Russia to face chemical catastrophe?!

Employees of now defunct chemical weapon plant in the Russian town of Saratov are worried that the current shabby condition of the facility could in fact result in a major ecological catastrophe. Head of Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations Sergey Shoigu has already been informed of the threat, reports Jane's magazine.

State institute of organic synthesis technologies is on the verge of bankruptcy. It is highly likely that the facility will face liquidation in a not so distant future. However, the organization’s managerial team has yet to come up with a way to store its toxic elements.

The Institute has been specializing in the production of chemical weapons for over 40 years now. Its chemical reserve is tremendous. Today, it owns various energy companies over 100 million rubles. The building lacks power.

The organization has been also holding back the pay for its staff. People have not been getting paid for 11 months! The institute has been in the state of decay for over 10 years. In the course of this time, a number of workers has been cut 7 times, thus leaving only 500 from the initial 3500. The ones that still keep on working at the institute have simply nowhere else to go; they cannot effort the move. Employees often go on hunger strikes. The outcome can hardly be called satisfying.

Investors face tremendous difficulties, since the institute still bears the title of a closed facility, even though it hasn’t been producing chemical weapons since 1992.