Verkhnyaya Pyshma

Verkhnyaya Pyshma ( _ru. Ве́рхняя Пышма́) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, situated km to mi|10 kilometers north of Yekaterinburg. Population: ru-census|p2002=58016|p1989=53102 Postal code: 624080. International dialing code: +7 (34368). Mayor: Yuri Yakovlev.

History

It was founded in 1660 as the village ("selo" of Pyshminskoye (named after the Pyshma River). A copper mine opened here in 1856. Town status was granted to it in 1946.

Ecology and health issues

In late July 2007, the town was hit by an outburst of atypical pneumonia, with 165 infected and 5 death cases. According to official information, the infection was caused by Legionella pneumophila virus, spread through the water supply network. However, there was much speculation that biological warfare (similarly to Sverdlovsk anthrax leak in 1979), or the pollution from chemical industry, is responsible for the infection.Fact|date=December 2007.

Also serious ecological issues due to severe environment pollution Fact|date=December 2007.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the town is a gryphon holding gold "mirror of Venus".The gryphon is the guard of riches and also the symbol of strength of mind.The "mirror of Venus" is the sign of copper, which is being mined in the region.

"Uralelectromed" began production in 1934. It is now part of the "Urals Mining and Metal Company". "Uralelectromed" is one of the key Russian enterprises in the non-ferrous metallurgy. Main types of products include copper cathodes, copper powder, copper sulfate, wire rods, as well as gold and silver ingots.

Joint-stock company "Uralredmet" (formerly "Pyshminsky Experimental Plant") is located in Verkhnyaya Pyshma. The plant was commissioned in 1958. Products:
*high purity rare and rare-earth metals, their oxides and fluorides;
*refractory metals and their oxides;
*phosphors;

Key activities of the company:
*manufacture of vanadium based master alloys by the aluminothermic reduction method for titanium alloys;
*manufacture of high purity (99.9%) vanadium ingots by the electron beam melting method;
*manufacture of electrolytic vanadium powder (purity 99.7%);
*manufacture of rare-earth oxides by the liquid-liquid extraction method;
*manufacture of red color glow phosphors on the basis of yttrium oxysulphide, activated by europium and pigmented by iron oxide, for color cathode-rat tubes;
*manufacture of phosphors for high-pressure mercury arc lamps on the basis of yttrium phosphate-borate-vanadate, activated by europium and terbium;

The company supplies its products to customers in nuclear, electronic and aircraft industries as well as to a number of academic and industrial scientific institutes.Products with the Uralredmet brand is renowned for its high quality both in Russia and abroad. The company is included in the official supplier list of General Electric (United States).

References

External links

* [http://www.1723.ru/read/map-okr/okr-2.htm]
* [http://www.1723.ru/read/map-or/okkr-2.htm Map]
* [http://verpyshma.narod.ru About the town]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?||=56.96666,60.5833&spn=0.1,0.1&t=k&hl=en - View of the town from space]