Chemical plants in Brzeg Dolny, owned by PCC Rokita, were on fire. Tanks were burning with flammable chemicals, and there were piles of poisonous smoke floating above the city. Although the fire has been put out, questions arise: Were the people of Lower Silesia exposed to a toxic threat that no 1 has always spoken out about before?
Tens of hosts, toxic clouds and burnt firefighters
To a immense fire occurred on April 19, 2025 in 1 of the largest chemical complexes in Poland – PCC Rokita SA in the Lower Bank. The fire covered plastic tanks with capacity 1000 litres filled flammable organic intermediate, which led to the fast spread of fire and the release of dangerous substances into the atmosphere.
On the place immediately appeared more than 30 fire departments, including a specialist chemical and ecological group from Wrocław. Despite the threat scale 50 tanks burned down.But another 50 were saved. Two firefighters were injured. – they suffered light burns and were treated with medical care. besides available Air rescue helicopter.
St. Captain Daniel Lisiecki of PSP Wołów confirmedthat there are presently detailed measurements of soil, air and groundwater contamination. Preliminary data already indicate significant increase in air toxin levelswhich raises serious concerns about the wellness of the inhabitants.
PCC Rokita under the microscope. What's truly behind the fence?
PCC Rokita plant is not an anonymous mill – it one of the largest chemical manufacturers in Central Europe, employing over 1300 employees. The company belongs to a German company PCC SE from Duisburg, and her communicative reaches back over 75 years. The yearly income of the group exceeds EUR 1.5 billionand most of the production goes to abroad markets.
The Lower Bank produces, among others,:
- chloralkalia – advanced reactivity compounds utilized in the production of PVC, detergents and bleachers,
- polyols and polyalkyleneglycols – utilized in insulation, cosmetics and textile industry,
- phosphates and their derivatives – key in the production of plant protection products and fire resistant materials.
The location of the plant itself – in the immediate vicinity of residential areas – has been controversial for years. The residents of the Lower Bank have repeatedly complained about nuisances, sound and emissions, but so far the plant has operated without major environmental consequences. Until now.
According to environmental inspection data, only in fresh years 5 years the plant was controlled more than 30 timesof which 11 cases showed irregularities related to waste management and emissions of organic compounds into the atmosphere.
Experts from the University of Nature in Wrocław inform that combustion of chemicals at advanced temperature can lead to emissions of dioxins, furans and formaldehyde – substances highly hazardous to health. Short-term vulnerability to specified compounds may origin headaches, eye irritation, shortness of breath, and long-term – increased hazard of cancer.
What about the Lower Bank? Residents request an independent investigation
A fewer hours after the fire was put out, social media footage of residents complaining about Strange smell, throat burning and tearful eyes. There have been calls for evacuation of residents from the nearest vicinity of the plant and require an independent environmental audit.
Local authorities have announced the creation of a peculiar crisis team, nevertheless Many people think it's besides little, besides late.
Experts from the Polish Smog Alarm point out that such events should not happen during the 21st century in establishments with advanced industrial risk. In akin cases, much more stringent safety procedures be in Western European countries, specified as Germany and the Netherlands, including automatic chemical vapour neutralisation systems and obligation to print the current results of contamination measurements.
It's amazing that PCC Rokita has not yet issued an authoritative message to residents of the Lower Bank – only a laconic message about “no wellness hazard”. Meanwhile, investigation conducted by independent experts can give a completely different image of the situation.
Does Poland have control of the chemical industry?
In Poland works more than 100 plants classified as ‘establishments with increased or advanced hazard of major industrial failure’ – according to the data of the Ministry of Climate and Environment. Unfortunately, as the case of PCC Rokit shows, even in the largest of them Prevention and consequence systems may failand residents are frequently left uninformed.
Also worrying are the data from the study of the ultimate Chamber of Control of 2023, which showed that up to 37% of chemical plants in Poland have not implemented full procedures to prevent chemical failures.
Experts are calling for:
- immediate tightening of safety standards for industrial plants,
- the work to monitor on-going emissions and to make publically available data,
- increase penalties for concealing or lowering the scale of environmental failures.
If Poland does not change its approach to the supervision of the chemical industry, akin disasters will be repeated regularly – warned scientists from Wroclaw University of Technology.
Fire in the Lower Bank can be a turning point. Either we wake up now, or in a fewer years we wake up in a country where clean air will be a luxury and wellness – a memory.
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Fire in PCC Rokita chemical plants in the Lower Bank
