The Soran bitumen plant closed its doors due to…

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A bitumen plant located in Soran administration, Erbil province, was closed on Sunday due to non-compliance with health and environmental standards, an official told Rudaw.

“A high-level committee… visited the factory today, and due to its non-compliance with health and environmental standards, it was closed,” said Hazhar Mahir, chief executive officer of the environment of the independent administration of Soran, in Rudaw.

He said the factory was warned last week to comply with environmental standards and regulations, but “this factory is still operating as before.”

Mahir noted that the factory would be given up to three months to implement environmental regulations and standards, otherwise it would no longer be allowed to operate.

He warned that if other factories do not commit to these standards, “they will not be allowed to operate.”

This comes amid poor environmental conditions in Erbil province, mainly due to smoke and fumes emanating from factories and refineries operating across the province.

According to Swiss air quality monitoring agency IQAir, air pollution in Erbil on Sunday was 5.7 times higher than global standards.

Erbil’s internal security forces announced earlier this month that they had closed several illegal refineries and arrested operators as part of an ongoing effort to reduce toxic air pollution, a persistent problem despite repeated crackdowns over the years. years.

Erbil has one of the highest levels of air pollution in Iraq, Deputy Environment Minister Jassim al-Falahi told Rudaw in April.

Illegal refineries are part of the problem.

In August, authorities in Erbil closed around 60 illegal refineries following a directive from Governor Omed Khoshnaw to combat air pollution caused by the burning of toxic fuels in vehicles, generators and other machinery.

They were among around 100 illegal refineries that were ordered to cease operations. Many of them are located on the road leading to Gwer, east of Erbil. Masoud Nuri, the mayor of Gwer, confirmed that 10 refineries in his subdistrict were immediately closed as part of the crackdown.