The smelter of China’s Zijin halted operations today due to excessive air pollution as the city of Bor, which normally has poor air quality, was covered by smoke from a waste landfill fire.
Smoke covered the city of Bor today, making it difficult to breathe, Ist Media reported. The local measuring station run by the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) showed air was very polluted in the center in the morning. In two nearby units it was in the ‘polluted’ category, the article adds.
The news outlet learned smoke came from a large fire at the landfill located near the village of Oštrelj to the east of Bor and that some gas is from Zijin’s smelter.
The report reveals the China-based company halted copper production due to excessive air pollution.
As for the landfill, there are indications of arson. Firefighters were backfilling the area around the fire to prevent it from spreading and the police are investigating the incident.
Bor, a mining hub, is one of the most polluted places in Serbia. Air in the city in the country’s east had extreme sulfur dioxide levels on 13 occasions last year even though the official limit was moved significantly higher, SEPA said in a new report.
Among other parameters, the inhabitants suffered from heavy metal content in particulate matter PM10. Namely, arsenic, cadmium and nickel surpassed the allowed values.
