KIEV, Aug. 26 – Pavlohrad Chemical Plant in Dnipropetrovsk region has put into operation a heat treatment oven for the disposal of PFM-1 antipersonnel mines under the UN Ottawa Convention.

Aaccording to the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU), a demonstration of the disposal of antipersonnel mines using new equipment modernized using humanitarian aid funds from Norway was held at the plant on Friday, with participation of the SSAU, representatives of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, the Norwegian Embassy in Ukraine, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, and NATO's Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA).
The installation of the new equipment at Pavlohrad Chemical Plant will allow the disposal of 1.1 million PFM-1 mines per year. The program is to last until 2014.