Hot Week At Hrodna Azot Plant

12.09.2022, 10:36
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The torch lighting over the plant has become a familiar sight for many Hrodna residents.

A Charter97.org source at Hrodna Azot reports another breakdown:

- The end of August was hot for Hrodna Azot, as was the weather of the last summer days. The plant's two main and most profitable shops - the ammonia production shop and the cooperating urea shop - were shut down. For many Hrodna dwellers, the torch that lights up over Azot on a regular basis has become a familiar sight.

But it is far from being the only problem at the plant. Last month, the number of dangerous situations almost became critical. Four start-up days did not help to launch the shop successfully after the shutdown. Workers reported that the inability to carry out start-up operations was caused by the liquid ammonia warehouse being overfilled above the norm.

The result of the attempts to start up the shop was that the compressor broke down and there was a pungent smell of ammonia throughout the plant, which clearly meant that the maximum allowable concentration had been exceeded. For the record, each start-up is more power-consuming than the production process, because methane has to be burnt without the output of the final product, which means that the residents of Hrodna see the torch burning. One can only imagine how many workers' salaries and bonuses have been burned during those four days.

Together with ammonia, the urea shop could not start up, because it is dependent on the ammonia shop. Here, the result of this shutdown was that the synthesis column was crushed by the vacuum. In fact, this is the main apparatus of the workshop. The column is Dutch-made and, due to its size, extremely expensive.

It is unlikely that the Lukashists will be able to find a replacement for this unit in the near future, because the design and installation work could take over a year, and under sanctions, it could bring the plant to the verge of total collapse. There were rumours around the company that even the Investigative Committee and KGB officers came to the plant to find the perpetrators, as the situation was serious.

The breakdown did not stop there. At 5 a.m. on September 1, the air separation stage, which supplies technical nitrogen to the entire plant, was shut down. In this situation, it is not possible to stop, because technical nitrogen is especially important during equipment shutdowns and it is very dangerous to keep the plant running. Fortunately, the company had found some emergency tanks with nitrogen, which could be used, but they were available only until ten o'clock in the morning. And practically all the workshops had to reduce the load to a minimum. A similar breakdown repeated for the third time last week.

All these incidents at the enterprise clearly show that the Lukashenka system has removed all professionals from extremely important positions and appointed either sycophants, or people for whom it is acceptable to get a promotion without showing knowledge and professionalism, but simply to be a toady to their newly appointed bosses.

Workers of the Investigative Committee and the KGB, may perhaps start retraining as hardware operators and locksmiths, while they are conducting their "investigations". Situations at the enterprise will definitely result in personnel losses, and it is almost impossible to find and train new ones. Firstly, because it takes years of training and experience, and secondly, there are less and less people who want to grovel before the regime for a penny.

While high-class specialists of Hrodna Azot are demoted to insignificant positions or fired for their protests, and underachievers are appointed to high complexity jobs, neither workers, nor entire Hrodna can feel safe.

Director Liashenka at Hrodna Azot is like a monkey with a grenade - he threatens both himself and his entire surroundings.

PATREON Support the website

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Hot Week At Hrodna Azot Plant

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