Air quality in Kropyvnytskyi is back to normal after the fire
In Kropyvnytskyi, air quality has returned to normal following a fire at the site of the decommissioned settling tanks. Follow-up laboratory tests showed no levels exceeding permissible limits. Meanwhile, emergency responders have been working for the third consecutive day to extinguish smoldering hot spots.
Air quality has stabilized following the fire at the decommissioned sedimentation tanks of the “Dnipro-Kirovohrad” enterprise in Kropyvnytskyi. Andriy Raikovych, head of the Kirovohrad Regional State Administration, reported that specialists from the Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention have retested the air.
“Air quality is currently within normal limits. Specialists from the Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted follow-up laboratory tests. No exceedances of permissible limits have been detected so far; the air is safe,” Raikovych wrote. Thus, according to the results of the latest inspections, no dangerous concentrations of pollutants have been recorded in the air.
The fire has not yet been extinguished
Despite the improvement in air quality, work at the site of the fire continues. Rescue workers have been operating at the site of the inactive sludge ponds for the third consecutive day. There is currently no open flame, but smoldering continues in the deeper layers of the site.
According to the State Emergency Service, smoldering hotspots remain over an area of approximately 0.8 hectares. These are the source of the smoke and its spread toward the city. “Fire and rescue units are working continuously at the scene. Currently, there are no open flames, but smoldering continues in the deeper layers of the settling ponds over an area of 0.8 hectares, causing significant smoke and its spread into the city,” the State Emergency Service reported.
What rescuers are doing
It is not easy to completely extinguish the smoldering fire, as the hot spots are located deep inside the sedimentation tanks. According to the head of the Regional State Administration, to finally bring the fire under control, rescuers need to thoroughly douse the entire area of the facility with water. “Rescuers are working nonstop. To completely extinguish the smoldering hot spots, the entire area of the facility must be thoroughly doused with water. The work will continue until the fire is fully extinguished,” Raikovich noted.
The State Emergency Service clarified that, as of now, approximately two hectares of the settling ponds’ territory have already been doused with water. Work will continue until the smoldering hotspots are completely extinguished. Andriy Raikovych, head of the Kirovohrad Regional State Administration, reported this on social media on Monday.
In Kropyvnytskyi, inactive sedimentation tanks at the “Dnipro-Kirovohrad” enterprise caught fire due to the heat. Heavy smoke has filled the city, so residents are urged to close their windows and, if possible, stay indoors while experts assess air quality.
