Addressing a government session, Matulovic Dropulic said that it was one of the short-term measures aimed at protecting human life and health, to be taken by national oil company INA as part of the reconstruction of the Sisak oil refinery.
INA is promptly implementing the assumed obligations to repair the refinery using short- and long-term measures, she said.
The minister said that environmental protection inspectors had conducted 12 inspections in the refinery and that a task force had been set up to monitor the situation in Sisak round the clock after the hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide content in the air there exceeded permitted concentration levels.
Health Minister Neven Ljubicic said that his ministry had initiated research into cancer incidence rates in Sisak, adding that results for 2005 were expected by June. Citing the results of the previous study for the 1991-2000 period, he said that there was no statistical difference between the cancer incidence rate in Sisak and other parts of the country.