2024-08-02 21:59:39
- The fire is currently smoldering and the smoke will continue at least week, said the mayor of the village Ivaylo Danailov
- I was waiting for information from RZI to trigger the BG-ALERT system, but it was not necessary, he explained the regional governor Prof. Hristina Yancheva
A pungent suffocating smell wafted through Plovdiv in the early hours of Friday. The city was gassed as a result of the fire at the landfill near the nearby village of Tsalapitsa, which broke out on Thursday afternoon.
“There is an increase in fine dust particles in the air of Plovdiv and Stamboliyski”, first said the regional governor Hristina Yancheva, referring to the measurements of RIOSV.
The data from the mobile stations showed that the concentration of fine dust particles was 7 times above the norm. At 8 o’clock in the morning, 348 mg/cubic meter was measured in the Trakia region. m with a norm of 50. Recommendations were made to the residents of the city to close the windows, and pregnant women, heart patients and small children should not go outside, the rest should wear masks.
The situation also excited the deputies in the parliament. Acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev was there at the hearing, whom they signaled about the problem.
“Two stations are located by RIOSV – there is no exceeding of the norms. There are inflated values. Yesterday evening there was one station near Stamboliyski due to the direction of the wind, but after it changed, a second one was also installed. I will check and they will bear the consequences those who put us in this situation,” explained Glavchev.
The smell is unbearable, say residents
of the “Northern”, “West” and “Central” regions of Plovdiv. Mothers declared that they would not let their children go outside. Entire families left the city until the situation improved and went to their villas. However, Plovdiv was not deserted and many did not take into account the recommendations of the health authorities.
“On Friday morning, I contacted RZI to activate the BG-ALERT warning system, but it was not necessary because only the dust particles were elevated,” added the regional governor of Plovdiv. The Food Agency recommends washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly before use.
After the meeting of the crisis headquarters, RIOSV reported that the peak of pollution was reached around 10 a.m. on Friday, after which it began to decrease. At 1:00 p.m., the concentration at the “Kamenitsa” measuring station was 34 mg/cubic. m, and in the Trakia region – 22.
“Completely neglected facility, no maintenance and control. The operator has an old bulldozer, which broke down in the first minutes. With it, they try to trample the waste to reduce the height of the landfill and pile more on top of it.
The conditions of the landfill, which is managed by the municipality of Plovdiv, are bad. The road to it is broken, the firemen barely got there. At the moment it is smoldering and this smoke, which is floating over Plovdiv, will last at least a week, because the fire penetrated deep and is difficult to put out”, the mayor of Tsalapitsa Ivaylo Danailov told “24 Chasa”.
The operator of the depot for more than 20 years is “Vodstroy” – a company of Atanas Slavov, former deputy mayor of Plovdiv from the time of Ivan Chomakov.
The municipalities of Plovdiv, “Rodopi”, “Maritsa” and Stamboliyski use the landfill
and pay BGN 7.51 per ton of waste without VAT. A reference shows that annually about 72 thousand tons are deposited in Tsalapitsa, of which 45 thousand are from Plovdiv. It is the duty of the operator to monitor the organization of the landfill, to carry out constant monitoring, to ensure access to the fire hydrants.
The capacity of the landfill in Plovdiv is full and actions are periodically taken before the Ministry of Education and Culture to extend its life. According to ecologists, the acceptance of about 300,000 tons of garbage bales from Sofia years ago turned out to be fatal.
Then Plovdiv received money from the state and used it to repair streets, but the life of the landfill was cut short. The debris rises to a height of 13 meters. Some time ago, the city administration made a request to the eco-ministry to increase it to 30 meters.
The deputy mayor for ecology of Plovdiv Ivan Stoyanov, who has been at the landfill since Thursday, announced that reports of a suffocating smell also came from Krumovo on Friday morning.
“If gaps are found in the rules for managing the site, there will be sanctions,” said the deputy mayor.
The District Prosecutor’s Office in Plovdiv has initiated pre-trial proceedings to establish the causes of air pollution in Plovdiv, as well as the causes of the fire. The supervising prosecutor has given instructions on the spot to carry out joint inspections with the supervising institutions.