SOME of the gunpowder in a storage facility in Aradippou should be transferred elsewhere so that the area complies with the EU directive on the storage of dangerous substances, the House environment committee agreed on Wednesday as a proposal to ministers.
Earlier in the month, Aradippou mayor Evangelos Evangelides requested that some 30 tonnes of gunpowder used to make hunting cartridges be removed from its industrial estate, fearing the consequences of a potential accident.
The unit, located in an enclosed industrial area belonging to Larnaca municipality and within Aradippou’s boundaries, threatens the safety of around 1,250 buildings, including commercial, houses, apartment blocks, schools and nursing homes, Evangelides said.
Following Wednesday’s meeting, environment committee president Adamos Adamou highlighted the urgent need for a solution, with the committee agreeing to propose in their meeting next week with the ministers of agriculture, labour, interior, and commerce, that as a first step the quantity of stored gunpowder should be reduced to 10 tonnes, in line with threshold of the Seveso-III-Directive (2012/18/EU), before a more permanent solution is found.
The EU directive covers establishments where dangerous substances may be present (e.g. during processing or storage) and aims at the prevention of major accidents.
Adamou noted that the unit had been given all necessary licences, indicating the sloppiness of the relevant governmental services.
The unit has been operating in the area for years but in 2016 it received permission to store some 34 tonnes of gunpowder.
According to Evangelides, the unit had secured a town planning permit by derogation, through a cabinet decision in 2016 without asking Aradippou.
Deputy president of the committee, Charalambos Theopemptou said that the moment the unit began storing a quantity of gunpowder above the permitted threshold of the directive, residents should have been informed and safety plans drawn up, neither of which happened.
As such, the committee’s proposal centres on the initial transfer of 20 tonnes to an alternative location, before the whole unit can be transferred. The decision rests with the relevant ministers who will be discussing the matter next week.
