Khimprom (Volgograd)

Khimprom (Russian: Волгоградское открытое акционерное общество «Химпром») was a major producer of industrial and consumer chemical products based in Volgograd, Russia.[1] The company used to manufacture organophosphorus nerve agents, and as of 2013 still produced dual-use chemicals.[2]

Khimprom in Volgograd

History

The plant was established in 1931.[3] The plant began production of sarin in 1959, and soman in 1967; production of both was officially ended before 1987. It was claimed that the plant manufactured 5 to 10 tons of binary nerve agent in 1991 as part of the Foliant research program, that was subsequently field tested at the Ust'yurt plateau, Uzbekistan.[4] In the post-Soviet era, the plant manufactured phosphorus oxychloride, and a range of phosphorus- and fluorine-containing compounds.[2]

The company's financial situation grew worse in the late 2000s, and it was officially declared bankrupt in 2012.[3] Production at the plant was fully discontinued in 2014.[5] In January 2015, layoffs began as the enterprise was being liquidated.[3] At the same time, projects were launched to restore the environmental damage caused by the plant during decades of chemical production.[3] As of May 2018, the local government is in talks with the Japan-based Marubeni to build a modern methanol plant on the Khimprom site.[3]

References
  1. "Russian Defense Business Directory". Federation of American Scientists. US Department of Commerce Bureau of Export Administration. May 1995. Archived from the original on 2016-10-17. Retrieved 21 July 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. Bertsch, Gary K.; Potter, William C. (2013). Dangerous Weapons, Desperate States: Russia, Belarus, Kazakstan and Ukraine. Routledge. ISBN 9781136053184.
  3. "Волгоградский «Химпром»: от банкротства к созданию новых производств" (in Russian). Novosti Volgograda. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  4. Averre, D. L. (1995). "The Mirzayanov affair: Russia's 'military‐chemical complex'". European Security. 4 (2): 273–305. doi:10.1080/09662839508407219.
  5. "С конкурсным управляющим "Химпрома" управилось следствие". Коммерсантъ. 14 February 2017. p. 4. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
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