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By:
Besnik Krasniqi
- September 11, 2019 10:04
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Abiti took refuge under the roof of a silent enemy in 1999, when he fled from a possible revenge by the majority population of Kosovo, in whose eyes after the war he was afraid that he was seen as a traitor and collaborator of Serbia, the state that he had committed great atrocities against Albanians. The silent enemy was the bullet, not the one that comes out of the barrel, but emitted from the remains of the metallurgical giant "Trepça".
Abiti is Roma and was 14 years old at the time. Like most of the approximately 7 thousand Kosovars who belonged to this community and made up the neighborhood by the Ibri in the most industrial city that Kosovo has, Mitrovica, he and his family had also crossed the river to go to the north, which was controlled by the Serbs. Most of the former neighborhood, but also Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from other parts of the country, were settled in three camps, which had been set up by the United Nations mission (UNMIK), located in Kosovo immediately after the war.
"When they put us in the Zhitkoc camp in Zveçan, they told us that we would only stay there for 40 days. But they kept us for 6 years", says Abiti. "We were stuck with pyrite. When the wind blows, it's all over us. We thought it was just dust, until a girl died and they said they found lead in her blood. They raised the alarm and checked the children. They all came out with bullets".
"Piriti", which Abiti is talking about, was a hill raised by the waste disposal of the old Flotation located in Zveçan, a town a few kilometers north of Mitrovica. The mass dump is spread over an area of about 26 hectares and, according to official data, consists of a quantity of waste of about 12 million tons. The chemical composition of the tailings in Zhitkovc is similar to the tailings of Zveçan, which is located near the Lead Smelter and the river Ibër flows right next to it. The landfill has an area of about 50 hectares, while the amount deposited is estimated to be about 12 million tons.
When at the beginning of 2004 a four-year-old girl living in the Zhitkoci camp died as a result of the high presence of lead in her blood, Roma activists began to raise their voices and attract the attention of the media and the Government. The World Health Organization (WHO) measured the contamination of the area and said that most of the children living in Zveçan and Mitrovica were unsafe due to lead contamination. The WHO, the Red Cross and Amnesty International called on UNMIK to evacuate children and pregnant women from the camp. But the evacuation was not done immediately.
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"We stayed there until 2006", says Abiti, who since 2010 has been living in a neighborhood south of Mitrovica, where houses were built for those displaced two decades ago.
Only some of the "Trepça" landfills are located in Zveçan. "Trepça" is not the only major industrial polluter that Kosovo has. Among them is "Ferronikeli", which is located in the Municipality of Drenas, and "SharrCemi" in Han te Elezit. In addition to them, also the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) that lies in the Municipality of Obiliq, but whose pollution also affects the capital.
A report by the Environmental Protection Agency (AMMK) has found that there are 110 "hot-spots" in Kosovo, polluted areas that have been created as a result of various economic activities. Of these, 28 have been classified as "extremely dangerous" locations.
Mitrovica with the biggest "hot-spot" in the Balkans
Unlike the other three industries, "Trepça" after the war works with limited capacity. However, the waste deposited for decades by this metallurgical giant, which was the largest producer of zinc and lead in the former Yugoslavia, while it has stagnated for two decades due to political reasons, because its governance is done by two managements, is a danger. that do not communicate with each other - one of the Kosovo authorities that manages the assets south of the Ibri, the other in the north that maintains strong relations with the Government of Serbia.
This industrial complex consists of seven lead and zinc mines, three concentrators, a lead smelter, a zinc smelter and several industrial sites.
In Zveçan there was a lead smelter and, in the locations where the camps were set up - Zhitkoc, Cesminluke and Kablare - there are still dams where waste was dumped, even though a rehabilitation project has been carried out in the area. Since the 70s, the location continues to remain contaminated with lead, the high presence of which in the blood has fatal consequences for people, especially for children, whose organism absorbs this metal four times more easily than that of adults. .
Many researches by researchers, but also those carried out by the WHO, the Ministry of Environment, and also by the Directorate of Environment in the Municipality of Mitrovica, have found that entire areas of the region, including the valleys of the rivers Ibër and Sitnica, present an environment of contaminated by lead and heavy metals.
The local authorities in Mitrovica mention them, to argue that the situation is alarming.
"Industrial Park Mitrovica is the biggest 'hot-spot' in the Balkans, and maybe even wider, and the situation is alarming if we take into account the fact that it is located in the urban area of the city of Mitrovica", complains the director of Environment in this municipality, Irfan Pec. "Nearly 20 years after the war, measures have not yet been taken by the central institutions to clean up and rehabilitate these nearly 45 hectares, based on the negative effect that these heavy metals have on the health of the population of Mitrovica, apart from the risk of serious diseases ".
Director Peci enumerates the consequences of pollution and says that for each government, the treatment of this waste should be the first priority. Therefore, he said that the executive should urgently eliminate this "hot-spot", from which "resident families, primary and secondary schools, institutions and businesses" are exposed.
The Industrial Park in Mitrovica consists of the former Battery Industry, Zinc Metallurgy and Chemical Industry. During the metallurgical and chemical activities of these industries, they have also created hazardous waste that has been dumped nearby, on the western side of the park and bordering the Sitnica River.
Based on the data of AMMK, the industrial waste dump has an area of 34.62 hectares, in which space there are about 1.5 million tons of hazardous waste. The landfill consists of four types of industrial waste: pyrite and pyrrhotite; phosphogypsum; jarosite; and the so-called EMKO foundation.
Among scientists, when talking about industrial waste, lead is used as an indicator of pollution.
A report that was carried out in the 80s of the last century, talks about the amount of metal released in the air in the form of emissions, as well as in water from the discharge of liquid waste. According to him, every year "Trepça" released 1.2 tons of lead, 60 tons of zinc, 2 tons of cadmium and 6 tons of mercury into the air. In addition, at that time it was estimated that 150 tons of lead, 300-900 tons of zinc and 900 tons of fluoride were discharged into the water every year.
Meanwhile, a research by the World Bank, carried out in recent years, shows that the population in the area of Mitrovica, consisting of about 110 thousand inhabitants, is exposed to dust containing lead, local products with high levels of lead and other exposures. . As a result, about 25 percent of children in Mitrovica in 2002 had blood lead levels above the threshold of 10 micrograms per deciliter. The research also found that lead deposits from air emissions have contaminated an area of more than 25 square kilometers. This area covers North Mitrovica completely and South Mitrovica partially, with lead concentration in the soil around 450 milligrams of lead per kilogram of soil, which WHO considers as the maximum acceptable level. In vegetable crops, high levels of lead have also been found, of 0.1-10 milligrams per kilogram of product, well above the European Union (EU) limit of 0.1-0.3 milligrams per kilogram, depending on the type of vegetable.
Apart from Mitrovica and Zveçan, the environmental problems that originate from "Trepça" also affect Leposaviq. Near the flotation plant in this city, there are two landfills. One is active and has about 3.7 million tons of flotation waste, while the other is closed and is estimated to have about 2.7 million tons of waste.
The authorities in Zveçan have refused to talk about the problem with pollution, as well as the two managements of "Trepça", which have not responded to the request to show the measures planned for the treatment of industrial waste.
The flight of heavy metals in the Drenas
In the center of Kosovo, in a valley crossed by the Drenica River, a large black hill has been erected, which is easily visible. It is on the outskirts of Drenas, very close to the "Ferroniceli" metallurgical complex.
Built in 1984, this complex, one of the largest in Kosovo, produces iron and nickel. It was privatized in 2006 and is the only fully operational metallurgical plant in Kosovo. It extracts nickel ore from open mines located in Dushkaja, Suka and Gllavica, which it first processes in two furnaces, and then the raw product is reduced using oxygen lances and put into molds.
Many years before the war, but also after, the remains were dumped in a landfill near the complex. Based on the data of AMMK, the landfill has an area of about 24 hectares, while the area of influence is twice as large. On average, the production generates one million tons of cubic meters of slag per year, which is composed of silicon dioxide, magnesium monoxide, iron monoxide and calcium monoxide.
It is a scorching August day, which has dried the slag. A light breeze carries away the surface dust and the fine particles that fly are given a sun shine.
Some studies say that they constitute heavy metals and are harmful to health, if absorbed by the body. In addition to being taken in through breathing, they also enter the body through water or food, since during rainfall the water that passes through the slag is directly connected to the vegetation and, with deeper migration, also to the water from the wells that the residents use for drinking and irrigation.
Xhavit Drenori is a political activist and his birthplace is very close to the mines where "Ferroniceli" extracted the ore and the hill created by the slag deposit. It has been at the forefront of the battle with this industrial polluter, one of the biggest in Kosovo, for years.
He took the Ministry of Environment to court for a permit he issued at the end of 2014 to the "Ferroniceli" company, organized protests in Pristina and continues to publicly denounce the pollution from this industrial complex.
During the communication with the Ministry regarding the level of pollution, a response from this institution given to Drenas stated that they had no data on the air quality in Drenas.
"During 2014, we had no monitoring in this city", it was said in the answer.
This had served him to file a lawsuit, since at the end of that year "Ferroniceli" was provided with an Integrated Environmental Permit from the Ministry, even though the Law on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control required that, in order to issue it, the conditions had to be met which as a whole: "guarantee a high level of protection of the environment and human health; ensure the protection of biological and landscape diversity, air, water, underground water and soil".
The ministry had considered that the criteria for the permit had been met, even though it had not monitored the air quality at all that year.
"I believe that these conditions were not respected during the procedures for issuing this integrated environmental permit, since the air quality was not monitored at all during 2014," says Drenori, who is still awaiting a decision from the prosecution body. "From the information so far, three prosecutors have been changed, but none of them 'dare' to file an indictment".
The Ministry of Environment has not given an answer regarding Drenor's claims.
"Ferroniceli" has received a new environmental permit to dump the slag in a new location. This is because it no longer occupies the "black coast", below which are the fields and pastures of the inhabitants. Now, the slag is poured into another location, which is known as "Dushkaja 1", where the massive pits opened by the extracted nickel ore have been located for decades, located between three villages: Čikatovo e Vjetër, Dobroshevc and Gllanaselle.
Among other things, the permit required that before dumping the slag, the operator would build the foundation of the landfill with a layer of compacted clay at least half a meter thick. "Ferroniceli" did not do this. Only a geomembrane has been laid, the damage and perforation of which is noticeable and is an indication that this material is not resistant to weights. The water passes through the geomembrane into a lagoon below, which is located above the level of the wells, from which the residents were supplied with water.
On the other hand, the old landfill has not been rehabilitated. It continues to be uncovered with soil. The permit required a fence to prevent the entry of unauthorized persons, as well as the entry of animals into the landfill, but it does not exist. Children also roamed freely, some of whom grazed cattle immediately below the landfill.
Skender Demaku is a professor of Chemistry at the University of Pristina. In recent years, he has carried out a study, the purpose of which was to identify and evaluate the concentration of heavy metals in the soil and underground water, around the "Ferroniceli" industrial complex.
The study found that the soil in this area is contaminated with heavy metals, which has changed the chemical, physical, water and biological properties in an area of about 100 hectares. Experimental data have shown that the water of the Drenica River below the place where it is subjected to the impacts of industrial waste has a high concentration of heavy metals, compared to the water before it reaches this part.
The particles coming out of the chimneys are also a separate problem.
"Rotary furnaces during the firing process release large amounts of dust and gases," says the Air Quality Strategy, in the section referring to "Ferronickel". "The electric furnaces in which the smelting is done for the benefit of metallic Fe-Ni release large amounts of dust and gases (CO, CO2, SO2, NOx) due to the high melting temperatures".
In the Municipality of Drenas, they said that they are not satisfied with the measures taken by the company so far.
"The 'Ferroniceli' complex is the main economic activity for the city and the environmental impacts will continue to be present, therefore it is necessary to have additional control measures to further reduce its impact on the environment," says a response of the Directorate of Urban Planning and Environmental Protection. "The municipality and the central level have asked the 'Ferronickel' factory to improve production technology, change fuels, rehabilitate industrial landfills and revitalize the area. He also asked to respect the implementation of noise reduction measures, through the construction of noise barriers and the green belt.
In "Ferronikel" they did not give the newspaper answers to a series of questions related to landfills and pollution. Meanwhile, on the company's website there is a link that talks about the environment. As for the air, it is emphasized that "Ferroniceli" has modernized all the filters in the factory. Meanwhile, as far as water and soil pollution is concerned, it is written there that the sedimentation basin and oil separator have been built recently, in order to treat atmospheric water.
Power plants, European records for pollution
More than in Drenas, the residents of Obiliq have a problem with smoke, in the territory of which municipality two thermal power plants operate - "Kosova A" and "Kosova B", which operate under the dome of KEK. The pollution from them attacks the air in a very wide space and affects Pristina and Fushë-Kosovo as well.
The second day of September dawned with a black roof over Obiliq. One of the chimneys of the nearly 60-year-old thermal power plant was emitting black smoke, which, after rising not many meters away, created a thin cloud evenly distributed over the city.
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The outgoing Minister of Economic Development, Valdrin Lluka, gives a public explanation, after many citizens expressed concern about what they were seeing on social networks.
"I understood from KEK that this smoke occurs due to the cleaning of the boiler of the A3 block, which has been under repair for 4 months, and now, after the repair is completed and before the work begins, the cleaning must be done, which will last for 4 days with about 3 hours a day", declared Lluka, who asked the citizens in the region of Obiliq to limit going out to open spaces during this time. "It is an inevitable process for the outdated technology of this power plant."
The chimneys of the thermal power plant "Kosova A" have started to smoke since 1962, when the first block of five was erected, three of which are out of order. Following international pressure to end the enormous pollution of this dinosaur, authorities have pledged to close it by 2017. This is not done, the cause of the gap between the demand for electricity and what is produced. Therefore, its closure is now related to the time when the "New Kosova" will start work, a power plant whose foundations have not yet been laid.
Thus, with frequent patches, the old power plant is kept alive, which, in addition to the lights, has also given Kosovo a black record.
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) is a leading not-for-profit organization in the EU whose primary concern is the impact of the environment on health. Two years ago, she issued the report: "Unpaid health bill - How coal-fired power plants in the Western Balkans are making us sick". The document shows the record held by Kosovo's thermal power plants.
"Emitted pollutants, the most harmful to health are PM2.5 particles. 'Kosova A' and 'Kosova B' are the biggest emitters in Europe with a total of 7.500 tons of PM2.5 per year. These units emit four times more PM2.5 than most coal-fired power plants in the Balkans, and the emissions record is held by Unit 5 of the 'Kosova A' power plant, which emits nine times more PM2.5 than the average Balkan power plant," it says. in the report. "The thermal power plant 'Kosova B' is one of the largest emitters of NOx gases in the Balkans, with 14.520 tons per year. The power plant emits three times more NOx than the average power plant in the Balkans".
Kosovo has the fifth largest coal reserves in the world, a fuel that is considered the most polluted fossil fuel. Power plants use it as fuel. And, despite this, the Government plans to build a new power plant.
KEK has operated for many decades with the two thermal power plants, but also with the mines of Bardhi and Mirash, without adequate environmental control and without plans for stable operations and closure of the mines after their exhaustion. As a result, whole villages have turned into either pits where coal was mined, or landfills where ash was placed.
Fitore Hashani is director of Environmental Protection in the Municipality of Obiliq. It shows how the environment is affected by power plants.
"The high level of gas emissions with a large concentration of acidic substances, dust and spontaneous combustion of coal, causes great air pollution. The non-treatment of water from the technological process, the water flowing from surface mining, the poor condition of the reservoirs in the gasification area and the washing of the soil from atmospheric precipitation, in the entire KEK area, which has been polluted with phenols over time, causes to a great extent the pollution of the river Sitnica, with special emphasis on phenols", says director Hashani. "An additional problem is also the ash dump of the thermal power plant 'Kosova B', as well as the pits opened during surface mining for the exploitation of coal. During the process of burning coal, the emission of known pollutants is caused, such as flying dust, dust particles, SO2, NOx, soot, etc.".
Until recent years, residents in the capital did not know how high the pollution was, most of which is caused by power plants. But when the US Embassy began measuring air quality and released real-time data online, they were alarmed. They saw how, from late autumn to early spring, Pristina is competing with Beijing for the status of the most polluted capital in the world.
In KEK they are aware that they operate with legacy technology plants, which were not designed to be environmentally friendly. But, in this corporation they say that the pollution from its plants has been reduced to the lowest levels since the beginning of their operations. Based on the data that this corporation has provided to the newspaper, the cycle of environmental investments amounts to more than 60 million euros.
"Based on continuous monitoring carried out by KEK and other independent institutions, air emissions from the smokestack in the 'Kosova B' power plant are at the limit of those designed during installation, while in the 'Kosova A' power plant, thanks to the investments in Elektrofiltra, dust emissions are already on the border with the EU standards", said Skender Bucolli, director of information at KEK, according to whom the cause of 80 percent of pollution - the transport of dry ash - has been eliminated through the strips. "With the completion of the project for the hydraulic transfer of ash from the power plants 'Kosova A' and 'Kosova B', all the ash is transported through pipes hydraulically (water/ash volume ratio 1 to 1) to the passive pits of the Mirash surface mine. These pits are then designed and covered with waste (and) by the Department of Re-cultivation of KEK".
Ash-colored tiles in Elez's Han
The tiles of the houses in Han i Elez are monochromatic. There is no local policy that has imposed the residents to make uniforms, but the gray ones are made from the dust of the cement factory, which has been operating in the heart of the city for more than 80 years.
Founded in 1936 and privatized nine years ago, "SharrCem" is the sole producer and main supplier of cement in Kosovo. Cement, as a final product, is obtained from a process that involves ten steps and results from the grinding of a combination of clinker, gypsum and other natural and artificial materials.
The company is aware of the pollution.
"The cement production process affects the environment. SharrCem's operations are highly dependent on the use of natural resources. We are aware of our impact on nature", says the company's website, but in which it is emphasized that caring for the environment is one of their priorities. "Dust, noise, safety hazards, changes in appearance from the use of raw materials, air emissions, energy and water consumption are issues related to daily performance. For this reason, we undertake actions that reduce our operational impact on the environment."
PM10 particles, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are the primary emissions during cement production, a World Bank report shows, which also points out that small amounts of volatile organic compounds, ammonia, are also emitted. , chlorine and hydrogen chloride. Hazardous emissions may also include residual materials from fuels and raw materials or incomplete combustion products.
The local authorities say that after the intervention in the filters, the dust emissions have been significantly reduced, but they complain that even further, "SharrCem" continues to remain one of the biggest air polluters in Han i Elezit.
"The impact dust outside the factory, as a result of keeping repromaterials in open spaces, the dust from the clinker mill, as well as the transient dust, which is actually the total of dust particles from unspecified sources, which are related to certain activities and conditions such as: transport of materials, cleaning, maintenance, wind, etc. "Also, very disturbing for the citizens of Hani i Elez is a very bad and offensive smell, which from time to time comes from 'SharrCem', which we believe originates from the use of substandard combustion materials", says Daci. "Regarding this, we have asked for clarifications from 'SharrCem' and the chief inspector of the environment at the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, but until today we have not received any kind of answer".
Neither the Ministry nor "SharrCem" have spoken about this, despite the newspaper's insistence.
As for the actions of the company, but also of the central authorities regarding the reduction of pollution, in Elezit Inn they have said that they are partially satisfied. Meanwhile, they have expressed concern about the effects of pollution on the health of the population.
"We think that there have been delays in the implementation of projects related to the reduction of pollution. Also, 'SharrCem' still has work to do so that the pollution is reduced to the allowed standards and in accordance with the integrated environmental permit, with which it was provided in 2014", says director Daci. "The pollution from 'SharrCem', even though it is at lower levels than in previous years, still in our opinion, constitutes a serious threat to the health of citizens, especially if we take into account the frequency of diseases of the respiratory organs, as well as cancerous diseases" .
Pollution and deaths that hide
The common denominator of all industrial pollutants is endangering the health of the population exposed to them.
Based on the HEAL report, the two existing coal-fired power plants alone create up to 352 million euros per year in health costs, of which 169 million euros burden the population within the region. High health costs are also caused by "Trepça", "Ferroniceli" and "SharrCemi".
In the National Institute of Public Health, they show that the health consequences depend on the type of pollutant, its dose, the duration of exposure and the route of their penetration into the body - air, water, food. They also told about the most vulnerable groups and about the diseases that are the source of these pollutants.
"The most sensitive categories are the elderly, children, the chronically ill, the pregnant, the poor and people with compromised immunity," says Era Pireva, information officer of this Institute. "The most frequent diseases caused by industrial pollution (as one of the causes) are diseases of the respiratory system (chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, asbestosis, etc.), diseases of the cardiovascular system (heart disease, anemia), diseases malignancy, nervous disorders, weakening of the eyes, allergic diseases, then there is a delay in the growth and development of children, an increase in the number of children born prematurely and with low weight, etc.".
However, there are no data that talk about specific diseases of residents near these pollutants. This is because, according to Pireva, there is no specific research for these areas.
In this Institute, they do not even have data on mortality as a result of pollution.
However, there is a World Bank report that talks about them. It is based on substantial scientific research, but is limited to the public health impacts of air pollution and PM particles in particular.
"Based on exposure/response coefficients, annual concentrations of PM in ambient air, and data on the exposed population, air pollution in urban areas in Kosovo is estimated to cause 835 premature deaths," the study states.
The Auditor General has found that the Kosovar authorities are hiding the extent of pollution.
"The dangerous parameters for human health that are evident in our country, PM10 and PM2.5 (dust particles), were not reported for an average of 4.2 months during 2017, which is not a little especially if they are winter months (months when these parameters reach maximum values)", says a 2018 report. "Despite the lack of reporting, in those cases where it has been reported, alarming exceedances of the PM10 parameter have been recorded that have reached up to 400 percent exceedance."
In this document, it is also emphasized that industrial polluters contract companies to measure the emissions that are released into the air, for which they are obliged to report to AMMK on a monthly basis. The companies carry out the monitoring during a day of the month that they designate themselves and this methodology, according to the Auditor, results in "indicative and not real data".
Indifference and concealment of reality was also shown by the international community, almost two decades ago.
In 2000, internal UNMIK reports indicated lead contamination in the terrain of the area where IDP camps, such as the one in Zhitkoc, were located. Four years later, the WHO found high levels of lead in the blood of the camp's residents and strongly demanded that UNMIK immediately evacuate children and pregnant women. The displacement started only in 2010.
In 2016, an advisory panel on human rights published an opinion recommending that the UN issue a public apology and pay compensation to the victims of the camps. The UN did not do this, but a year later, the Secretary General of this organization created a voluntary trust fund for community assistance projects, to reach out "more widely to the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities". There was no mention of individual allowances.
UNMIK has now given no hope that meritorious compensation will occur for those affected by the pollution.
Sanam Dolatshahi, spokesperson of this mission, says that the efforts to mobilize voluntary resources in the trust fund in support of these communities have continued. Basically, a symbolic amount has been poured into this year.
"In May 2019, an initial contribution of US$10.000 was received in this trust fund," says Dolatshahi. "The United Nations remains engaged in efforts to realize more contributions to this fund and, in this direction, expects the full support of member states."
Abiti was 14 years old when he was sheltered in the contaminated camps in Zveçan. He mentions the names of people who he believes have died due to exposure to "Trepca" waste. But he also knows many peers who are suffering those consequences even now.
There is another reason that makes Abit live with worry about the future.
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"We have forgotten ourselves. "Someone told us that we can see the consequences of contamination in the children we give birth to," he says. "I'm very afraid."
(Project financed by the European Union, managed by the EU Office in Kosovo and implemented by BIRN and AGK)
