Agency on the fire in Podgorica: There was an emission of polluting substances, citizens should follow the recommendations of the Institute

The Montenegrin Environmental Protection Agency announced in connection with the fire at the landfill in Podgorica that there was an emission of pollutants into the air, which are the product of the combustion of coarse and plant material.

The institution said that citizens are advised to follow the recommendations of the Institute for Public Health in situations of air pollution.

On January 9, the institute published the text on its website "Reducing the consequences of air pollution" which also states "recommendations for actions during the duration of elevated air pollution".

Last night, a big fire broke out at the landfill in Podgorica, which the teams of the Protection and Rescue Service of the Capital City managed to put out with great efforts.

"Based on the data at our disposal, last night on October 5.10.2023, XNUMX, in the early evening hours, as a result of a fire that broke out at a temporary storage of coarse and plant material on Ćemovsko polje - landfill "Livade" in Podgorica, there was an emission of pollutants into the air, which are the products of the combustion of the mentioned material. The fire extinguishing operation lasted all night and now we do not have information whether the fire is completely localized," the announcement states.

The Agency added that the automatic analyzers for monitoring the concentration of PM10 and PM2,5 particles, which were installed at the measuring point in Block V, registered an increase in the concentration of these pollutants, with the highest values ​​in the period between 20 and 23 hours during the past night.

"Although there is no air quality monitoring equipment installed in the vicinity of the burnt site, there has clearly been a significant deterioration of air quality in the territory of the settlements that gravitate to this area. The retention of pollutants in the ground layers of the atmosphere is favored by the absence of wind, although our instruments currently (in Block V) registered a significantly lower level of pollution," the Agency's announcement reads.