State of Emergency in Serres over uranium in water

A state of emergency was declared on Tuesday at three municipal communities in the Serres area, northern Greece, due to high concentrations of uranium found in drinking water a few days ago.

Nearly 2,000 households were left without drinkable water after two sources - Batania and Morava - tested high in uranium after checks in compliance with requirements by the Health Ministry, it was initially announced on May 22.

The decision for a state of emergency was made by Civil Protection Secretary General Nikolaos Papaefstathiou for the communities of Serres, Lefkonas and Christos, following a request by Serres Mayor Varvara Mitliaga. The state of emergency's duration is for a month, to June 26. The decision allows agencies to activate emergency measures and funding to affected residents and businesses, and to accelerate the process of resolving the issue.

AMNA