site.btaSludge Repository Leaks at Republica Power Plant, Leakage Under Control

May 7 (BTA) - There was a leak in the "September 7" sludge repository of the Republica thermal power plant in the western town of Pernik, head of the Toplofikatsiya heating company Lyubomir Spasov told BTA.

The repository has been used to store millions of tons of waste from the power plant for over fifty years. Spasov explained that some of the water covering the stored waste has spilled over.

Traffic was temporarily stopped between kilometres 78 and 86 of the road to Sofia, as the lanes could be flooded, the Road Infrastructure Agency informed.

Ministers Mladen Marinov of Interior, Emil Karanikolov of Economy, Emil Dimitrov of Environment and Water, and head of the Fire Safety and Civil Protection Directorate Nikolai Nikolov went to Pernik to evaluate the situation.

Later, CEO of Toplofikatsiya Lyubomir Spasov said that the leakage has been stopped, and no houses have been flooded.

The Prosecution Service announced that it is initiating an investigation into the case of a broken levee. The case will be taken over by the Prosecutor's Office of Appeals in Sofia. RY/MT

/СН/