German ministry helps Perstorp to upgrade plant

30 April 2008 19:19  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--The environment minister of Germany’s North-Rhine-Westphalia state inaugurated on Wednesday a reverse osmosis unit at a Perstorp facility to sharply reduce discharges of a chemical byproduct and ensure its continued operation.

 

The plant, at Arnsberg, was in danger of being shut down, jeopardising some 140 jobs, if discharges were not cut.

 

The osmosis facility was installed within two weeks and was subsidised by the state environment ministry to the tune of €200,000 ($312,000), minister Eckhard Uhlenberg said in a statement. 

 

Its purpose was to prevent the chemical - 2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro(5.5)-undecan (Tosu) - from being discharged into the Ruhr river and getting into ground and potable water, said Uhlenberg.

 

However, the osmosis unit was only a short-term solution and Perstorp would need to take additional steps, he said, adding that his ministry would help the company in this as well.

 

Earlier in April, a regional government body, called Regierungspräsident, ordered Perstorp to immediately and substantially reduce Tosu discharges to a level the company could not meet right away, forcing it to shut the plant down for a short time.

 

However, an administrative court quickly overruled this, saying there was no immediate or specific threat to potable water to justify an immediate order.

 

($1 = €0.64)

By: Stefan Baumgarten
+1 713 525 2653

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