Residents of the village of Poibrene, along with members from the coalition Cyanide Free Bulgaria, were to submit a declaration to the Ministry of Environment and Waters at 11am on January 20 2009 and stage a protest outside the ministry building.

The declaration presented several demands, of which banning of the use of cyanide in Chelopech mine, improvement of sanitation facilities around the mine itself and implementation of a programme to facilitate the thorough clean-up of the soil in the areas of Zlatitsa and Pirdop.

The demonstration was to be in regard to the ever-deteriorating environmental situation around the site of the mine, the systematic breach of regulations and pollution and the numerous accidents that have occurred since 1994, threatening the region and the lives of the people of Poibrene.

The Zlatitsa/Pirdop region and the nearby area of Topolnitsa, which were designated as "hot spots", locations where drastic measures were supposed to be undertaken immediately by the Government for improvement of the tragic state of affairs of the surrounding environment, have been left waiting by the Government until present. The Government has, otherwise, failed to take any measures to improve the situation in the region, Zeleni Balkani (Green Balkans) reported.

In November 2007, a high concentration of arsenic was found in the water reservoirs in the region of Poibrene. Medical examinations of the effected people have been completed and documentation has been made, which is due to be submitted in the Environment and Waters Ministry. Subsequent surveys of the water, the soil and the underground water bed have not been undertaken, according to local people. Moreover, there is currently no drinking water available and the household water supplies are still polluted with arsenic.