Filenews 28 August 2021 - byAngelos Nikolaou
The fire that broke out in the licensed waste management facility in the intrusive industrial area of Yeri of the company "Economides Metal Recycling Ltd", brings back the issue of the siting of nuisance and dangerous facilities in the immediate vicinity of a residential zone.
Following Thursday's fire, yesterday the agriculture minister called an emergency meeting of the state agencies involved in the issues related to the fire. At the meeting it was found that there is cluster in terms of the location of units in the area and it was decided to make an assessment to assess their risk.
During the meeting, decisions taken at the level of the Council of Ministers concerning the prohibition of the future installation of intrusive industrial units of specific categories in the area were reaffirmed.
Officials of the Department of Labour Inspection and the Department of Environment assured that the fire has not caused any problem to public health.
Speaking to "F", the director of the Department of Environment, Kostas Hadjipanagiotou, said that after the fire that broke out last year in the premises of the same company that did not have a license, a fine was imposed. Further, he said before the fire broke out, the Department of Environment found irregularities in the licensed unit in Geri and a report was sent to the Legal Service.
It is noted that the government decided to move a unit of the same company from Vassilikos after the decision to create an energy centre. Only recently it was decided to grant a building permit in Kalavasos, while it will receive compensation from the state for the move.
Mr. Chatzipanagiotou believes that if the expropriation and lease procedures had progressed within reasonable time limits, perhaps today neither last year nor the fire the day before yesterday would have broken out.
He explained that the licensed unit in Vassilikos is located right next to the new Hellenic Petroleum facilities. Next to fuel tanks is the existing unit in Geri.
Furthermore, following the events, the Department of Environment, decided to suspend the receipt of all waste streams in all facilities of this company nationwide. It is noted that the company has facilities in Kaimakli (pick-up point), but also modern units in Geri and Vassilikos. Therefore, those who had planned a shipment of waste to that plant should not do so and should apply to the other three licensed facilities.
