In Vnukovo near Moscow, an asphalt concrete plant that harmed the environment was closed

In the last days of July, in Vnukovo, near Moscow, the operation of an asphalt concrete plant, which had been poisoning the urban environment for five years, completely stopped. It is reported by NIA “Ecology”.

Harmful production started in 2017. His activities sparked protests from local residents and activists. Caring citizens sent numerous appeals and petitions to the authorities. Deputies of different levels joined the solution of the problem.

As a result of joint efforts, the plant became the object of environmental monitoring. With its help, it was possible to identify numerous violations, which were followed by orders and fines that forced the owners to finally curtail the environmentally damaging business.

It turned out that for several years the enterprise carried out its activities without the necessary documents. The plant did not have a sanitary protection zone, the distance to residential buildings was less than provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Violations were identified during an inspection by the prosecutor’s office of the Western Administrative District of Moscow in October 2019. But, despite this and the protests of the residents, the plant continued to work and worsen the ecology of the area. Local residents noted that the interests of the asphalt concrete plant were placed above their rights and interests. And when determining the type of permitted use of the land plot, the opinion of residents was not taken into account.

It is worth noting that two kindergartens and a school are located very close to the asphalt concrete plant; another school has recently been opened in a neighboring residential complex. Several residential buildings were located in the plant’s emission dispersion zone, and a sports and recreation complex is planned to be built in the same zone. But every year the state of the ecology of the region became worse. Allergies and diseases of the upper respiratory tract were increasingly observed in children and adults.

Asphalt plants are, of course, necessary to produce materials for laying new roads and repairing existing ones. For more than 200 years, asphalt roads have been built in Russia, and the modern world is unthinkable without good roads, but the ecology of a residential area where thousands of people live should still remain a priority. And the construction and operation of asphalt concrete plants should be carried out in accordance with current legislation and taking into account the opinions of residents of nearby areas.

The closure of the plant in Vnukovo can rightly be called a victory for the residents of the area over the lawlessness that reigns near their homes. Thanks to solidarity and common views, the residents managed to defend their right to breathe clean air and raise children in an ecologically clean area.

Cover photo: vk.com / Vasily Rogov