Kyriakou quarry, Koropi
Covering an area of73 hectares (73,000 square meters), the proposed Koropi waste management site lies 1.7 kilometers (slightly over a mile) from Koropi, 500 meters from the industrial zone and 700 meters from the ancient settlement of Lamptres. The studies – and objections – to date focus chiefly on the geological and hydrogeological features of the area, while planning obstacles arise mostly from the proximity of Spata airport. The area has an integrated groundwater system which is exploited by a plethora of bores for irrigation purposes (at Koropi and Markopoulo), household purposes (at Vari, Aghia Marina and other areas) and industrial purposes (the industrial zone of Koropi). The study found that the bores covered an area that took in Stavros in Aghia Paraskevi, Glyka Nera and Paeania, and Markopoulo, Kalyvia and Vari, as well as other areas. The municipality of Koropi has stressed the site’s unsuitability, pointing out that: * It lies only a kilometer outside the city limits. * It is 1.2 kilometers from the approach path of aircraft landing at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport. * It lies 700 meters away from the ancient site of Lamptres. * Gases produced by landfills, in the region of 7,000 cubic meters per hour, contain methane, which can explode or ignite in the atmosphere. * It is located within the first protection zone of Mt Hymettus. The study notes that: * The location does indeed have unfavorable geological features, but these by themselves are insufficient to exclude the site. * The distances from the various facilities and locations mentioned by the Koropi municipality do not rule it out as a waste management facility, according to existing legislation. The site is located in an area that had already been degraded by the operation of a quarry, whose final restoration could be combined with solid waste management works. * The study pointed out that in the first protection zone of Hymettus where the site lies, the existing quarry resulted in the area being excluded from the Natura 2000 protected area network (which adhered closely to the first protection zone of Hymettus). Either it will be exempted from the protection zone or the zone itself will have its boundaries altered. * The study says that gases produced will only come to 1,000 cubic meters an hour, while a modern landfill will not allow gases to escape into the air. According to the survey, the proposed site lies 7 kilometers from the airport at Spata, a distance that is no reason for excluding the site. But it requires further examination of its compatibility, which will be provided by the results of a special ornithological study. However, the study says that if the site is ruled out as a landfill due to its proximity to the airport, it can still serve as a waste management facility.
