In the past four years, the environmental inspection has established several irregularities in AD Luka Bar, which resulted in a criminal report against that company in February this year, and in the Port of Adria company, only one inspection was carried out in the last year.
This was told to “Vijesta” by the Ecological Inspection at the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North.
As they stated, for the last year the Environmental Inspection performed one inspection at the PoA company, and four inspections at the Luka Bar company.
As they state, supervisions were carried out over the application of several laws in the field of environmental protection.
“At the Port of Adria legal entity, the control of waste management and the implementation of measures from the Elaborate on environmental impact assessment for the reconstruction projects of the existing Pier I and Pier I – North Coast was carried out,” they stated.
In the Port of Bar, control of waste management, control of the implementation of measures from the study on environmental impact assessment for the project of reconstruction of the operational coast of Volujica and control of transshipment of copper concentrate ore was carried out.
In order to assess the impact of transshipment of copper concentrate on the environment, the company Luka Bar was requested to monitor air quality, satisfying the evenly distributed time coverage of measurements during the calendar year.
“Measurements were made through CETI. The report for the year 2023 showed that eleven daily average values of suspended particles PM10 were above the prescribed limit value at the measuring point near the settlement of Stara ambulanta. Also, the content of arsenic in PM10 was above the prescribed limit, target value at the annual level”, said the inspection.
While undertaking further activities, the Environmental Inspection submitted to the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Bar all available documentation related to the transshipment of copper concentrate in the Port of Bar. On February 5 of this year, the Environmental Inspection filed a criminal complaint against that majority state-owned company.
In this regard, “Vijesti” sent questions to the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Bar and the company Luka Bar.
“At the request of the Environmental Inspection, the legal entity Luka Bar changed the ore transport model in 2024, and the unloading of ore in the open was excluded,” the inspection pointed out.
As they said, the Environmental Inspection acted on the reports of residents of the Stara Ambulanta settlement during 2023 and there was no initiative from the Environmental Protection Agency.
“During 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, the legal entities of the Port of Bar and Port of Adria informed the Environmental Protection Agency and the Municipality of Bar about all ambient air quality measurements, which is their obligation according to Article 59 of the Law on the Environment”. they concluded.
The Municipality of Bar previously told “Vijesta” that the Port of Bar did not provide them with those reports, after which the executive director of that company issued a denial. Ilija Pješčićwho said that they had submitted those documents, for which he also attached evidence. The bar administration replied that they sent it to an e-mail address that is no longer functional, and that’s why it didn’t reach them, and Pješčić then said that the e-mail was available on the website, and that it was used until recently.
The Occupational Safety and Health Inspection has temporarily prohibited the Port of Adria company from working in two warehouses in the free zone area of the port of Bar with employees who work in a place with increased risk, and the conditions for working in such a place have not been met, “Vijesti” has learned.
As they said from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, their department for occupational health and safety inspections carried out an inspection on October 15 of this year according to the submitted initiative for carrying out supervision, all in relation to the increase in the concentration of lead and zinc among employees in to the bar company AD Port of Adria.
As stated by that government department, the acting inspector issued a decision on a temporary ban on work temporarily banning the work of the PoA company in warehouse number five and warehouse number twenty, with employees working at a workplace with increased risk, due to the presence of lead and zinc they do not meet the prescribed conditions for working in that workplace.
“The temporary work ban lasts until the irregularities are eliminated,” they said.
“Employees submitted an initiative for an inspection, and the management addressed the health institutions regarding the matter in question, and they submitted the initiative to the Ministry of Health and the Occupational Health and Safety Inspectorate,” they told “Vijesti”.
In the last couple of years, as they stated, two inspections were carried out in the Port of Adriatic by the occupational health and safety inspector, and in those inspections, among other things, an examination of the working environment conditions and amendments to the act on risk assessment were ordered.
“The result of these inspections was the procurement and issuing for use of special protective equipment for the risk of exposure to lead and zinc, as well as the examination of the presence of these substances in the blood of employees, as soon as the conditions were met,” they said.
When asked if there is a legal regulation or regulation that obliges the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection to carry out supervision in companies where workers work in jobs that are in danger zone one, as is the case with port and transport workers, they answered that that the inspection carries out its regular inspections in accordance with the annual work plan or in accordance with the initiatives.
Prosecutor’s Office: Just submitted the files, citizens filed the report
The Basic State Prosecutor’s Office (ODT) in Bar said that the Environmental Inspection did not file a report, but rather submitted files with a letter, and that letter was attached to the report on an unknown perpetrator formed following a report by a group of citizens. As “Vijesti” wrote earlier, that report was submitted by the residents of the settlement Stara Ambulanta.
“In the aforementioned case, requests were sent for the collection of the necessary notifications, then a statement was delivered from the director of AD Luka Bar Ilija Pješčić, notifications from the applicant were delivered,” said the ODT.
They added that a request was sent to collect the necessary notifications to the Police Directorate, in order to obtain from the Center for Ecotoxicological Testing a Report on the measurement and control of air quality in AD Luka Bar for the previous three years, and if measurements were made, how much they were during the measurement and analysis of quality air parameters were increased, and whether they undertook certain measures and actions on this occasion.
The Port of Bar did not answer the questions of “Vijesti” about the application, and according to unofficial information, the decision of the company’s management is not to make statements to the media at this time.
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Source: www.vijesti.me
