KLASCO pertvarko veiklą ir mažina poveikį aplinkai

From May 1, new provisions of the Environmental Protection Law come into force, according to which stricter requirements will be applied to industrial and port stevedoring companies.

„Since last year, we have been implementing a new environmental measures plan, coordinated with the Environmental Protection Agency. Both the KVJUD, the air quality monitoring data of state stations, and the report approved by the Municipality clearly indicate that air quality is improving. We aim to ensure that our activities have the least possible impact on the residential environment, which, due to historical circumstances, causes inconvenience to business development and citizens. We are also looking for opportunities to transfer some of the bulk cargo to another part of the port, further from residential buildings, as soon as the appropriate infrastructure is prepared and approvals are received,” comments V. Endzinas, KLASCO Infrastructure Director.

According to V. Endzinas, in preparation for the new Environmental Protection Law that will come into effect on May 1, KLASCO has implemented the following key measures to reduce dust and environmental impact:

• Water cannons are used at unloading sites, and access and technological roads are irrigated;
• During loading, the company uses conveyors with magnets to load iron ore products into stacks;
• Mobile dust retention mesh screens and closing grilles for wagon unloading stations have been installed to reduce dustiness in the technological process; 
• An environmentally friendly material is used to cover bulk cargo, which may become dusty after loading when its top layer dries out;
• Dust collection filters are used on conveyor lines, and water jets are used;
• Dust suppression equipment with dust-absorbing agent is used during loading;
• Only closed-type conveyors (louders) are used to transport cargo to and from the ship.

The KLASCO representative also informs that new methods and technologies have been implemented to reduce dust generation from materials and limit dust dispersion:

• The company’s personnel constantly controls and monitors the activities carried out in the KLASCO territory using video surveillance equipment, data from the air monitoring station and, if necessary, adjusts loading operations or immediately stops them;
• The height of cargo stacks has been reduced, bulk and dusty cargo is poured from a height of no higher than 1 meter;
• After loading the cargo into the vehicle, it is covered (with a tarpaulin or other cover) or loaded into a vehicle with a covered body;
• When loading bulk materials with a grab, after the material has been scooped, the grab is tightly closed. The material is poured out of the grab as slowly as possible and at a distance of less than 1 m from the pile;
• When loading material into a vehicle using mechanical forklifts, the speed and height of the material is kept as low as possible; the loading location is selected so that all the material being loaded enters the vehicle;
• Vehicle loading operations are organized, if possible, only inside the warehouse, not outside;
• The company also irrigates and cleans the streets in the Vitė residential area using its own equipment; 

The company constantly monitors stormwater, collects it and treats it in newly modernized treatment facilities.

“2020–2023 Ambient Air Quality Management Program ” ─ this is the name of the document commissioned by Klaipėda Municipality. This document was approved by the Klaipėda City Municipality Council last November and is publicly available on the municipality’s website. It contains many facts important to every Klaipėda resident. “Those who care about the air quality of the port city should pay attention to the document related to this program ─ “ Report on air quality research conducted in Klaipėda City and assessment of the state of ambient air quality ”. It not only names the main sources of air pollution in the city, but also presents the TOP-10 companies that pollute the city’s air the most. Major polluters are even several hundred times ahead of port cargo handling campaigns,” says Vidas Endzinas, Director of KLASCO Infrastructure. 

Such figures do not surprise the company’s manager, as both KLASCO’s activities, and the technologies and loading equipment used in them, are changing rapidly. „In recent years, we have substantially reduced the amount of solid particles generated during loading and continue to work and invest in reducing the impact on the environment,” said a KLASCO representative.

KLASCO information