Danger of explosion at Finland explosives plant recedes
12 July 2013
The danger of a possible explosion in an explosives plant in central Finland has receded, and the thousands of local residents evacuated were believed to be able to return home on July 10, Finnish media reported.
Some 2,000 residents were evacuated after smoke was seen from a waste container in the grounds of a factory that makes explosives used for blasting and mining, in the compound of Eurenco Vihtavuori gunpowder plant in Lautaa, a town in central Finland.
There were fears that a chemical reaction in the waste container could trigger an explosion. Emergency services first tried to cool down the temperature of the smoking waste container from outside, before they successfully drilled a hole on the container and managed to pump water into it to slow down and even stop the chemical reaction.
After more than 10 hours of intensive rescue work, the smoking waste container was removed and kept a safe distance away from the other containers and stores containing explosives.
Eurenco Vihtavuori belongs to Frocit, a company owning three gunpowder and explosives plants in the region.
A blast in 2002 killed one person at the plant, and there have been a number of other reported incidents over the past decade.