Arsenic waste from Neste Oil to be sent to Ekokem for final disposal

Drums of waste contaminated with arsenic stored at Neste Oil's Naantali refinery site are to be sent for disposal to Ekokem, which recycles, neutralizes, and disposes of a wide range of hazardous and other industrial waste. The first batch of 200 drums will be sent to Ekokem's treatment plant at Pori this year, and the remainder by May 2010. Neste Oil has a total of 756 drums of this type of waste in storage.

 

The arsenic waste is a by-product of the hydrogen gas scrubbing process used at Neste Oil's Porvoo refinery in the early 1970s. Waste from the process, together with contaminated pipework, boards, and cotton waste, was packed in drums, which were eventually transported to Naantali for storage. They were placed in an on-site warehouse for their first year there, after which they were encapsulated in concrete and transferred to the adjacent Tupavuori storage area.

 

"The drums have survived the long storage period very well and have not posed a threat to the environment at any stage. All the same, we are pleased that we can now draw a line under the case and send them for final disposal by Ekokem, a highly respected hazardous waste treatment specialist," says Timo Tunturi, Communications Manager at the Naantali refinery.

 

Neste Oil Corporation

Hanna Maula
Director, Corporate Communications

 

Further information:
Communications Manager Timo Tunturi, tel. +358 (0)50 458 6251
Environmental Engineer Caj Karlsson, tel. +358 (0)50 458 6577

 

 

Neste Oil in brief

 

Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company concentrating on low-emission, high-quality traffic fuels. The company is the world's leading supplier of renewable diesel. Neste Oil's refineries are located in Porvoo and Naantali and have a combined crude oil refining capacity of approx. 260,000 barrels a day. The company had net sales of EUR 15 billion in 2008 and employs around 5,200 people. Neste Oil's share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

 

Neste Oil has been selected into the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and awarded 'Best in Class' recognition for its social accountability by Storebrand. The company is also featured in the Ethibel Pioneer Investment Register and included in Innovest's Global 100 list of the world's most sustainable corporations. Further information: www.nesteoil.com.