The president of the Ecological Society "Breznica" from Breznica, Milorad Mitrović, has filed criminal charges against several institutions and responsible persons due to, as he alleges, continuous and serious air pollution in Pljevlja, which poses a direct threat to the health of citizens.
Criminal charges have been filed against those responsible at the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Institute of Public Health, the Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology, the Center for Ecotoxicological Research, the Pljevlja Municipal Emergency Team, the Pljevlja Coal Mine, the Directorate for Inspection Affairs in Podgorica, the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North, as well as the Ministry of Economic Development.
As stated in the report, the responsible persons are charged with several criminal offenses under the Criminal Code of Montenegro, including abuse of official position (Article 415), environmental pollution (Article 303), failure to take environmental protection measures (Article 304), environmental damage (Article 307), and causing general danger (Article 327).
Mitrović states in his report that during the night between December 13 and 14, 2025, the permitted concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) were exceeded for several hours and extremely. According to him, the pollution lasted for a full eight hours — from 19 p.m., when 373,8 micrograms per cubic meter was measured, until 2 a.m., with particularly alarming values of 760 micrograms at 21 p.m. and as much as 805 micrograms per cubic meter at midnight.
Further measurements showed that at 1 o'clock the concentration was 695,2 micrograms, and at 2 o'clock 365,6 micrograms per cubic meter, while only at 3 o'clock did the pollution return below the maximum permitted concentration, to 240,9 micrograms per cubic meter.
In addition, Mitrović recalls that earlier on the same day, December 13, an excess of SO₂ concentrations was recorded for more than three hours, which, as he states, represented a clear basis for the urgent activation of measures from the Short-Term Action Plan for the Municipality of Pljevlja, which, according to his claims, did not happen.
The criminal complaint also mentions a new case from December 22, 2025, when sulfur dioxide concentrations were again exceeded. On that day, at 18 p.m., values of 437,3 micrograms per cubic meter were measured, at 19 p.m. 705,6 micrograms, while at 20 p.m. 407,2 micrograms per cubic meter were recorded. After that, the measurement was interrupted and data from the measuring station were not available.
Mitrović expresses suspicion that the interruption of measurements was carried out by the Center for Ecotoxicological Research, which is responsible for monitoring air quality at the aforementioned measuring station.
"In just these three cases, when the exceedances were enormous and when there was a real danger to the health and lives of the population, none of the authorities took any measures envisaged in the short-term action plan," Mitrović said, adding that he therefore believes that all of the aforementioned institutions and responsible persons are complicit in, as he says, the poisoning of the citizens of Pljevlja.
He demands an immediate response from the authorities, a full investigation into the allegations in the criminal complaint, and determination of responsibility for years of air pollution in the city.
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