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During the Soviet era, many industrial objects in Kaunas were located in the most beautiful places in the city – along the rivers. This legacy in some places does not allow the residents of Kaunas to live in peace even now.
People living in Švenčionių street, Žemučiai Šančiai, complain that they are tired of suffering from the activities of the Dameta company in front of the house.
This company is engaged in the trade of coal, unloading, classifying and loading it from railway wagons at the place marked with number 16 on Švenčionių street.
Neighbors claimed that, as a result, their patios and facades of houses, as well as the street itself, were constantly covered with a layer of coal dust, making it difficult to breathe and noise in the company on weekdays.
It became even more uncomfortable when a fire broke out in front of Jonines at the company’s premises.
Although Giedrė Kaziliūnaitė, a lawyer representing Dameta, claimed that the company’s activities meet all legal requirements and do not exceed hygiene standards for noise and pollution, environmentalists have found some violations at the company.
And would you like the charcoal to be stored and sorted almost under the windows of the house?
A quiet and cloudy life
In Švenčionių street, near the Nemunas, companies have been operating since Soviet times, where coal was transported in train cars. The same activity is taking place in this area today.
The Dameta company operates in one of the parking lots marked with number 16 on Švenčionių street.
In front of this property are twelve private brick and wood residential houses, surrounded by gardens and orchards. The people who live here assured that the place would be great, because it is very close to the center of the city and on the hillside at the foot of which they are, the oak grove of Aukštieji Šančiai.
“We live in a wonderful place, but a company operating in the neighborhood ruins our health and our nerves,” said Rasa Kalonienė, a resident of house 43 on Švenčionių street, and a regiment of her neighbors.
The fence does not protect against dust.
Kaunas residents said that before a company operated in front of their house, the coal was also brought to their site and stored.
But according to neighbors, Dameta settled in the area three years ago. Since then, the coal has not only been brought to the site in train cars, unloaded, but also classified. This is done using a conveyor machine, which residents say is loud and much of the dust comes from coal.
“Our patios, gardens and windows covered in coal dust can be opened only very early in the morning, when the business is not open yet, later in the day we cannot go to our patios or use the windows, because it is impossible to tolerate noise and dust, “said Birutė Simanavičienė and Sofija Butėnienė.
Residents said the business was surrounded only by an old network fence.
When they began to complain about pollution and noise to various institutions, a blind tin fence was built, but according to Kaunas residents, it still does not provide much protection against the consequences of the company’s activities.
Dalia Riautuvienė, a resident of Švenčionių street, assured that the company must irrigate the coal in its territory, but the water currents, according to her, are very weak.
Scared of a sizeable fire
The residents of Švenčionių Street were especially eager to live when a fire broke out in Dameta Territory from June 22 to 23.
“The coal burned in an open flame. Fortunately, that night was quiet, with no wind. But if the wind had blown, the fire would hardly have spread into the house.
The nearest wooden house is a few tens of meters from the place of the fire ”, R. Kalienien sus shared his fears.
On June 23, the firefighters of the second night received a report that a fire had broken out in parcel 16 of Švenčionių street, where the Dameta company operates. An open flame burned a charcoal sorter.
During the fire, the rubber parts of the apparatus melted and fell onto the coal piles, causing the coal to be excavated and dumped. 90 tons of coal were bought and shipped.
The fire was extinguished in the middle of the third night.
Kaunas were also surprised that the company is able to work, although the Aukštieji Šančiai oak grove is nearby, which is included in the Natura 2000 list of internationally protected areas.
After the fire, the residents of Švenčionių Street approached the Ministry of the Environment, the Department of Environmental Protection under it and the municipality of Kaunas to verify whether these institutions are committing any violations, but received no response.
The site is adapted for activities
G. Kaziliūnaitė, a lawyer representing Dameta, said that there is no conflict between the company and its neighbors: the neighbors have never addressed complaints, wishes or suggestions about Dameta employees or representatives directly, in writing or verbally.
According to G. Kaziliūnaitė, Dameta has been renting a site located on Švenčioni street. For many years. 16, is located in a commercial-industrial area of the city. In addition to the Dameta company, commercial and industrial activities in this area are carried out by furniture manufacturing, chemical industry, scrap metal, wood processing and other companies, as well as a company engaged in similar activities: trade in solid fuels.
“This site has a specially equipped railway – the site is specially adapted for unloading, sorting and loading of solid fuels. It is worth mentioning that a couple of years ago, the state company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai, with funding from the European Union, substantially rebuilt this railway section and committed to further commercial development, ”said the lawyer.
According to the representative of the company, Dameta’s activities comply with all the requirements of the legal acts and do not exceed the hygiene standards established in the legal acts regarding noise and pollution requirements. Dameta works on site only during business hours and does not work on weekends.
“It should be noted that the activities of the Dameta company on the site are constantly inspected by the Department of Health Protection of the Municipal Administration of the City of Kaunas and other institutions, no violations are detected during the inspections,” said the lawyer.
Investigate the cause of the fire
G. Kaziliūnaitė said that Dameta had voluntarily invested additional funds and taken measures to reduce noise and dust to a minimum: she installed a sound-absorbing barrier made of special fabric on the sorters and built a tin fence instead of mesh to reduce noise. and dust. In addition, the coal continuously watered with water, especially on hot days, performs periodic noise and dust measurements to meet hygiene standards.
“On the night of June 23, the property of the high-value company Dameta, a classifier, may have been deliberately set on fire and destroyed. Due to the ongoing pre-trial investigation, we are unable to comment on the investigation and the circumstances of the fire, “said the lawyer.
G. Kaziliūnaitė also said that the protection of Dameta’s property at the site has now been strengthened: additional video cameras have been built and security has been hired.
“It is worth mentioning that, as far as we know, it was precisely because of the noise emitted by the classifiers that the employees of the Department of Health went to the site several times to review the complaints of the neighbors,” said the lawyer. .
Instructed to intensify irrigation with water.
Jurgita Jasiūnienė, Chief Specialist of the Communication Division of the Department of Environmental Protection:
“In 2019, according to the notification received, the Kaunas Environmental Protection Inspectorate carried out an inspection at the Dameta company. Failure to submit an inventory report on sources of ambient air pollution resulted in an administrative penalty for the person in charge of the company and the obligation to do so.
The company complied with the obligation, prepared and agreed with the Environmental Protection Agency an inventory report on the sources of ambient air pollution. According to the information we have, the company does not need a pollution permit, based on the harmonized data in the report: emissions to ambient air.
Last week, officials from the Kaunas Environmental Protection Inspectorate received a phone call about the increase in dust on the company’s territory. When the officers of the Kaunas Inspectorate quickly arrived at the scene, it was established that the company’s territory was irrigated with special equipment.
Environmentalists gave a strict verbal warning to those responsible in order to intensify irrigation with water during the coal management works in the company’s territory.
The infrastructure of the land, where the activity is commercial and has been carried out since Soviet times, is adapted for unloading railway wagons ”.
Complaints received but cannot be investigated
Radeta Savickienė, Head of the Kaunas City Environmental Protection Division:
“Commercial companies can be controlled, sanctioned or entered exclusively into their territory for environmental reasons only by the Department of Environmental Protection subordinate to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the inspectors who work there.
The Kaunas City Municipality does not have such powers. The city municipality can control only legal or physical persons, only if there are violations of the rules initiated by the municipality itself: cleanliness and order, waste management, maintenance of vegetation and the like.
Such a complaint about Dameta company was received by the Kaunas City Municipality Environmental Protection Division on June 25, however, only the aforementioned Department of Environmental Protection can object to the company’s activities meeting the requirements. environmental
Daiva Kuzminienė, Chief Specialist of the Municipal Health Department, reported that he had received a statement from residents about the activities of the Dameta company. This statement was forwarded to the Department of Environmental Protection.
The health department did not carry out the inspections itself. “
