Dhekelia power station emissions far exceed safe limits

Pollution from the Dhekelia power station has exceeded prescribed limits to an alarming degree month after month, data charts released by the environment department revealed on Friday.

Emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and dust particles have surpassed safe levels, in some cases reaching up to ten times the allowable limits, according to Philenews.

During a recent parliamentary committee discussion in September about the human right to clean air, a resident from the nearby community of Ormidia detailed the day-to-day reality of living next to the EAC power plant.

Frangeskos Kekkou, an environmental science PhD candidate, described how black smoke billows from the outdated plant’s smokestacks, visible “at all hours.”

He also reported residue deposits, appearing as either dry or wet particles resembling oil droplets or bits of coal, that damage leaves and clothing.

The scientist, who grew up in the area, noted that the problem has persisted for over 20 years, recalling that residents had been protesting since his childhood.

Instead of improvements, businesses had closed, and people had moved away, he said.

He added that noise pollution from the plant is so severe it makes holding outdoor conversations impossible for the community.

According to the environment department, in 2023, dust particle levels in the area reached nearly 50 microgrammes – twice the permitted limit. Nitrogen oxides hit 450 microgrammes, three times higher than the allowed 145 microgrammes. Sulfur dioxide levels soared up to 1,700 microgrammes during peak periods, ten times the safe limit of 175 microgrammes.

Even the lower range of around 1,420 microgrammes was still eight times the permissible amount.

This trend has continued into the first five months of 2024, with four of the plant’s six units consistently exceeding limits.

Deputy head of the European Commission’s delegation in Cyprus, Nikolaos Isaris, noted that Cyprus had informed the Commission in December 2022 that the Dhekelia station had surpassed its upper limit of 18,000 operational hours, which was set by a directive effective from January 2022. The directive on industrial emissions was revised in August, providing a new compliance period until 2029, but certain conditions must be met for this derogation, Isaris noted.

Cyprus has six months from the effective date of the directive to submit a request for derogation, after submitting a compliance plan but although the Republic had expressed its intention to apply for a derogation, to date no formal application has been submitted.

Thus, from January 2022 until August 4, 2024, the power station’s emissions have not been covered by any EU directive.

EAC technical manager Charalambos Menelaou reiterated that without the arrival of natural gas, reducing the Dhekelia plant’s operation would lead to an energy shortage.

The EAC’s development plans involve transitioning to natural gas, but with the timeline for that and the Great Sea Interconnector still uncertain, the EAC has had to continue using the current facilities, Menelaou explained.

In 2009, compensatory projects were given to residents in the vicinity of the plant, mainly to the community of Ormidia but nothing has been granted since then.

Menelaou also attributed the high dust levels in Dhekelia to factors beyond the power station, including traffic on the Larnaca-Famagusta highway and dust from Africa.

He emphasised that the EAC was doing all it could, short of reducing the plant’s operating hours.