At least 11 fire engines were fighting a large fire on Thursday morning at the Czech factory where the infamous plastic explosive Semtex is made. The fire broke out in the night on the premises of the firm Synthesia, which includes Explosia, the maker of Semtex. The regional fire brigade says toxic fumes have been released into the atmosphere, though the firm Synthesia denies the fire poses a health hazard to locals.

Tests of water samples taken along the Labe (Elbe) River by the environmental pressure group Greenpeace have revealed high quantities of the hormone disrupting chemical nonylfenol at several places where sampling took place. Greenpeace says the chemical, which is banned in the EU, is used in Chinese textiles production and has probably been washed out of clothes.

Looking to build a large-scale hazardous waste incinerator in Pardubice at the site of a defunct one, the Upper Austrian company AVE CZ sought permission for a facility in area not zoned for such a project. The public is strongly against and the Environment Ministry gave it a negative review. But in the Czech Republic, rich investors, like the eco-tender hopeful, have a history of success.