A local state of emergency will be declared due to a fire that broke out at the Energesman waste management plant in Vilnius on Sunday, the mayor of the capital announced. Valdas Benkunskas.
"The city will soon declare a local state of emergency in this area and a separate legal regime will be activated," he told reporters in Gariūnai, where the incident occurred, on Sunday. fire, said V. Benkunskas.
According to him, the city municipality is currently seeking to reduce the damage caused to nature by the fire.
"All firefighting water is already being managed as it should be - it is being collected and will be transported separately both in tankers and to the reservoirs of the nearby power plant. The damage to nature is now minimized," said V. Benkunskas.
The mayor said that due to the wind direction, the smoke from the fire in Gariūnai spread not to the center of Vilnius, but in the opposite direction.
"This also helped us avoid local evacuations, there was such a threat, but we managed to avoid it," V. Benkunskas mentioned.
The head of Vilnius city municipality claimed that the Energesman plant is one of the most important parts of the entire capital's waste management system - the waste brought here is sorted and incinerated at a nearby power plant - so, according to V. Bekunskas, the issue of "waste for the entire region" must now be addressed.
"Apparently, all the questions will be raised tomorrow, we will have a lot to do tomorrow, but the main message is that the waste collection service in Vilnius is already ensured and will not be disrupted in any way. Our question will be how to manage the collected waste, in what way," said V. Benkunskas.
Various settlements are located in the area of potential contamination.
Laima Grižaitė, Head of the Public Relations Division of the Environmental Protection Department, said that environmentalists who arrived at the scene conducted air pollution dispersion simulations. According to her, various settlements are in a potential pollution zone due to smoke released into the air during the fire.
"Downwind districts, such as Žemije Paneriai, Vaidotai, Baltoji Vokė and Pagiriai, are in that plume. The pollutants have risen quite high, but gusts of air and wind can carry them lower to the ground, so the recommendations (how to avoid smoke - ELTA) for residents still remain," explained L. Grižaitė.
Specialists of the National Public Health Center (NVSC) point out that the air pollution map published on the agency's website already shows that on Sunday, an increased concentration of particulate matter KD10 in the air was recorded at the Vilnius (Žirmūnai) air pollution measuring station.
NVSC specialists remind that if you are outside and see dark smoke, smell a specific odor, move to the upwind side. Residents living closer to the fire are advised not to go outside, and if you stay at home, do not open air vents, windows and doors. If the house has mechanical ventilation systems, recuperation or air conditioning, we recommend turning off the systems.
Those who have wells are advised to cover them and not use their water for food. Also, do not leave animals outside, and if you feel unwell, seek medical attention immediately. When driving past the fire, it is also recommended to keep car windows tightly closed.
It is also recalled that pollutants may cause eye, nose and throat irritation, shortness of breath, cough, decreased lung function (especially in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), increased susceptibility of the respiratory tract to respiratory infections (especially in children), and exacerbated allergic inflammatory reactions in the respiratory tract.
ELTA reminds that on Sunday, at around 7:52 a.m., a fire was reported at a waste management plant located on Jočionyų Street in Gariūnai, the capital. When firefighters arrived, garbage at the Energesman plant was burning in an open flame.
Gytis Pankūnas (ELTA)
