Press Release, October 28, 2013
YABLOKO protested against the work of dangerous plants in the Kozhukhovo district, Moscow, on October 27. The local residents are against the reconstruction of the industrial area in the district and want to obtain the construction of a public zone instead. YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin participated in the rally.

The residents are most of all concerned about the work of the waste incineration plant which utilizes highly dangerous waste. They also complained about the bad smell that spreads around the area and said that there are other dangerous plants that work in the district: an aeration plant, two ranges and a dump pile which actually is a chemical reactor.
“The authorities plan to construct new apartment blocks in the buffer zone. Instead of closing the plant, they want to shorten the territory of the buffer zone and build new blocks of flats there. Such plants mustn’t work near residential buildings”, said one of the local residents Alexei Tikhanovich.

Sergei Mitrokhin told about YABLOKO’s experience in struggling against dangerous factories in Moscow. The authorities planned to construct six more waste incineration plants in 2006, but due to YABLOKO the construction of the plants was stopped. The constructors claimed that the plants were probably healthy, but professional environmentalists insisted that such technologies were prohibited in the developed countries in the middle of the 20th century. Waste recycling has been used instead of incineration.

“The authorities bought the technologies that had been used in Hungary for cheap as nobody needed them there [in Hungary] anymore. On the one hand, it’s the evidence of our officials’ incompetence, on the other hand, it show their cynicism”, said YABLOKO leader.

Sergei Mitrokhin promised to do everything possible to stop the development of dangerous factories in the Kozhukhovo district. The YABLOKO party already managed to close a cement plant in the Pechatniki district.