Meeting of the Emergency Situations Commission under the Regional Executive Committee: Vitebsk Region plans to abandon the use of ammonia at enterprises
Currently, 23 enterprises in the Vitebsk region utilize ammonia in their systems. In 2009, this number was 39. "We plan to develop an action plan to eventually abandon the use of ammonia in enterprise systems," noted Vladimir Belous.
As previously reported, on September 25, an ammonia leak occurred at the production site of the Polotsk Dairy Plant in Miory. It was determined that the release of the substance resulted from a leak in a welded seam of a refrigeration unit, from the evaporator to the moisture distributor. The personnel voluntarily evacuated the enterprise premises. An educational institution is located within a 200-meter radius of the incident site. Rescuers evacuated 560 children and 110 staff members from the school building to a safe location. No one was injured.
On that day, 63 kg of ammonia were released, as reported by rescuers. Subsequent measurements of air, soil, and water showed no excess of the permissible concentration of the substance. Weather conditions also contributed to the successful mitigation of the incident: on September 25, there was a light wind, which did not spread the substance into the surrounding area.
During an inspection of the workshop, violations were found. There was an insufficient quantity of gas masks and other specialized equipment, necessary documentation was missing, and some devices had not undergone calibration or scheduled testing.
"The cause of the incident was the negligence of officials and an unwillingness to maintain equipment in a timely manner," added Sergey Meshkoleshin, Head of the Vitebsk Regional Emergency Situations Ministry Department.
Today, a meeting of the emergency situations commission was held at the regional executive committee. The commission discussed the readiness of houses and organizations in the Vitebsk region for the autumn-winter period.