Water Filtration Plants and Risks of a Chlorine Mass-Casualty Event in Donetsk

Mar 10, 2017 | Wim Zwijnenburg
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Chlorine is one of the most widely produced chemicals, and used for many industrial and household applications. Weaponized chlorine has gained more popularity among State and non-State actors in the last decade.  In 2006-2007, Al-Qaida in Iraq equipped chlorine trucks and suicide bombers with explosives and set them off, hoping to cause mass casualties.

Over the last two months, increased shelling in and around industrial sites north of Donetsk have, apart from the direct civilian casualties costs, posed huge public health and environmental risks.  Apart from the wider environmental impacts caused by targeting industrial sites, on several occasions, Russia-backed forces have hit various water treatment stations. These facilities host a substantial amount of liquefied chlorine gas stockpiles used for water purification, a much-needed supply in cities lacking sufficient drinking water for the civilian population (including in Donetsk, which they control). Any direct hit on these stockpiles could possibly lead to a mass casualty incident with clouds of chlorine gas spreading over nearby populated areas.

Weather and wind conditions should also be taken into account in making a risk assessment of the fall-out area.  Despite Kaszeta’s assessment, it is understandable that a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach has to be taken by the UN, as it’s unclear how extensive the shelling and subsequent damage to the chlorine storage can be,  and threats to human health should be taken seriously.