The airport is planning a new runway, less than 1km from Ticona's key European site at Kelsterbach

The airport is planning a new runway, less than 1km from Ticona's key European site at Kelsterbach

The EC has warned Germany to comply with safety legislation during planning of a new runway at Frankfurt airport that runs less than 1km from Ticona’s Kelsterbach site.

The commission said the Hessian regional planning authority has not respected rules aimed at avoiding major industrial accidents. “The risk that planes destined for the north-west runway might crash into Ticona was not appropriately taken into account.”

The planning authority has chosen the north-west runway over two other alternatives to the north-east and south of the airport. The planning proposals are due to be finalised in 2005. Kelsterbach is Ticona’s key European facility, producing polyacetal for technical polymers. The plant, 3.5km from the airport, has been present on the site since 1964. It now employs 1,000 staff.

A spokesman for Ticona parent company Celanese described Kelsterbach as “the brain and heart of Ticona”. He said a compulsory purchase of the site was unlikely, but the situation may have to be resolved in the courts. “From our legal perspective we don’t see the possibility to force us to move site.” Both the airport and the chemical plant are covered by the Seveso II directive, an accident-prevention policy that covers storage of dangerous chemicals and the siting of such activities.