On September 22, a gorup of European experts, who had held studies on the chemicals at "Nairit" factory, presented the final report of the work done to D. Tonoyan, the Minister of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia.
Bradley Busetto, the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia, representatives of various UN agencies and "Nairit" factory were also present at the meeting.
After a fire in "Nairit" factory in August, the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations appealed to international organizations, asking for an expert mission to be sent to Armenia. Due to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) the proposal was responded by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), as well as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDCA), sending three international experts to Armenia:
William Crus-Morey (France, ERCC), Hazmat & CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear) Senior Technical Advisor
Melviana Hede (Sweden, ERCC), Environmental Protection Specialist / Environmental Engineer, works in waste management
Lawrence Nicol (Switzerland, SDCA) is an environmental and security expert.
During the study, the experts got acquainted with the technology of production at the factory, studied the volume, condition, storage conditions, containers and possible risks of the various chemicals available there, and the possible impact on people and the environment, as well as held a detailed inventory and classification of available materials.
According to the results of the research, experts of the expert group concluded that there was no threat of major catastrophe at "Nairit" factory. Accordingly, international experts recommend providing proper labeling of materials for temporary storage, modern repackaging, storage and management of relevant storage facilities (up-to-date versions of storage, recycling and disposal of chemical hazardous materials) in order to minimize the potential for disaster.
At the meeting, D. Tonoyan, Minister of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia expressed his gratitude to the UN Office and international experts, emphasizing once again that making that area safe was the priority task of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Bradley Busetto, UN Resident Coordinator assured in his speech that their support was going to continue, and after the end of the mission, the experts would always be available for further consultations.
The expert opinion will also be presented to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (in Armenia and Geneva, UN OCHA) and will serve as a serious basis for the development of technical tasks to provide a solid solution to the problem. RA MES reports.
