Bulgaria Shuts Down Power Plant, Protesters Target Another, 13 September 2022

Bulgaria’s interim government ordered the temporary closure on Tuesday of the Maritsa 3 power plant in the town of Dimitrovgrad due to excessive levels of sulfur dioxide, as protesters took aim at another plant over its own emissions.

Dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide have been recorded at Maritsa 3 since Friday. Interim Environment Minister Rositsa Karamfilova described the situation as “critical” and warned that Bulgaria already faces judicial proceedings at the European level over its failure to safeguard air quality.

Energy Minister Rossen Hristov said the plant would reopen when authorities have a guarantee that all environmental regulations will be met.

Karamfilova said that daily inspections had been ordered at the private Brikel power station in southeastern Galabovo, adding that concerns over pollution had gone unresolved for more than a decade...

Brikel, which employs nearly 1,200 people in Galabovo, a town of some 8,000, is involved in central heating, electricity and briquette production. It has denied any wrongdoing and threatened a lawsuit over the claims of pollution...