The Environmental Inspection ordered the director of the company "Grijanje Pljevlja", Vlado Tošić, to close the boiler room on Skerlićeva Street in Pljevlja, even though, according to him, the pollution measurement results have never been better.
Tošić points out that exceedances of pollutants have been significantly reduced compared to the previous year.
"Last year, particulate matter exceeded the limit 20 times, while this year only four exceedances were recorded. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) exceeded the permitted values more than seven times last year, and only twice this year. Arsenic exceeded the limit four times last year, and twice this year," Tošić told Vijesti.
He adds that in April this year, measurements showed that there were no exceedances on any day, while in October, there were, as he claims, only minor deviations.
During that period, says Tošić, the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant was not operating, which, as he points out, confirms that the boiler house is not the biggest air polluter in the city.
"Unlike last year, this year the measurements were taken over two days and the results have never been better. Now such a drastic decision is being made," said the director of "Grijanje".
Tošić warns that closing the boiler house would lead to huge consequences, both for the company and for citizens.
"Last year, similar decisions caused two to three thousand people to suffer serious problems. If the boilers were turned off, there is a real danger that the installations containing water would freeze and crack, which would cause irreparable damage to the company. Not to mention the loss to the company, because we would have to reduce the bills of customers due to the lack of service," he said.
According to unofficial information from Vijesti, workers employed in the boiler room will refuse to turn off the boilers precisely because of the risk of burst pipes and major material damage, but also because of the fact that thousands of citizens in the center of Pljevlja would be left without heating.
Without heating, in addition to residential buildings, key institutions would also remain – the Municipal and Municipal Assembly buildings, the Cultural Center, the Prosecutor's Office and the Basic Court in Pljevlja.
Tošić particularly criticized the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development and the relevant minister, Damjan Ćulafić, who, he claims, has never deigned to receive them for an interview, nor did he attend the meeting this summer where this issue was decided, emphasizing that local self-government, as well as judicial institutions, should be involved in solving the problem.
"It only takes one day for the pipes to burst and cause enormous damage. Someone must take concrete measures and consider the real consequences of this decision," said Tošić.
About ten days ago, the Center for Ecotoxicological Testing (CETI) conducted measurements of pollutants emitted from the chimneys of boiler houses on Skerlićeva Street.
The boiler house on Skerlićeva has been the subject of harsh criticism for years, and according to previous reports, it burns a large amount of coal every day, which has resulted in exceeding the permitted levels of pollutants emitted from the chimney, attached to one of the residential buildings.
Tošić says that for the first time, measurements were taken on a vertical chimney, while previously they were done on a horizontal chimney, practically at the very exit from the boilers.
"I expect good results, because the state and the municipality have invested several hundred thousand euros in the boiler room and distribution network in the previous period. We have installed multicyclones and flue gas fans, with the aim of achieving better combustion, which results in reduced emissions of harmful substances into the air. By installing flue gases, we no longer have problems with raising the temperature, and coal consumption has also been reduced. For most of the day, we work with two boilers instead of three. We used to consume 2,4 thousand tons of coal per year, and now we have reduced consumption to around 1,5 thousand tons," said Tošić.
The heating season in Pljevlja officially began in early October after the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development annulled the decision of the Environmental Protection Agency from July this year, which prohibited the operation of the city boiler house on Skerlićeva Street.
On December 26th of last year, the Environmental Inspection banned Grijanje from carrying out the activity of producing and delivering heat energy because the analyses conducted by CETI showed that the concentrations of powdery substances, carbon monoxide and arsenic were above tolerance limits.
"Grijanje" then addressed the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development with a proposal to postpone the execution of the environmental inspector's decision, and after their urgency, the environmental inspector extended the deadline for executing the decision until May 15, when the ban on the boiler room's operation came into effect again.
The tenants of the building on Skerlićeva Street are categorical that they do not want a boiler room in their building. At a meeting of the tenants' assembly in mid-July, they all signed a request for a permanent ban on its operation.
Pljevlja is suffocating in one of the worst waves of air pollution in history, after being exposed to alarmingly high concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the air in recent days, many times above the permitted values.
DON'T MISS IT
Bonus video:
