Por Redaccion 
Revision of the protocol for strong winds and the creation of a Committee is planned
The Port Authority of Gijón is working on the development of a package of measures aimed at reducing atmospheric pollution, both in the port area and in the neighboring areas.
In this regard, the president of the port authority, Nieves Roqueñí, plans to present the details of this set of actions at the meeting of the Coordination Commission for Potentially Polluting Activities in the Atmosphere (APCAs), which will be held this coming Wednesday.
The commission, which also includes the Government of the Principality of Asturias, the City Council of Gijón, and representatives of companies with authorizations for potentially polluting activities in the atmosphere operating in the port and a representative of the port cleaning service, had not met for over a year, according to a press release from the port of Gijón.
Some of the main measures to be implemented are related to the control of diffuse emissions, which will involve the participation of all those involved in solid bulk logistics in developing their operations, protocols, and investments, relying on the best available practices.
In this sense, the creation of the APCA Committee of the Port of Gijón is planned, in which the fifteen companies currently carrying out this type of activities in the port may participate.
The revision of the protocol for strong winds is also planned, which was activated last week due to the strong gusts that hit the Gijón coast, and its early implementation significantly reduced the impact on nearby areas.
At present, there are two air quality monitoring stations at the port: one located in the logistics services area of the Port, called ‘El Musel’, and another, ‘Puerto Deportivo’, located in that environment. Both stations, which record PM10 Particle data, have shown levels below the legal limit values for health protection in recent years.
«The Port Authority of Gijón has been actively involved since 2014 in the three air quality improvement plans developed for the city; the latest being the plan for Gijón West, and it is within this framework that the commission is convened,» said Roqueñí.
«Beyond the plans, the port is fully committed to continue improving the air quality of its surroundings, and for that reason, we will create the APCA committee from the Port Authority, which will allow us to intensify actions and monitor more precisely the success of the measures implemented,» she added.
EUROPEAN PROJECT
In line with the actions for monitoring and controlling air quality, the Port Authority participates with other major General Interest ports of the State in the PMFree Ports program, an initiative co-financed by the LIFE program of the European Union dedicated to the environment and climate action.
The ultimate goal of this work is to reduce suspended particle emissions generated by the movements of solid bulk materials (PM10 and PM2.5), one of the main activities of the Gijón port.
With a budget of 1,595,807.63 euros and a grant of 957,484.58 euros, LIFE PMFree-Ports aims to develop advanced environmental control tools that allow predicting, controlling, and minimizing emissions from the storage, handling, and transportation of solid bulk materials.