Armenia’s Minister of Emergency Situations Davit Tonoyan today sat down with representatives of Veolia Water (Djur) to discuss whether the company can assist in professionally assessing the situation at the Nairit chemical plant where a fire last month sent huge plums of black smoke over Yerevan.

Veolia Water General Director Christian Lefaix told Tonoyan that Veolia Group, Veolia Water’s parent company, has divisions with the professional expertise to assess the situation and offer advice as to how best reprocess, contain and neutralize manufacturing toxic waste stored at the plant.

An agreement was reached whereby data on Nairit will be handed over to various Veolia Group subsidiaries and, if need be, to invite company experts to Armenia.

After winning an international tender in 2005, Veolia was chosen to supply all the water and wastewater services in Armenia.

It should be noted that Veolia, the largest water privatization business in the world, has come under attack by water rights activists who claim that many of its contracts reveal consistent prioritization of private profit at the expense of the environment and public interest.