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Don’t by your girlfriend or wife roses for valentine they might be from Veles.
Five thousand roses to clean soil in polluted Macedonian city
14.10.2010 @ 10:16 CET
A town in northern Macedonia is planning to plant thousands of roses to rid its soil of dangerous industrial pollution. The soil in Veles, a town with a population of 50,000, has seven times more than the international safety limit of heavy metal content.
Residents are also seeking redress in a protracted lawsuit against the government, which they accuse of failing to properly tackle the 30-year-old issue.
Children playing in the town of Veles are at risk of diseases caused by exposure to heavy metals (Photo: Petar Pechkov)
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The lead and cadmium pollution was caused by a temporarily defunct lead and zinc smelter in the town. The smelting plant was bought by Metrudhem, a Skopje-based company established in the British Virgin Islands, for €2.3 million in 2008.
"The situation is not just worrying - it is truly alarming," said Nenad Kocic, president of Vila Zora, a grassroots group that campaigns for a healthier environment. "The heavy metal content exceeds international limits and is devastating for health."
Mr Kocic said heavy metals could be detected 20cm deep in the soil, which proved they had been systemic for the past three decades.
Heavy metals affect human beings through the food chain. The lead is stored in the bones, blood and kidneys, while cancerous cadmium mainly affects the gastrointestinal tract. Researchers have also found that boys have higher levels than girls as the former are more likely to play with soil.
Ten years ago, the World Health Organisation declared Veles a dangerous place to live because of excessive sulphur dioxide emissions from the local smelting industry. Since then successive governments have done little to change the situation in a meaningful way.
Since the lead and zinc mill closed down five years ago, the air in Veles has become clean, but the soil is not. Pollution-related diseases still affect residents, particularly young people, according to a survey conducted by the National Health Institute and Clinical Centre in Skopje between 2004 and 2006.
Veles' local authorities, backed by several grassroots groups, are suing the central government to force it to pay to clean the soil in the area. It is the first ever lawsuit brought by citizens of the former Yugoslav republic against their top executive and proceedings are advancing slowly due to lack of legal practice.
"Planting grass in the yards is the only solution," said Mihail Kochubovski, a doctor from the Institute of Public Health. "It will eliminate heavy metal polluted dust from the ground."
Following the advice of agricultural researchers from Skopje University, the mayor of Veles, Goran Petrov, has announced a campaign to plant 5,000 roses in the town in a project funded by the Swiss embassy in Macedonia. The idea is that the plant's root system will decontaminate the soil by absorbing heavy metals.
"As from this autumn we will massively plant roses in public spaces," said Mr Petrov. "This flower can decontaminate the soil. The city will also become more beautiful."
Macedonia may also tap into EU aid to cover the hefty decontamination costs, but officials say they first have to establish who is responsible for the pollution.
"If the responsibility lies with the state, then they could ask for some IPA [Instrument for Pre-Accession] funds," said an EU diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to an EU aid facility. "But if it is established that the responsibility lies with the plant, the European Commission could not intervene in any manner now that the facility has new owners."
What people in Veles now fear most of all is that the government in Skopje will allow the plant to resume operations without adequate environmental safeguards.
Five thousand roses to clean soil in polluted Macedonian city
14.10.2010 @ 10:16 CET
A town in northern Macedonia is planning to plant thousands of roses to rid its soil of dangerous industrial pollution. The soil in Veles, a town with a population of 50,000, has seven times more than the international safety limit of heavy metal content.
Residents are also seeking redress in a protracted lawsuit against the government, which they accuse of failing to properly tackle the 30-year-old issue.
Children playing in the town of Veles are at risk of diseases caused by exposure to heavy metals (Photo: Petar Pechkov)
Comment article
The lead and cadmium pollution was caused by a temporarily defunct lead and zinc smelter in the town. The smelting plant was bought by Metrudhem, a Skopje-based company established in the British Virgin Islands, for €2.3 million in 2008.
"The situation is not just worrying - it is truly alarming," said Nenad Kocic, president of Vila Zora, a grassroots group that campaigns for a healthier environment. "The heavy metal content exceeds international limits and is devastating for health."
Mr Kocic said heavy metals could be detected 20cm deep in the soil, which proved they had been systemic for the past three decades.
Heavy metals affect human beings through the food chain. The lead is stored in the bones, blood and kidneys, while cancerous cadmium mainly affects the gastrointestinal tract. Researchers have also found that boys have higher levels than girls as the former are more likely to play with soil.
Ten years ago, the World Health Organisation declared Veles a dangerous place to live because of excessive sulphur dioxide emissions from the local smelting industry. Since then successive governments have done little to change the situation in a meaningful way.
Since the lead and zinc mill closed down five years ago, the air in Veles has become clean, but the soil is not. Pollution-related diseases still affect residents, particularly young people, according to a survey conducted by the National Health Institute and Clinical Centre in Skopje between 2004 and 2006.
Veles' local authorities, backed by several grassroots groups, are suing the central government to force it to pay to clean the soil in the area. It is the first ever lawsuit brought by citizens of the former Yugoslav republic against their top executive and proceedings are advancing slowly due to lack of legal practice.
"Planting grass in the yards is the only solution," said Mihail Kochubovski, a doctor from the Institute of Public Health. "It will eliminate heavy metal polluted dust from the ground."
Following the advice of agricultural researchers from Skopje University, the mayor of Veles, Goran Petrov, has announced a campaign to plant 5,000 roses in the town in a project funded by the Swiss embassy in Macedonia. The idea is that the plant's root system will decontaminate the soil by absorbing heavy metals.
"As from this autumn we will massively plant roses in public spaces," said Mr Petrov. "This flower can decontaminate the soil. The city will also become more beautiful."
Macedonia may also tap into EU aid to cover the hefty decontamination costs, but officials say they first have to establish who is responsible for the pollution.
"If the responsibility lies with the state, then they could ask for some IPA [Instrument for Pre-Accession] funds," said an EU diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to an EU aid facility. "But if it is established that the responsibility lies with the plant, the European Commission could not intervene in any manner now that the facility has new owners."
What people in Veles now fear most of all is that the government in Skopje will allow the plant to resume operations without adequate environmental safeguards.