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Botnia willing to contribute in improving the Rio Uruguay river water

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In conjunction with the pulp mill project in Fray Bentos, Botnia announces
today its readiness to work with relevant authorities and companies in Uruguay
to enable treatment of the domestic sewage from the city of Fray Bentos in the
mill's effluent treatment plant. According to the expert report (Hatfield)
commissioned by IFC, the World Bank's private sector financing arm, this would
mean reductions in biological oxygen demand (BOD) and coliform discharge, thus
actually improving the quality of the river water from its current status. 

Botnia's pulp mill project In Fray Bentos has significant positive
socioeconomic impacts in the area. As the Uruguayan government has supported
the forestry sector in the country for many years, the pulp mill is a natural
step forward, changing the mere exports of wood raw material up the value
chain, thus developing new industry in the country and offering possibilities
to the entire region. 

In addition to these larger scale benefits, Botnia is willing to utilize its
know-how in improving the quality of the water in the Rio Uruguay, contributing
to the well-being of the inhabitants in the area: “We can use the same effluent
treatment facility at the plant to treat the domestic sewage of Fray Bentos”,
tells Kaisu Annala, Vice President, Environment. “This is a benefit that will
improve the quality of the water in Rio Uruguay.” 

In addition, Botnia has another proposal under consideration, regarding the
pulp and paper mill of the company Pamer in the nearby town of Mercedes. This
mill is of elder generation and has no recovery system for its black liquor
generated in the pulping process. Botnia offers to burn the black liquor from
Pamer in its pulp mill's recovery boiler. According to the Hatfield report,
this will reduce the BOD (biological oxygen demand) load to Rio Uruguay by
approximately 8,000 kg/day, as well as reduce the COD (chemical oxygen demand)
load and other pollutants. 

The preparations for these measures are on-going with the relevant Uruguayan
authorities and companies, and Botnia is ready to implement these measures
after the mill start-up in the third quarter of 2007. 

For more information, please contact: Kaisu Annala, Vice President,
Environment, Tel. +358 50 3836109 





                                            

                

            

        

    

    



    

        
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