Production of iodised salt

Following a request from the Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian authorities, the European Commission established the Chernobyl Regional Programme as a part of the TACIS 1993 Nuclear Safety Programme. The programme was intended to assist those countries in dealing with the consequences of the Chernobyl accident.
The programme began with a rapid exercise to assess the needs of the three countries, identify actions already undertaken and define the key priorities for funding by the EC and other donors.
It was initially anticipated that first efforts would concentrate on actions to limit the consequences of soil contamination, but, subject to initial assessment, other actions dealing with the social and economic problems resulting from the Chernobyl accident could also be included. One of these actions was to provide for an improvement in the then inadequate supply of iodine to the population in the affected countries.
The intention of this measure was to build up the population’s resistance to any threats to health as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident. Promotion of the use of iodized table salt was directed at reducing the frequency of thyroid gland diseases due to iodine deficiency in food ingredients.
The overall objective was to improve the supply and consumption of iodised table salt in the populations of the affected regions in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. This required actions in two main directions:
1. a campaign aimed at overcoming the lack of information and education of the public and large consumers regarding the benefits of iodised table salt in order to encourage increased usage of the product.
2. Improvements to production, packaging, storage and distribution of iodised table salt throughout the regions concerned.
The responsibility for the first of the above actions was taken by the appropriate ministries of the affected countries, with the help of other donors (for example, UNICEF assisted by financing a series of daily television advertisements promoting the consumption of iodised salt).
The second action was the subject of the TACIS project. To this end a pilot project was programmed to improve the production capabilities, the product quality and the packaging of the table salt produced at the existing production location Mozyr Salt Plant. The Mozyr Salt Plant is situated some 300 km south of Minsk, between Minsk and Kiev.
The Terms of Reference for the project had been prepared under a previous contract (see 22782).

The aim of the present project was to perform the conceptual study and define in detail the pilot project to increase the consumption of iodised table salt by enhancing the capabilities of the Mozyr Salt Plant for the production, packaging, storage and distribution of the product.
The work to be performed included:
Determination of additional annual production capacity of iodised table salt based on available spare manufacturing capacity of normal table salt.
Determination of availability of quantity and quality (residual humidity) of salt and additives.
Identification/definition of current regulations, codes and standards (security, QA etc.).
Collecting relevant data about existing facilities, buildings, utilities, laboratories, working conditions, staff, logistics, transport etc. at Mozyr plant.
Development of a general concept for the production facilities to meet the above requirements and conditions in the form of:
process description with tie-in points
material flow diagram
layouts
equipment lists
number of shifts to operate the plant.

Determination of all essential data and description of quantities and qualities of equipment to be purchased through TACIS funds in the form of technical specifications describing functional and technical requirements.
Establish an itemised cost estimate for the whole project considering the TACIS-financed part and the part supplied by the Beneficiary.
Description of the work programme and drawing up a time schedule for all major phases of the project, starting with procurement and proceeding through supplies, installation, testing, commissioning up to handing over of the plant. The target was to perform the work in 15 months.
All results of the above activities were compiled in the technical specifications and in comprehensive reports or documents.

The contract was signed in June 1995 and was completed in October 1995.
The conclusions of the study were that the Mozyr plant had sufficient production capacity to meet the supply requirements but that improvements were required to achieve and maintain a sufficient and uniform high product quality. Measures were required to improve the accuracy of dosing and mixing of the iodine compounds. Additionally, the existing packaging was inadequate. The poor quality of the packaging was the main reason for product damage during transportation and storage and this allowed loss of iodine concentration. Consequently, new plant and equipment were required and Technical Specifications were prepared for the procurement of the following equipment:
Lot 1: Supply of an iodisation system for the production of iodised table salt
Lot 2: Supply of a continuously working packaging line for packing of the produced iodised table salt.
The equipment was purchased through competitively tendered supply contracts. For information on the following stages of the project, see contract 23916.