An operation to decontaminate Salisbury of the deadly nerve agent Novichok is set to wrap up “within days” as the decontamination of Sergei Skripal’s home reaches its final stages, Wiltshire council has told HuffPost UK.
It comes a year after the Cathedral city was rocked by the nerve agent attacks on Skripal, a Russian former double agent, and his daughter Yulia.
In an incident soon after, a woman died in nearby Amesbury after she came into contact with the toxic substance, after her partner found what looked like a perfume bottle in the street.
Both Skripals survived the attack, which Theresa May said had “almost certainly” been approved by the Russian state.
Now, as Salisbury hopes to move on, the last visible remnants of the police cordons are due to be taken down as the Skripal home, which is the last site to be cleaned up, will soon be declared safe.
Alistair Cunningham, a corporate director at the local council, confirmed to HuffPost UK: “We’re in the final stages of the clean-up of the Skripals’ house.
“The scaffolding, if we reroof, will be up for another month or so, so the scaffold won’t go when the clean-up finishes, it will stay protecting the property whilst we do the work on refurbishment.”
He said that decontamination work was nearly finished, adding: “We’re just looking at when we can declare that site back.
“Nearly there, very nearly there. Within days, we’re looking at.”
The completion has to go through a legal process before it can be declared final.
The Skripal home, located on Christie Miller Road, has been encased in scaffolding and white sheeting for months.
Other sites affected by the attack, including Zizzi’s restaurant in the city centre, have been cleared and are in use, except for the Mill Pub, which is currently undergoing refurbishment.
Two Russian military agents, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, have been accused of poisoning the Skripals on March 4 last year after the deadly nerve agent was smeared on their front door.
The discarded substance was discovered in a Nina Ricci perfume bottle by unsuspecting Amesbury resident Charlie Rowley, who gave it to his partner Dawn Sturgess.
Rowley became critically ill and Sturgess died in July after coming into contact with the Novichok.
The flat that Rowley stayed in was declared safe in January after it was cleaned by experts.
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who attended the scene when the Skripals fell ill, also needed hospital treatment and previously said he was “petrified” by the experience.