The breakdown of a machine that filtered the fumes produced by the Corticeira Amorim factory, in Vale de Lama, near the city of Silves, and the company's lack of financial capacity to repair it, is worrying the deputies of the Left Bloc.
According to the Left Bloc, which questioned the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Economy about the situation of the Corticeira Amorim factory, the information about the emission of smoke reached the parliamentary group “through several complaints from residents, who have already promoted a undersigned, complaining about the pollution coming from the factory and that degrades the environment and its quality of life».
In relation to this situation, the blockers argue, “Corticeira Amorim refers that in 2012/2013 a filtering machine, imported from Austria, was installed at the factory to improve environmental quality. This equipment, called “RTO” will have worked in good condition in the first years, but due to great wear and tear will have broken down in 2019, without it being possible to get help from the Austrian company for having closed doors».
According to BE, Corticeira Amorim clarifies “that it prepared a project and submitted it to several Portuguese companies, costing around 250 thousand euros to repair the aforementioned equipment”.
However, «due to the Covid-19 pandemic – says Corticeira – the company is in serious difficulties due to the reduction in sales» and since «it intends to guarantee all jobs», it says it does not have «conditions for repair the currently faulty equipment'.
For the Parliamentary Group, the Left Block, «it is important to safeguard the environmental quality of the residents of Silves, with disastrous consequences for their health and quality of life, so it is urgently necessary to repair the “RTO” equipment” and it is I also need to “safeguard all of Corticeira Amorim's jobs”.
Bearing in mind that the BE considers that «measures are necessary that take into account this set of situations», MPs João Vasconcelos, Nelson Peralta and Isabel Pires want to know if the Government is aware of this situation and what measures it will take to «improve the environmental quality of residents in Vale de Lama and the city of Silves».
The deputies also want to know if the Government will act to guarantee that all the company's jobs are safeguarded and if, if the company's financial difficulties are confirmed, what solutions will the guardianship offer «considering the improvement of the environmental quality in the area and the maintenance of jobs'.
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