There is no room for any comparison whatsoever between the accident in Beirut, that was caused by the explosion of inappropriately stored chemical, and the potential danger for Skopje caused by the chemicals stored in the former chemical industry complex OHIS, claims Trajče Stafilov, a Professor at the Institute of Chemistry at the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Faculty in Skopje. The vinyl chloride, which has been stored for decades in an aged huge tank is not inflammable, although it’s a toxic chemical and the danger it poses it great, but not in the way that ammonium nitrate, the cause of the devastating blast in Beirut, is.
A day after the accident that took place at Beirut’s port, which caused the death of over 100 people and over 4.000 people were injured, one could read claims on the social networks that Skopje can find itself in a similar situation if an accident takes place in OHIS. Within the complex, dangerous chemicals that are leftovers from former production, are still stored. Stafilov says that the danger OHIS presents is enormous, but there aren’t any explosive materials there.
The accident in Beirut was caused by a blast of 2.750 tons of ammonium nitrate, that is used in the production of fertilizers and bombs. The chemical was stored at the docks without any security measures implemented. As a comparison, OHIS has 14 tons of vinyl chloride which at the moment is closely monitored.
