ATHENS, Greece — Police clashed with demonstrators over several hours and fired tear gas Tuesday, during a rally to protest against dumping partially treated sewage at a landfill near Athens.

At least eight people were injured and three were detained after protesters tried to push their way past a riot police cordon at Ano Liossia, north of Athens, in an attempt to close the landfill.

Demonstrators -- including children and local priests -- pelted police with rocks, clubs and pots of red paint, after blocking a road and railroad track near the landfill and setting fire to tires. Police surrounded the dump.

About 1,000 protesters participated in the rally and were eventually broken up after successive charges by police, who used pepper spray and fired dozens of tear gas rounds.

Protesting municipal officials and residents say the landfill is not suitable for the disposal of sludge, which is produced at a treatment plant in the nearby Saronic Gulf.

"This is like a volcano which has sewage in it, instead of lava -- it could burst at any time and cause serious problems," Ano Liossia's deputy mayor Vangelis Samoulis said.

"The local residents are very upset and they will not accept ultimatums ... It's impossible to predict what will happen with the protests because they are not organized. They result from people's anger. This is a public health issue."

Local protesters have staged sporadic blockades for months, closing the city's only landfill for up to a week, and stopping sludge disposal completely since May 30.

Sludge dumping resumed earlier Tuesday when riot police were ordered to escort truck convoys, allowing about 300 tons (330 U.S. tons) to be unloaded at the landfill

The sewage treatment site on the islet of Psitalia, off the Greek capital's port of Piraeus, produces some 280 tons (310 U.S. tons) of sludge a day.

Operators say more than 120,000 tons (132,300 U.S. tons) have piled up at the facility due to disposal disputes.

The environment ministry said the dumping at Ano Liossia was a temporary measure, and promised to build a park over the area where the waste will be buried.

In a statement published in Athens newspapers Tuesday, the ministry said Athens' Saronic Gulf, which includes a large coastline and several holiday islands, was threatened by an "ecological catastrophe" unless the excess waste was removed from Psitalia.

A secondary sludge-treatment site is not due to open until 2007.

Source: Associated Press