Emergencies Ministry: Sludge fields outside of Kyiv burning for the third day
Emergencies Ministry: Sludge fields outside of Kyiv burning for the third day
8 October 2009
published by www.kyivpost.com
Ukraine — Kyiv sewer plants sludge fields located 15 kilometers outside the city on the left bank, have been on fire for three days, the Emergencies Minstry said on Oct.8. The ministry officials had no estimates of how large the burning area is, but said the Bortnichi sewer plant owns and uses 15,000 square meters of fields for the aeration purposes.
Oleksiy Vasiulyk, an ecologist, told Segodnya daily on Oct. 7 that dioxin and hundreds of other harmful chemicals are released into the air as a result of the burning. Some of them are carcinogenic. He advised residents of the left bank to stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed to avoid breathing too much contaminated air.
The Emergencies Ministry website, however, reported that no increase of poisonous substances has been detected by their air probes.
The Emergencies Ministry said they did not know how long it would take them to put out the fire. The peat that is formed as a result of the aeration process is a slow-burning fuel, and produces no flames, which makes it difficult to detect the source of fire.
