Chlorine leak injures six at Bratsk wood plant

A chlorine release occurred at the industrial site of Ilim Group in Bratsk, with six people injured due to excessive gas contamination in the room, according to Telegram channels of the regional Investigative Committee and prosecutor«s office, as well as on the social media of the Baikal Interregional Environmental Prosecutor»s Office.

The incident occurred on January 22. According to the Prosecutor«s Office of the Angara region, medical assistance was required for two employees of Ilim and four female workers of a contractor organization who were at the plant»s industrial site.

As reported by Ivan Kosteev, deputy Bratsk Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor, the incident did not lead to environmental pollution.

Investigators from the Investigative Committee have launched a pre-investigation check into the incident. It is being conducted under Article 246 of the Russian Criminal Code, «Violation of environmental protection rules during work operations.»

The communications and public relations directorate of Ilim Group commented on the incident to the IrCity portal. They reported that the condition of all injured is assessed as satisfactory, and they received all necessary assistance at the hospital.

«Standard safety and health protection procedures were activated. Specialized services of the enterprise and an ambulance team arrived at the scene,» the company said.

Currently, the Bratsk Timber Processing Complex is operating in normal mode. There is no threat of environmental or technological consequences, or to the life and health of employees and city residents.

Ilim is the largest Russian pulp and paper company. It owns two branches in the Irkutsk region – timber processing complexes in Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk.

The main shareholder of JSC «Group Ilim» is Ilim SA, registered in Switzerland. Ilim SA is owned in various shares by multimillionaire Zakhar Smushkin, one of the richest people in Russia, and billionaires Boris and Mikhail Zingarevich. Until 2023, part of Ilim SA belonged to the American company International Paper, which after the start of the special operation in Ukraine sold its share for $484 million to a firm owned by Smushkin and Boris Zingarevich.

The Bratsk Timber Processing Complex (BLPK) produces market pulp, wood chemicals, and round timber, according to the Ilim Group website. The annual production volume is 1.1 million tons. The enterprise produces 35% of Russia«s pulp.