Kazakhstan to transport yellow phosphorous through Belarus?
Poland-bound yellow phosphorous from Kazakhstan could be transported through Belarus, after the Kazakh Minister of Transport and Communicaiton says it is in talks with the transport authorities in Minsk in order to strike a transit deal. The railway officials from the two countries are holding negotiations "in order to identify possibilities for the transit (of yellow phosphorous) through Belarus before Ukraine ends its investigation," Kazakh Transport Minister Seryk Akhmetov was quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax as saying.
On July 16, 2006 15 tanks with yellow phosphorous got derailed in the Lviv region, Ukraine en route from Kazakhstan to Poland. Fire broke out on six of the tanks sending toxic clouds into the air. The train with tanks yesterday returned to Kazakhstan through Russia.
Luckily, the toxic cloud did not reach Belarus in July. But if the Belaarusian authorities give a go-ahead to the hazardous transit, we would be exposed again to a potential threat. The Kazakh minister maintains that the talks would conclude within one week.
On July 16, 2006 15 tanks with yellow phosphorous got derailed in the Lviv region, Ukraine en route from Kazakhstan to Poland. Fire broke out on six of the tanks sending toxic clouds into the air. The train with tanks yesterday returned to Kazakhstan through Russia.
Luckily, the toxic cloud did not reach Belarus in July. But if the Belaarusian authorities give a go-ahead to the hazardous transit, we would be exposed again to a potential threat. The Kazakh minister maintains that the talks would conclude within one week.
