Skopje, 16 September 2025 (MIA) – The Public Health Institute (PHI) released Tuesday evening the results of emergency tests following Saturday’s major fire that broke out at a waste recycling facility in the Skopje village of Trubarevo. The tests found no radioactivity in water samples and no hazardous levels of heavy metals in the soil.

The PHI reported elevated levels of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) at a single site, the surface layer affected by burning lithium batteries, but these are within expected ranges.

“The Public Health Institute carried out emergency tests in the affected area. On Sunday, an expert PHI team collected samples to examine radioactivity in air, water, and soil, and heavy metals in soil, land, and water. On Monday, the PHI reported no radioactivity in air or soil and no heavy metals in water. On Tuesday, the PHI completed testing for heavy metals in soil and radioactivity in water,” the Institute said.

Samples from several locations in the affected area were taken to test soil for heavy metals.

Today’s additional analyses confirmed that all 16 heavy metals tested (Pb, Cd, As, Ni, Hg, Cr, Cu, Zn, Sn, Ba, Be, Co, V, Tl, Mo, Sb) were within reference limits.

“Elevated levels of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were found at a single site, the surface layer affected by burning lithium batteries, but these remain within expected limits. All other locations showed no deviations for the 16 heavy metals tested,” the press release noted.

As noted by the Institute, today’s analyses included testing water samples for radioactivity, and results confirmed that no radioactivity was detected in the collected samples.

The PHI said that the analyses were conducted in the shortest possible time and will be repeated according to the established protocols.

“The Public Health Institute remains in ongoing coordination with the Ministry of Health and all relevant state institutions, and the public will be appropriately informed of any further activities,” the Institute added.

Photo: MIA archive