Environmental impact of the project
The general objective in the field of environmental protection and occupational health and safety during project implementation is to ensure that all activities comply with applicable national and EU regulations and standards.
The project will have several environmental impacts, most of which are positive, while some are negative.
The main impacts include:
- Recycling 61,000 tons of non-hazardous waste contributes to the circular economy (positive);
- Saving mineral resources through the use of ash, which is a positive impact aligned with the best available techniques prescribed for the cement industry (positive);
- Reduction of pollutant emissions into the air during the production of replaced mineral resources (positive);
- Occasional emission of particulate matter during loading into trucks (negative);
- Occasional emission of pollutants during transport (negative).
To eliminate negative impacts, measures commonly applied at similar sites in developed countries will be implemented.
To prevent dust generation during ash loading into trucks, pre-wetting of ash will be carried out, along with the use of water mist during loading operations.
To prevent dust during transport, all trucks will be washed before entering public roads and covered with tarpaulins.
There will be five ash transport trips per day, which is significantly fewer than the number of trucks that used to deliver coal daily. To further reduce vehicle exhaust emissions, new trucks powered by CNG (compressed natural gas) will be used. Additionally, to minimize emissions, transport will be scheduled outside peak traffic hours and will follow the shortest possible route through residential areas.
Furthermore, the project will involve some low-level occupational health and safety risks. To prevent and reduce these risks, mandatory personal protective equipment will be used, and protective and preventive measures will be applied in accordance with applicable regulations and standards.
