Swinging into action to test blast site

THE GOVERNMENT’S various environmental departments joined forces yesterday to begin comprehensive environmental health and safety examinations around the Evangelos Florakis blast site

Agriculture Ministry officials toured the affected area to record the extent of damage to livestock pens and other land reclamation projects, while health ministry officials collected soil, plant and water samples for analysis.

The Department of Fisheries and Marine Research confirmed that reports of dead fish in the area were untrue, later exploring the wider marine area to assess the blasts’ impact, while the veterinary and health services teamed up to ensure there were no hazardous substances entering the island’s food supply.

The environmental department also monitored several industrial operations in the area, such as the hazardous waste treatment facilities, to confirm assess the wider environmental impact.

With the both the Larnaca and Dhekelia desalination plants now inactive, Agriculture Minister Demitris Eliades called on the public to reduce their consumption to the absolute minimum.

The department of labour inspection also confirmed that there was no increase in radioactivity around the blast site.

However, once service that was unable to provide additional data was the government’s air quality service, which had no data to display because of the damage to its equipment in the area during the blast.

Following a request from the government, the British bases sent three explosive ordinance experts to the site to assist the authorities. The three Ammo Technical Officers arrived on site at around 5.30pm on Monday where they liaised with military and police officials regarding ways they could assist in the aftermath of the massive explosion.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.