Mykolaivcement investment in environmental protection tops €4 million

Among the most significant projects were: a technical refurbishment of dust filters, installation of a new continuous emission monitoring system, a water collecting and recycling system and placement (repairs) of concrete road surface inside the plant.

These measures are designed to improve operations and reduce the plant’s environmental footprint For example, the technical re-equipment of the filters is aimed at complying with the emission limits for suspended solid particles in accordance with the Ukrainian legislation and EU standards. Once the project is completed, dust emissions will be reduced by more than half.

The implementation of state-of-the-art processes and high-performance cleaning equipment will contribute to the enhancement of the environment and working and living conditions of the people.

The continuous monitoring system uses state-of-the-art equipment to ensure the levels of the plant’s main emissions from its processes can be measured, enabling not only further control of emissions but also helps to optimize the manufacturing process and allow effective operation and maintenance of equipment.

The collection and utilisation of rainwater at plant and quarrying sites will reduce the need of "technical water" for slurry preparation, saving natural river water resources.

Maintenance of the plant’s onsite road infrastructure is necessary, due to the large volume of vehicles that are onsite every day, transporting clinker, cement, additives and alternative fuels. By investing in roads, it is also intended to reduce dust levels generated from traffic and improve safety conditions, by separating vehicles and pedestrians through dedicated walkways.

All in all, the Health & Safety investments amount to €1.5 million in 2010. These investments include further implementation of the corporate H&S standards such as Energy Isolation, Work at Height, Mobile equipment to secure the safety conditions of work for our employees and contractors.

All of the above environmental projects continue the long-term environmental program of “Mykolaivcement”. Earlier this year Open Joint-Stock Company “Mykolaivcement” announced the accomplishment of a number of environmental projects costing nearly €8.7 million over the last 4 years.

These accomplished projects include:

• Erection and renovation of the filters.
• Erection of the new cement mill.
• Installation of the new cement packing equipment and palletising line.

“We are committed to ensuring that we meet the requirements of our operational permit and will continue to improve to meet standards implemented across the European Union and fully manage our environmental performance. The latest round of investments focused on ensuring the plant has state-of-the-art equipment to capture dust from the cement-making process and maintain our equipment to enable us to manage our complicated process effectively.

“We are pleased that our focused efforts and investment in this area are recognised by the State Administration of Environmental Protection in the Lviv region,” says Guenther Smetana, General Manager of OJSC “Mykolaivcement”:

The company’s efforts have also been recognised by the public. For instance, in November 2010 OJSC “Mykolaivcement”, which is part of the multinational Lafarge Group, received an award for promoting health and safety practices in the context of the 2nd National Contest on Corporate Social Responsibility Cases. The international jury chose the best of the best. All the submitted business cases were included into the edition “Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Ukraine – 2010”.

The company presented a business case entitled “Safe Work – Healthy Life”, since health and safety of its people is a key priority.

Guenther Smetana adds, “In order to ensure that our employees and contractors work in a safe environment and safely return home to their families and friends after each working shift or day we are introducing the corporate safety standards and also invest in the modernisation of the workplace equipment, in the renovation of the infrastructure inside and outside the plant territory.

“Although the project for a new dry line has been put on hold, we continue to invest in our operations because we are committed to managing and mitigating our impact on the environment.  Our record demonstrates that amongst Lafarge operations around the world, our equipment, the way it is managed and its reliability are highly ranked.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/14122010/mykolaivcement_invests_over_4_million_euros_in_environmental_protection-/