NATO will allocate 3.5m euros to Moldova for destroying pesticides

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will cover the largest part of the costs of cleaning up and destroying obsolete pesticides and hazardous chemicals existing in Moldova. The decision was made on February 10 and marked the launch of the third stage of the project “Clean-up Chemicals Moldova”, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a communique, the Ministry of Defense says 1,949 tonnes of pesticides will be destroyed during the third stage of the project during 2010 – 2011 at a cost of 4 million euros. NATO pledged to allocate 3.5 million euros, while the Government of Moldova will contribute the other 500,000 euros, through the agency of the Ministry of the Environment. During the first two stages implemented with NATO assistance, 3,245 tonnes of obsolete pesticides and other dangerous chemicals, which had posed a serious environmental hazard in Moldova, had been repacked and safely stored. About 1,300 tonnes of these were destroyed in France in 2007 - 2008. The National Army contributed substantially to the repacking of the pesticides and hazardous chemicals. More than 700 military men and about 40 military vehicles had been involved in the process