond is technically "not poisonous." However, it also cautions that no one should swim there. 

"This is due to the fact that calcium salts and other metal oxides are dissolved in it," a company rep wrote on social media. "Skin contact with such water may cause an allergic reaction."

They added that the bottom of the pond is apparently very muddy, which could make it hard for swimmers to escape.

So no, this place is probably not Chernobyl-grade scary. (We're sure a misguided comparison or two will pop up on Twitter soon.) But putting your delicate human body into the water isn't a good idea, either. Here's one guy's report, courtesy of an Instagram caption: "The next morning, my legs were slightly red and itchy day two, then it went [away]."

Up to you to decide if that's worth it!

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July 9, 2019 at 12:53PM