The smoke that drowned Galatiul was not harmful to people (VIDEO)

Dozens of tons of waste spread over at least four hectares burned for more than 24 hours on the edge of Galatiu

The fight against the flames, hindered by the wind which scattered the clouds of smoke over great distances, was a difficult one. Not as worrying were the conclusions of those from the Environment, who claim that the measurements showed “normal parameters”, i.e. values ​​that did not exceed the pollution norms.

The fire reported at the Tirighina landfill on Tuesday, May 7, a little after noon, could not be extinguished in just a few hours, as usually happens in such situations. The wind that blew quite hard and that changed its direction from one hour to the next made it much more difficult for the firefighters, who had to quickly supplement the fighting forces. During the afternoon, the special vehicles from ISU Galati were joined by those from the Pechea and Ivești Intervention Guards, as well as cars from the Ecosal, Gospodărire Urbană and Apa Canal civil society. The spread of thick smoke over long distances, in the neighboring towns, could not be stopped, the authorities also issued a message through the RO-alert system on Tuesday afternoon, through which the population was warned to avoid travel and to close the windows. However, during Tuesday evening, the fire continued to spread over an even larger area of ​​more than two hectares, an area that, by Wednesday morning, had doubled. The firefighters announced that the intervention shifts had changed at the scene and that the mission was continuing despite the fact that 20 hours had already passed. All this time, in the city and in the neighboring towns, the air was difficult to breathe, and the most affected declared those with heart and respiratory problems.

Normal values, reported by the Environment

Shortly after the fire broke out, the administration of the city of Galati announced that it had mobilized the available forces to speed up the liquidation of the fire and that if it is established that it was caused intentionally, those guilty will pay. Future measures were also announced by the Environmental Guard, which will be able to exercise its powers from the moment a series of culprits and, possibly, those responsible are identified.

“We have mobilized the necessary resources to manage this situation. After the verifications carried out in the field by my colleagues are completed, the legal measures imposed on those responsible will be taken, in order to prevent such situations in the future. We strive to manage the situation promptly in order to minimize the negative effects on public health and the environment”, said Ionuț Bejan, chief commissioner of the Galaţi Environmental Guard, during Thursday, May 8.

The only definite conclusions, but in great disproportion with the discomfort caused to the population, came from the Environment Agency, which reported “normal” values, i.e. parameters recorded that did not exceed the maximum limits from which the question of any danger can be raised. In this sense, we reproduce the response of the air quality institution opposite recorded in Galati during the almost 24 hours of fire at the landfill.

“In the automatic industrial air quality monitoring station, GL4, located in Galati, Dunărea Boulevard no. 8, there were no exceedances of the limit values ​​for the protection of human health, namely 350 micrograms/m3, for the SO2 (sulfur dioxide) indicator, a specific indicator for combustion processes, between May 7, 2024, 2 p.m. – May 8, 2024 11:00 am. The average value recorded during this period was 5.71 micrograms/m3, with a maximum of 15.51 micrograms/m3, recorded on May 7, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. The meteorological sensor that measures the wind direction recorded the NW direction, starting at 14:00, after which, from 18:00, it changed to the SE, respectively the time when the SO2 indicator recorded the maximum concentration mentioned above. The GL4 station was not on the prevailing wind direction during the monitored period”.

With such conclusions it is difficult to imagine what tough measures will be taken by the bodies empowered to apply sanctions. The fact that, officially, from what the devices recorded and those in law reported, it does not follow that the environment, life or health of people was endangered is a sufficient premise for the “responsibilities and those responsible” to be lost in a cloud of circumstances and fortuitous cases.