Copșa Mică



Copșa Mică (Klein-Kopisch, Kleinkopisch; Kiskapus) is a town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania, located north of Sibiu, 33 km east of Blaj, and 12 km southwest of Mediaș. The town's population of 5201 (as of 2011) is down significantly from its level in 1989, the year communism collapsed in Romania. At the 2011 census, 78.8% of inhabitants were Romanians, 11.9% Roma and 8.7% Hungarians.

The town is best known for its status (in the 1990s) as one of the most polluted in Europe. This was due to the emissions of two factories in the area:


 * One, open from 1935 to 1993, produced carbon black for dyes; its emissions permeated the area for nearly sixty years, leaving soot on homes, trees, animals, and everything else in the area. The stain from these decades of deposits are still visible.
 * The other source of the pollution, less visible but with even more serious effects to the health of the town's residents, was Sometra, a smelter whose emissions have contributed to significantly higher incidence of lung disease and impotence, along with a life expectancy nine years below Romania's average.

Politics
The Copșa Mică City Council (Consiliul Local Copșa Mică), elected in the 2008 local government elections, is made up of 15 councillors, with the following party composition: