Fear over chemical store dangers

Medway Police Station is close to the proposed storage site

Residents near a Kent port are concerned about plans to store 2,500 tonnes of a farm fertiliser which can also be used in bombs.

Arcelor Mittal Kent Wire has asked Medway Council for permission to store ammonium nitrate at Chatham docks.

The site is near homes, a shopping centre and the police headquarters.

An official hazardous substance consent application was registered in April and a notice was published in a local newspaper on 15 February.

Technical application

The company has refused to comment on the application.

A spokesperson for Medway Council said it was a technical application subject to legislation specifically dealing with hazardous substances and expert advice would be sought before a decision was made.

Several residents have submitted their objections to the council and complained that they have not been properly informed about the plans.

Denise Fuller, who works nearby at Lilliput Nursery, said they were worried the storage unit could explode.

She said: "I don't think it's a very good place to store it. They've gone away from storing nuclear waste from the submarines and cleared all that up and this is just going backwards."

Steel producer

Some residents fear a disaster such as the one in Toulouse, France, in 2001 could happen in Medway.

A chemical factory storing 200 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded, killing 29 people, injuring 700, and leaving a crater 50m (164 ft) wide.

Cllr Maureen Ruparel, a Liberal Democrat member, said: "My guess is that it would take out a large chunk of lower Gillingham plus some of St Mary's Island."

Paul Clark, MP for Gillingham and Rainham, said the council should have done more to highlight the issue.

Arecelor Mittal Kent Wire is part of Mittal Steel, the world's largest steel producer.