The Technical Committee on the Environment has been “on high alert” since the day the fire broke out at the Koutsoventi landfill, and its co-chair, Michalis Loizidis, told CNA that he has been in contact with scientists who are experts on the subject and are monitoring the situation, but the options are very limited.
“We have a fire that is currently burning. Unfortunately, landfill fires aren’t just what you see burning on the surface. The good news is that this is a surface fire; it’s not deep within the landfill, but even so, it can’t be brought under control in a matter of hours. It will take a few days, perhaps even weeks, to contain it and reach a point where the smoke emissions will stop.”
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VIDEO: Warehouse in Larnaca’s industrial area engulfed in flames
Mr. Loizidis noted that this particular site has been funded as a sanitary landfill using EU funds, and the EU office that monitors funding to the Turkish Cypriots “could intervene and support structural improvements to ensure that such situations do not occur again.”
The EU could also state that protocols are not being followed and demand that the Turkish Cypriot side initiate a new phase of planning and remediation of the problem, in which the EU could also become involved, he added.
SEE ALSO: Occupied Territories: Fire at a landfill in Koutsoventi; efforts underway to extinguish it (PHOTO)
Michalis Loizidis proposed the development, on both sides, of an early warning system for residents so that in such cases they can monitor, through two – three instruments to monitor the concentration of specific toxic, hazardous gases, and when these exceed a threshold that could affect the general population, a warning should be issued for residents to stay indoors, “just as we do with dust.”
If the phenomenon is severe, he continued, then areas should be evacuated, considering that, in the case of this particular fire, this might have been necessary on the first day of the fire (Sunday) for areas very close by, within 2–3 km of the landfill.
These simple measures, which we could take on our own, would be quite important for people, he said, noting that many people “are calling left and left, trying to figure out what they can do to protect their families.” Here, he noted, the issue of cooperation with the Civil Defense of the Republic of Cyprus comes into play, saying that this presents a “brilliant opportunity to create better systems for informing the public.” Since we have the early warning system, he continued, there is no reason not to link it to such situations as well.
Mr. Loizidis said that news reports mention a fire covering an area of 20–25 stremmata, noting that it might take weeks to contain it because no one knows how deep the thermal damage extends or what conditions are needed to extinguish it, given the extent of the damage to the. They will try, he said, using bulldozers and other equipment to extinguish the fire as far as they can for safety reasons, until the area is limited to a few square meters rather than kilometers, so that it can be said the fire will be out in a day or two.
He also pointed out that similar fires in Kotsiatis had lasted for weeks.
When asked what he himself would do to protect himself in such a situation, Mr. Loizidis said that in the event of a strong odor, he would prefer to stay indoors with his family. He also mentioned that he has an air purifier with activated carbon, which he uses to filter out both particulate matter and volatile organic compounds in the air. The stronger the odor, he said, the more we stay indoors or go for long walks. He noted, however, that an easterly or northeasterly wind in Cyprus that carries air toward the free areas is rare, but it did occur yesterday and the day before for a few hours.
