Following the Foreign & Commonwealth Office announcement of additional British Government support for the international mission to destroy Syria’s chemical weapon programme on 20 December, 2013, Veolia Environnement can confirm its commitment to the UK initiative to facilitate the destruction of 150 tonnes of’B precursor’ chemicals.
The consignment of’B precursor’ chemicals will be safely treated at Veolia’s Ellesmere Port High Temperature Incineration facility under its existing hazardous waste treatment contract with the Disposal Services Authority (DSA), part of the Ministry of Defence.
‘B-Precursors’ are chemicals used routinely in the pharmaceutical industry in the UK and are similar in nature to standard industrial materials safely processed on a regular basis at Ellesmere Port. It is important to make clear these are industrial-grade chemicals as opposed to chemical weapons.
The facility has already passed rigorous audit inspections by the relevant authorities, and the chemicals would be treated in line with the stringent requirements of its strict environmental permit.Opened in 1990, the facility treats approximately 100,000 tonnes of hazardous materials every year and employs 73 staff.
“We are pleased to have been selected by the British Government to support this important initiative which will see our Ellesmere Port facility directly involved at the start of the implementation of the international mission to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons programme. We will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Defence and relevant UK authorities to ensure the safe destruction of these chemicals in line with our high environmental, health, safety and operating standards.”
Estelle Brachlianoff
