Dmitry Firtash expressed his condolences to families of casualties of the accident at Concern Stirol, and thanked its personnel for professional teamwork

Over the past three years, OSTCHEM invested more than UAH 1 billion in upgrading the safety levels at its chemical producers

 

Dmitry Firtash, Founder and Chairman of the Group Supervisory Council of Group DF expressed his deepest condolences to the families of casualties of the accident at Concern Stirol. He has also sincerely thanked Stirol’s employees who promptly responded to the accident and prevented possible environmental consequences for Gorlovka inhabitants.

 

“Safety has always been of paramount importance for us. Of the UAH 3 billion invested in our chemical assets for the past three years, more than 30 percent account for investments in safety. Yesterday our personnel acted in a correct and coordinated manner. Nevertheless, these facilities are fairly old, and apparently it is important to reconsider and revise respective state regulations for chemical industry”, explained Dmitry Firtash.

 

He also noted that there has been a significant progress in investigation of the accident. However Mr Firtash refrained from giving any details before the findings of the official commission are made public. Currently, Stirol’s management is in full cooperation with law-enforcement authorities in relation to the investigation of the accident, and provides all necessary information.

 

“We are working out the plans for compensations to those affected by the tragedy and their families, in addition to compensations from the state. At least, by decent compensation we can help the people who found themselves in such a tragedy together with us”, added Dmitry Firtash. He also voiced plans to review corporate social responsibility strategies for cities where OSTCHEM’s chemicals producers operate, by providing more support in materials and equipment to local hospitals.

 

The accident happened yesterday at the No.1 Plant which is currently undergoing a scheduled overhaul. The liquid ammonia emission happened at 14:00 as the result of unsealing of the pipeline. As the result of this industrial accident, five people are deceased and another 22 hospitalized with burns and intoxication. By 14:30, the emergency and rescue service of Concern Stirol liquidated this breakage which caused the emission. Repeated environmental inspections found no hazard for the city inhabitants. A specially established commission is working on the site.

 

NOTE

 

Concern Stirol, JSC, was founded in 1933. It is the largest mineral fertilizer producer in Ukraine which supplies around 3% of global ammonia, urea and polymeric products exports to the global market. It is the only company in Ukraine producing expandable polystyrene. In September 2010, Concern Stirol became part of OSTCHEM holding controlled by Group DF founded and owned by Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash.

 

OSTCHEM consolidates nitrogen chemicals producers of Group DF and includes Azot, JSC (Cherkassy, Ukraine), Concern Stirol, JSC (Gorlovka, Ukraine), Severodonetsk Azot Association, JSC (Severodonetsk, Ukraine), Rivne Azot, JSC (Rivne, Ukraine). OSTCHEM’s fertilizer distribution arm is represented by UkrAgro NPK, while its shipment arm is represented by Nika-Tera Specialized Seaport.