A joint press statement was made against the secrecy in the cleaning process of more than 16 thousand tons of radioactive waste detected 500 years ago in Gaziemir Emrez. İzmir's Chernobyl Commission, underlined that the work on the entry of construction machines into the area can cause deadly results, asked 14 questions to the responsible institutions, especially the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.
Izmir's Chernobyl Commission, which includes Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Gaziemir Municipality, professional organizations and environmentalist lawyers, called for the transparent conduct of the cleaning process of hazardous waste and radioactive materials detected 16 years ago in the garden of the old lead casting factory in Gaziemir's Emrez District. issued a press release. Deputy Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mustafa Özuslu, Mayor of Gaziemir Halil Arda, representatives of chambers affiliated to TMMOB and environmental organizations, representatives of İzmir Chamber of Medicine and İzmir Bar Association, academics, council members, muhtars and local people attended the statement.
In the meeting, where the “Standing Man” action was repeated accompanied by sirens, information was given about the effects of the process on the people of the region and their legal processes. The joint press statement on behalf of the Commission was made by Helil İnay Kınay, a member of the Environmental Commission of the İzmir Branch of the Chamber of Environmental Engineers.
“Still no official statement”
Explaining the process regarding the legal struggle that has been carried out since 2021 regarding the Emrez process, Kınay said that despite all the calls, no serious response was received from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the institutions in charge. Kınay said, “While this dirty uncertainty continues, there have been news in the press recently that the owners of the land have agreed with a company and that cleaning works will begin soon. Despite this, no official statement has yet been made,” he said. Expressing that they, as the people of Izmir, will follow the process, Kınay said, “It is of great importance that the work on the cleaning process is carried out transparently from the preparation stage to the completion, that it is inspected by independent experts, and that the public is informed in a transparent and healthy way so that the wastes in the area do not pose a further threat to the environment and public health. carries. In order to prevent similar illegal waste trade as well as cleaning the area, it must be revealed from where and by whom the radioactive waste was brought. We call on all judicial and administrative institutions to work," he said.
Waiting for answers to questions
On behalf of the commission and the public, Kınay asked the following 14 questions to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Nuclear Regulatory Board and all relevant institutions:
- Has a determination study been carried out on the amount of waste and its distribution in the area?
- What has been done to remove radioactive and hazardous wastes from the area?
- Is there a project prepared for the cleaning works mentioned in the news?
- Are monitoring and measurements regarding the existing pollution and its effects in the area carried out regularly?
- Have health screening and monitoring studies been carried out in the region?
- Has a study been conducted on how nuclear wastes, which are prohibited to enter our country, arrive in the region?
- What are the legal processes and studies carried out about those responsible for the process?
- Which institutions will carry out the work in the region?
- What is the program, calendar and process of the relevant institutions regarding the studies to be carried out in the field?
- Will the EIA process for this project be carried out?
- If the activity will be carried out according to the EIA report, which was found positive on August 10, 2017, have the objections made about it taken into account?
- What measures will be taken to prevent the pollution that will occur during the separation and transportation of wastes?
- Who will supervise the work?
- Are the studies and inspections carried out by the institutions responsible for Gaziemir's 16-year process safe? Will an independent audit process be carried out?
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