ArmInfo. The "Arrangement of the storage area for aluminum slag at the ARMENAL plant" project won first place in the Ecology nomination of the Improvement of the Year competition held by one of the world's largest aluminum companies RUSAL. This is stated in the message of the press service.
The authors of the project are Vahe Tamazyan, head of the labor protection, industrial safety and ecology department and Tamara Zatikyan, an environmental specialist. The purpose of their proposal is to improve the environmental situation at the plant's industrial site and the adjacent urban area, to minimize the negative impact of aluminum slag on the health of the company's employees and the environment.
Until recently, slag, which belongs to class 4 waste, was stored in the open air. Vapors from its surface got into the air, under the influence of atmospheric precipitation, harmful chemical compounds were formed and seeped into the soil. The unresolved problem threatened with a fine from the environmental authorities in the amount of up to 58 million drams ($ 120 thousand).
To implement the project, at a distance from production facilities and residential buildings, a special covered storage with a concrete base was equipped at ARMENAL, where the accumulated aluminum slag was transferred. Thus, the waste is isolated from direct contact with the external environment and the possibility of the penetration of aluminum compounds into the soil layer is eliminated. The area where the waste was stored has been cleared and prepared for landscaping, which will be carried out next spring.
To note, the ARMENAL plant has been part of RUSAL since 2000. It is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Armenia and the only producer of aluminum foil in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Created on the basis of the Kanaker aluminum plant, which was commissioned in 1950.
