Filenews 31 October 2022 - by Vassos Vassiliou
The distances between the piles of tyres and other bulky objects in the area of the Vassilikon cement works, where a fire broke out, were not appropriate and were not checked during the inspections, as shown by the answer of the Minister of Agriculture Kostas Kadis, to a question by the Member of Parliament for Larnaca, Andreas Apostolou. Regarding the company that manages the tyres, where the fire broke out, in addition to the financial penalty of € 20,000 imposed, the adoption of criminal or other administrative measures is also being considered.
The answer also states that an inspection after the fire found that there was also waste outside the designated areas. In addition, the Minister informs Mr. Apostolou that, in general, the waste was stored in large quantities, but without checking the terms of the permit, as far as the distances of the piles are concerned.
According to Mr. Kadis, the Department of Environment asked the company to immediately implement the following:
• Creation of an embankment along the road that abuts the storage area of entire waste tyres.
• Installation of surveillance cameras, which cover all areas and especially the areas located outside the fenced area.
• Movement of waste into piles with predicted dimensions and distances between them.
• Prompt for immediate promotion of heap management located outside the fenced areas. Already, the second shredder, which was not affected by the fire, is shredding bulky waste.
• Repair and restart the shredder as soon as possible.
The Minister informs the MP that the company has responded to the instructions of the Department of Environment and has taken the appropriate actions for full compliance.
