The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that, as part of the project "Development of Options for Remediation of Mercury Contaminated Areas in the Area Affected by the Former Brskovo Mine", a comprehensive assessment of the current environmental condition in the area, including the presence of mercury in air, water and soil, will be conducted in order to reliably assess the risks to public health and ecosystems.
The first meeting of the Steering Committee of this project was held yesterday in Podgorica, and the project is being implemented with the support of the specific international program of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which is implemented by the EPA.
The meeting was held with the participation of representatives of institutions and organizations involved in the implementation of the project, and was chaired by the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Milan Gazdić.
The project coordinator Gordana Đukanović presented the project's goals, planned activities and expected results to the members of the Steering Board.
The project is aimed, as the Agency points out, at solving one of the "most significant problems of historical pollution" in Montenegro, with a special focus on protecting human health and improving the quality of the environment. The aim of the project, they add, is to provide clear, professional and scientifically based results that will primarily contribute to the protection of human health and improving the quality of the environment.
"The special importance of the project is reflected in the preparation of a report on the exposure of the population living in the territory of the Mojkovac municipality, through human biomonitoring, which will enable obtaining relevant data on the level of exposure and possible health consequences. These findings will represent the basis for defining and implementing targeted public health protection measures, with a special focus on sensitive categories of the population," the statement reads.
They said that, based on the results of the analyses, an expert study will be prepared that will include an assessment and comparison of various options for the remediation and reclamation of contaminated sites.
"The study will define the most technically, environmentally and health-friendly solutions, with the aim of long-term reduction of risks to human health and permanent improvement of the environmental situation. As one of the key results of the project, a conceptual design concept for remediation will be developed, which will represent the basis and starting document for the development of the future main remediation project for this area. In addition, the project will contribute to the improvement of the legislative and institutional framework in the field of human health and environmental protection at sites with historical pollution, especially in the area of soil monitoring and management of contaminated sites," adds the EPA.
They state that human health is the central focus of all project activities, and that the expected results represent an important step towards reducing the population's exposure to dangerous concentrations of mercury, creating a safer living environment, and ensuring long-term conditions for the sustainable development of the local community.
Bonus video:
