The winds carried the cloud created by the burning of the tires in Mari high, and therefore human health was not directly threatened, Environment Commissioner Klelia Vassiliou has told CNA, adding that the competent services are doing and will continue to do sample checks, to see the degree of impact on the ground.
“We need to look at the data to say what exactly has been affected and how”, she said, noting that burning tires is the worst thing for nature.
“It was fortunate that the mobilization of all services was immediate: the Ministry of Interior, the Civil Defense, the Meteorology Department, the Department of Environment, they were all on the ground”, she said.
Vassiliou stated that there is an ongoing mechanism that is constantly improving through the challenges faced in recent years, in terms of preventing environmental risks. There are some shortcomings which are of an administrative nature, and are in the process of being corrected, as well, she mentioned.
“I was in contact with the services and knew that the data assessments did not raise concerns of a direct impact on human health. Therefore, I speculate that activating the removal or information mechanism at this time would cause unnecessary panic,” she said.
Without referring to the specific fire, the Commissioner stressed that in case we see black smoke we should avoid it. “When we see black smoke, we turn off the air conditioners, we do not breathe it, we avoid it at all costs. People should know that”, she said.
Asked if the smoke stays in the atmosphere for days, the Commissioner said that it depends on the weather conditions, the winds, whether it rains or not.
Some of the particles that may have landed on the ground will be examined through analyses, by the relevant services in the coming days, the Commissioner said, to give concrete results, on whether the earth has been affected and where.
Source: Cyprus News Agency