Serbia Zijin Bor Copper sued over air pollution levels

NEWS 02.12.201920:02
N1

Local activists in the Serbian town of Bor have filed charges for pollution against the Chinese-owned Serbia Zijin Bor Copper company, the Beta news agency said on Monday.

The agency said it had been given a copy of the charges by protest organizer and head of the local branch of the Justice and Freedom Party Irena Zivkovic. They were filed by local activists and opposition town assembly councilors. Zijin CEO Long Yi is being charged with polluting the environment along with Bor Mayor Aleksandar Milikic and Environment Minister Goran Trivan who are charged with failing to protect the environment.

According to the charges, data from the Environmental Protection Agency showed that air pollution in 2019 was at levels which endangered the health of the population.

Zijin responded to anti-pollution protests over the past few months, saying that it had inherited a bad situation in the RTB Bor mining and smelting complex and pledging to take measures to reduce air pollution.