Fri, Feb 10 2012

US funds and experts help Bulgaria clear up Chelopechene munitions site

Wed, Jan 07 2009 11:16 CET

byNick Iliev

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The United States has allocated up to $1 million to assist with the cleanup of unexploded ordnance from the site of the July 3 2008 explosion at the Chelopechene munitions storage facility outside Sofia. 

That Thursday morning, Sofia was shaken by powerful explosions, the detonations and resulting tremors being felt throughout the city and the entire Sofia valley.

The Chelopechene military facility, where tons of obsolete ammunition were stored, was incinerated in an episode that exposed that the situation had been allowed to deteriorate dangerously for years.

More than 600 houses near Chelopechene were damaged by the blast, with shattered windows and doors and holes in the walls.

A US team of disposal experts from the firm Dyncorp has arrived in Bulgaria and has commenced the arduous and painstaking procedure of securing the area and defusing the remaining live ammunition discarded in the perimeter around the blast area, according to a statement by the US embassy in Sofia.

The Americans are operating in conjunction with Bulgarian sappers to complete the cleanup.  The primary objective is to ensure that all live ammunition is removed and the threat to the local population is neutralised. 

Earlier, in 2008, the US government funneled $230 000 to the Bulgarian armed forces to facilitate the initial cleanup operation.

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