A stadium that is being constructed in the Russian city of St Petersburg for the country’s hosting of the 2018 Fifa World Cup has come further under fire after being accused of breaking national rules on air quality.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the venue’s building site had levels of formaldehyde and ammonia in the air above permissible standards when measured last month by a St Petersburg state health inspection agency.
However, AP added that the report, published by the St Petersburg-based news site Fontanka, could not be independently verified.
Metrostroy, the company overseeing construction of the 69,000-seater stadium, did not dispute the allegations, but said any air quality violations should be blamed on a previous contractor.
The company added that levels were an “intermediate” measurement and “taken during the active phase of construction and do not reflect the picture when the stadium enters service” next month.
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