Sand, gravel, peat or other similar cargoes are loaded. 30 meters from Naujojis Uosto street towards the port gate, there is a fog from dust – the question is whether it can be, it must be”, states the letter of the reader sent to “Vakaru ekspres”.
These days, photos were also published on the Facebook social network, showing loose, light-colored material being loaded in the port area near the central part of Klaipėda – under the photo, discussions about its origin and the impact of the work on health were brewing.
However, residents did not apply to the National Public Health Center (NVSC) for this, the institution confirmed to “Vakāru Express”.
“We have not received any complaints from the residents regarding the works taking place in the port and the possible increase in dustiness as a result. Upon receipt of such complaints, we would forward them to the Department of Environmental Protection in accordance with their competence, so that they can assess whether the activities are carried out without violating environmental requirements,” the NVSCS comment states.
According to him, air pollution in the city is determined by more than one factor: “Increased environmental air pollution with solid particles is usually caused by more than one cause: motor transport, industry, fires, drought, pressure, wind direction.” (…) Most of the time, there is no single activity or single pollutant that significantly worsens the ambient air in the city.”
The NVSC released a report last week citing particulate air pollution from dust raised from dry and dirty streets, roadsides, and ongoing construction work.
The representative of the Department of Environmental Protection (AAD) says that due to increased pollution in Lithuania, an inter-institutional meeting initiated by the Ministry of Environment was held on Tuesday, during which it was decided to call on municipalities to try to reduce pollution by asking businesses to stop the work that pollutes the air the most.
“It was precisely because of this pollution – what can be done, somehow ask companies to postpone certain works. We intend to send letters to the municipalities so that they pass on that information to the companies that operate in those municipalities. (…)
Maybe companies can suspend their activities. It’s both construction and street repairs, loading at the port, which is typical in Klaipėda,” said Laima Grižaitė, head of AAD’s public relations department.
According to her, the letters should have been sent to the municipalities on Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday morning, the air pollution map published on the website of the Environmental Protection Agency (AAA) showed that two air pollution measuring stations in Klaipėda recorded high levels of particulate matter pollution.
On Tuesday morning, the pollution index in the city center during 24 hours reached 88.26, and on the Šilutė highway at Baltijos Prospect – 65.4. Air quality is considered good and not hazardous to health when the index value is very low or low and this indicator ranges from 0 to 15, according to the AAA map.
At that time, the pollution recorded in Klaipėda is the second most dangerous on the scale of harmful effects on health: this level means that only completely healthy people can engage in active activities in the open air, in order to avoid even greater air pollution, it is recommended not to drive your car, it is advised to use public transport.
High pollution in Lithuania was recorded on Tuesday in a total of seven measuring stations, according to their publicly published data, this indicator was the highest in the center of Klaipėda.
According to L. Grižaitė, pollution with solid particles will not decrease in the near future, this is caused not only by various activities, but also by fires in Belarus and Ukraine.
“Pollution, according to forecasts, will not go away very soon, there is that dust, as well as international transfers from fires in Belarus and Ukraine,” said the representative of AAD.
NVSC says that the increase in the concentration of larger particles currently observed in the air generally affects the human upper respiratory tract, travels to the bronchial tubes, and causes coughing and sneezing.
2024-09-11 17:02:32