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

A state of emergency has been declared in Lithuania’s Elektrėnai municipality after hazardous gas emissions from the Kazokiškės landfill reached record levels overnight, forcing four residents to seek medical attention, LRT.lt reports.

Hydrogen sulfide concentrations exceeded legal limits by as much as 24 times on Monday night, peaking at 175 micrograms per cubic metre—an all-time high, according to Mayor Gediminas Ratkevičius. “The situation is critical. We’re seeing massive breaches of permitted levels,” he stated.

Since the start of the year, sulfur dioxide limits have been surpassed 18 times, with violations ranging from 1.5 to 24 times above thresholds. The mayor acknowledged that over half the municipality’s residents, including those in nearby Elektrėnai and Vievis, have complained of foul odours. “I live here too—I smell it personally,” Ratkevičius said.

On Tuesday, a municipal commission recommended declaring an emergency to escalate state intervention. “We lack sufficient engagement from the Public Health Centre—not just for monitoring, but for health protection recommendations,” the mayor added.

While gas levels returned to normal by Tuesday afternoon, four residents required medical care—a first for the area. Local councillor Edvardas Baleišis noted that nighttime pollution, previously hard to document, has been confirmed by new monitoring stations. “People can’t open windows; their teeth ache from the stench,” he said.

Critics blame the landfill operator, the Vilnius Region Waste Management Centre (VAATC), for systemic failures, including leaks from filtered waste, improper storage of industrial byproducts, and malfunctioning gas collection systems. VAATC recently treated waste piles with probiotics and accelerated covering efforts, but Baleišis dismissed these as ineffective in cold weather, when bacteria die off.

The councillor warned that without urgent action—including potential evacuations—the health risks will persist. “Residents suffer constant harm, night after night,” he stressed. The municipal council will vote Wednesday on revoking VAATC’s pollution permit, though Baleišis called this a “political gesture” unlikely to resolve the crisis. A resident protest is planned ahead of the session.

VAATC has not yet responded to the emergency declaration but previously outlined a remediation plan.