Extreme pollution alert declared over Kazokiškės landfill as four residents seek medical help

A state of extreme pollution will be declared over the Kazokiškės landfill in Lithuania’s Elektrėnai municipality after record-breaking hydrogen sulfide emissions left four residents seeking medical attention overnight, LRT reports.

Hydrogen sulfide levels exceeded legal limits throughout Monday night, peaking at 175 micrograms per cubic metre—far above permissible thresholds. According to Mayor Gediminas Ratkevičius, this marks the worst recorded breach since monitoring began. “The situation is critical. We’re seeing massive exceedances of allowable limits,” he stated.

Since January, sulfur dioxide norms have been violated 18 times, with spikes ranging from 1.5 to 24 times above legal levels. Residents as far as Elektrėnai and Vievis—kilometres from the site—have reported unbearable odours. “I live here too. I smell it personally,” Ratkevičius confirmed.

A municipal commission recommended declaring an extreme situation on Tuesday to escalate state intervention. “We lack sufficient engagement from the Public Health Centre—not just for monitoring, but for issuing health protection guidelines,” the mayor added.

While emissions returned to normal by Tuesday afternoon, four locals required medical care—a first for the area. Councillor Edvardas Baleišis noted that overnight pollution, previously hard to trace, has been exposed by new monitoring stations. “People can’t open windows. Their teeth ache. It’s unbearable,” he described.

Critics blame the landfill operator, Vilniaus Apskrities Atliekų Tvarkymo Centras (VAATC), for systemic failures, including faulty gas collection and improper waste storage. VAATC recently claimed to have treated waste piles with probiotics and accelerated covering, but Baleišis dismissed these as ineffective in freezing temperatures. “If the issue is leachate, bacteria won’t help,” he argued.

The municipality will vote Wednesday on revoking VAATC’s pollution permit—a move Baleišis called “symbolic,” as it lacks legal force. Residents plan protests ahead of the session. VAATC has yet to present a concrete remediation plan.