According to the order of the Ministry of Strategic Industries dated 10/12/21 No. 193, yesterday on the territory of the State Enterprise “Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant im. Makarov ”(Yuzhmash), a commission for the safe storage and disposal of a component of liquid rocket fuel (heptyl) worked.
The commission, headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Volodymyr Ben, included representatives of the Ministry of Strategic Industry, the Dnepropetrovsk office of the general customer, the State Space Agency, Yuzhmash, the State Emergency Service, the Dnipro City Council, the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Administration, the State Enterprise " Design Bureau "Yuzhnoye" named after M.K. Yangel ", the Security Service of Ukraine.
During its work, the commission heard problematic issues of storage of conditioned and substandard heptyl on the territory of Yuzhmash, got acquainted with the places of its storage, studied the documentation, tasks and activities developed earlier, listened to experts, discussed and summarized proposals.
The Commission came, in particular, to the following conclusions:
- No facts of emergency leaks of heptyl in the places of its storage have been established.
- There is a real threat of a man-made emergency related to the leakage of heptyl.
The Commission decided to recommend a number of urgent and medium-term tasks and measures aimed at ensuring the safe storage of highly toxic components of liquid rocket fuel and the unconditional disposal of their substandard part until 2023.
The results of the commission's work will be submitted for consideration to the Vice Prime Minister - Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine.
Recall that on the territory of the former flagship of rocketry in the USSR are in storage 95 tons of heptyl rocket fuel in containers that expired last year. In the affected area, in case of depressurization, there are more than 100 thousand people. The Yuzhmash storage facilities currently contain 95 tons of heptyl, including 37 tons of substandard heptyl. The lethal dose for humans is 1 microgram per liter of water.
