Workshop in Ocna de Fier (Caraș-Severin county)

The council hall of Ocna de Fier (Caraș-Severin county) hosted on Thursday November 7th, 2019 the first workshop in a rural area, within the project “Forming of network for enhancing environmental protection from pollutants of mining cross border areas”, acronym NETMIN, eMS nr. RORS-308, implemented in the framework of the Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Romania-Serbia Programme by Politehnica University Timisoara (Romania) and the Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor (Serbia). The mayor of this village, Mr. Petre Pănescu welcomed the initiative, underlining the fact that the area is stricken by the economic effects of closing the traditional mining activities in the region. The workshop, held in the context of the European Quality Week, created the context for dissemination of information and attracting potential members from rural areas to join the network initiated by Politehnica University Timisoara (Romania) and the Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor (Serbia). Also, samples of soil were gathered and inhabitants of Ocna de Fier were polled regarding their perceptions and knowledge regarding the impact of mining activities in the region. Project team members distributed information materials to raise awareness concerning the project and to enhance the knowledge regarding environment protection and phyto-remedial solutions in the case of soils, polluted with heavy metals.