SOVIETS AVERT ACCIDENT AT UFA REFINERY

The U.S.S.R. reports it has averted a disaster posed by a damaged smoke stack at a big refinery in Ufa, a Bashkir Republic petroleum center that lies between the Volga River and Ural Mountains. A large crack occurred at the 120 m level in the 150 m high stack, and the upper section threatened to fall on vital installations below. The installations included pipes moving oil, gas, and refined products. Officials ordered the refinery shut down, and workers were evacuated.

Sept. 30, 1991

The U.S.S.R. reports it has averted a disaster posed by a damaged smoke stack at a big refinery in Ufa, a Bashkir Republic petroleum center that lies between the Volga River and Ural Mountains.

A large crack occurred at the 120 m level in the 150 m high stack, and the upper section threatened to fall on vital installations below. The installations included pipes moving oil, gas, and refined products.

Officials ordered the refinery shut down, and workers were evacuated.

The upper part of the stack weighing 700 tons was brought down by a charge of TNT, preventing potentially huge damage to ground installations.

Refinery officials blamed the stack's damage on high winds.

But independent inspectors believe faulty construction, including use of improper cement and structural steel, probably caused the damage.

The Moscow newspaper Izvestia noted that project engineers were forced by Communist party officials to hurry their work on the stack or be fired and lose their bonuses for failure to meet their deadlines.