Around one hundred demonstrators gathered in front of the Calucem cement factory in the Istrian city of Pula on Friday to warn against air pollution in the Stoja residential area in Pula.

One of the protesters said they were calling on the Ministry of Environmental Protection to review the existing environmental licences for the factory and bring them in line with European Union standards in the Air Quality Directive (2008/EC/50), which has set limits for sulphur dioxide (SO2) to protect human health.

The standards stipulate that the permissible sulphur dioxide levels may be between 50 and 400 mg/m3 on a daily average.

Protester: The number of cancer cases in the region has increased

Protester Vladimir Jurisic said that all factories in Europe, with the exception of the cement factory in Pula, comply with these standards.

One of the protesters said that the number of cancer cases in the region has increased, and an independent deputy from Istria County said that a map of the distribution of the incidence of malignant diseases should be drawn up.

The mayor of Pula, Filip Zoricic, came to the rally to support the protesters and their demands.

A few days ago, the Calucem factory reported that emissions of SO2 and other substances were consistently within the limit limits.

The company says its experts are constantly measuring air quality and emissions.