THE LOWER SILESIAN CHEMICAL PLANTS IN ZAROW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A039900420001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 2, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: February 4, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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INFORMATION REPORT I t,,.j FORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information effecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning df the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.O. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
SUBJECT The Lower Silesian Chemical Plants
in Zarow
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE AC
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. PAGES
REFERENCES
A .f.EB
ESsl% C06
1 pROC
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SOURCE EVALUATIONS ARE DEFINITIVE. APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
included a sulphuric acid department, a dry paints department, a lithopone
department, an accelerator department, a Thiokol depart nt, a nitro
compound department, and a mill for grinding materials'W;~~
former German "Silesia" chemical plant. The seven production department
organization, current and planned production, and equipment of the
"The Lower Silesian r
Chemical Plants in Zaro " includes information on the V W
STATE X ARMY X IsIAVY X IR X 01 AEC
(Nei. Washington distribution indicated by "W'; Field distribution by "#".)
El
El
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FORMATION REPORT
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DATE: 5 December 1957
p ue on epa n s:
a. Sulphuric Acid Department (Oddzial Kwasu Siarkowego)
This was an old pre-war installation which had been remodeled after
WW II. It had three ovens and the production method was a mixed
chamber process. It was planned to construct a fourth oven in 1957.
The department's production capacity was 18,000 tons yearly; about
12,000 tons had been produced in 1956, and about 15,000 tons were
planned for 1957. Imported pyrites and low-grade pyrites of Polish
production were used as raw materials. Sulphuric acid was produced
for the use of the chemical industry.
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Organization
1. The Lower Silesian Chemical Plants (Dolnoslaskie Zakiady Chemiczne) in
Zarow (N 50-57, E 16-30) was a former German chemical enterprise known
as "Silesia" which had been in existence for about 100 years. It was
located one-half kilometer from the Zarow railroad station and was
connected to it by a siding. Beginning on 1 January 1957 the Zarow
enterprise was placed under the Central Administration of Organic
Industry "Erg" because its production fell into the organic category.
Before this date, it had been controlled by the Central Administration
of Inorganic-Industry.
2. The director of the plants was Staczek (fnu) while the chief engineer
was Dipl. Engineer Piotrowski (fnu); both were poor administrators with
limited ex erience.
(there was a deputy director for administrative
and commercial matters, and a director for investments.
the plants employed about 1,200 workers working on three shifts daily.
Women were employed in the Dry Paints Department, the laboratory, and
3.
in the administration. There was a shortage of qualified executive and
technical personnel. Those who were employed were below standard level.
The workers came mainly from the town of Zarow and nearby villages; many
of them had worked in the Zarow plants for several years.
4. the Zarow plants had the following seven
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b. Dry Paints Department (Oddzial Farb Suchych)
This department was housed in an old building; a new building
was already completed in May 1957 but had not yet been taken
over for production. Barium sulphate of Polish production and
the plant-produced pigments were used as raw materials. The
production plan for 1957 was about,600 tons.
c. Lithopone Department (Oddzial Litoponu)
This department was housed in an old pre-war installation.
A new reduction oven was to be built in 1957-58. Barium sulphate
was used as a raw material in the production of lithopone imported
from Yugoslavia. The department's production plan for 1957 called
for a yearly production capacity of 220 tons.
d. Accelerator Department (Oddzial Przyspieszaczy)
The Accelerator Department produced accelerators on a semi-
technical scale for the rubber and tanning industries. One
section, l9oated in an old building,produced accelerators
Type "T", "M", and-"DM". In 1957 a new building was con-
structedand new equipment installed for the production of
accelerators Type "T", "1000" and "Cerlat". The old installa-
tion for the production. of accelerators Type "T" was to be
closed. The production capacity of the old section was about
200 tons yearly. The production of the new section was to be
60 tons during 1957 and was expected to be increased later to
300 tons.
e. Thiokol Department (Oddzial Tiokoli)
Source knew only that this department was housed in an'old
installation and produced an unknown quantity of sheet products.,
under different trade names, for the eleotro-technical and
rubber industries.
f. Nitro Compounds Department (Oddzial Nitrozwiazkow)
This department was located in three buildings,-,too of which were
used for production, and the third for processing of mixed ortho-
metaparanitrotoluene for the metallurgical industry. In 1958 this
department was to close down production, and the entire installation
was to be transferred to Chemical Plant #9 in Legnowo.
g. Mill for Grinding Minerals Department (Mielarnia Mineralow)
"TlT79-_m ll ground minerals, mainly barium sulphate, for the
Dry Paints Department; it operated on two shifts daily. The
mill was of Polish production.
Equipment and Machinery
5. Electric current was supplied from the national electric power net.
Allhough the enterprise had its own boiler house, additional boilers
had 'o be installed in the production buildings of the Nitro Compounds
Department because the existing boiler house was old and did not produce
sufficient steam. Plans were underway to construct a new boiler house.
Up to 1957 the enterprise obtained its water supply from an artificial
pond where rain water was collected. This water supply was insufficient,
and in 1997 a pipe line had been constructed to bring water from a nearby
river. ThO enterprise had no installations for purifying sewage.
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6. All the equipment and machinery in the enterprise were worn-out and
obsolete; they were mainly of German and Polish manufacture.
were partly mechanized.
Comment
working conditions at the Lower Silesian Chemical
Plants were considered among the worst of all the plants under "Erg"
and that the enterprise was kept in oneration only because its products,
espeoially o s were needed.
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The processes of loading, unloading, and handling of goods-
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