BUCHAREST, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Water quality in the Dniester River has improved and safety standards have been restored in several northern localities of Moldova following recent pollution concerns, Environment Minister Gheorghe Hajder said on Friday evening.
Hajder said the latest laboratory tests indicate that emergency measures taken by authorities are producing positive results. Operational teams remain mobilized around the clock and will continue intervention work in the coming days, he added.
"We are carefully reviewing the latest laboratory results and will soon issue updated recommendations for the population, adapted to the current situation on the ground," Hajder said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.
Earlier on Friday, Moldovan authorities raised the alert level in the northern region after laboratory analyses detected concentrations of certain pollutants in the Dniester River above permitted limits, according to the official Moldpres news agency.
Authorities said the pollution was linked to an attack on a hydroelectric power facility in Ukraine several days earlier, which caused a petroleum-based substance to enter the Dniester River and drift downstream toward Moldovan territory.
In response, the National Crisis Management Center established a crisis cell bringing together national specialists and experts from neighboring countries to coordinate response measures.
Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu also requested the activation of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism through the Ministry of Internal Affairs to support the response.
He noted that additional filtration systems have been installed, while straw bales are being used in the water as an effective method to absorb petroleum-based substances.
