The environment in the Balkan region may seem to be of 'secondary' importance in a time of so much immediate human tragedy. We should however realise that the environmental damage caused by the Kosovo war could continue to cause human suffering in the region far beyond the immediate armed confict. This is of course not an exclusive 'feature' of this particular war, but a consequence of every major modern armed conflict.
The following short report on the environmental impact of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was presented to a meeting of Greenpeace staff in Amsterdam last week. Presenters were the author of the report, Dr. Bora Cvetkovic, a Serbian medic who came to The Netherlands in the early nineties as a political refugee, and Prof. Karel van der Leeuw from the University of Amsterdam.
Disclaimer: - This message, the report and the information contained in it is sent to you under personal title and does not represent any official Greenpeace policy. The report was presented to Greenpeace staff solely for information and as an internal discussion focus, like it is now presented to the Nettime list and our individual contacts. The information and statements enclosed in this message and in the report have not in any way been officially endorsed or verified by Greenpeace. - It is at this point obviously not possible to scientifically vouch for the correctness of all the information contained in this report. It is, however, possible to make likely "guesstimates" on the longer term environmental impact of the war on the basis of NATO data, available information from personal contacts, and best existing knowledge of environmental factors and human infrastructure in the region. - Any available information on the consequences of this conflict from any of the warring parties is potentially subject to distorting propaganda or censorship. - Illustrating the completely contradictory current reports on environmental damages as a result of the Kosovo war: A UN conference held May 12-16 concluded that "no significant water pollution or environmental damages caused by the war in Yugoslavia/Kosovo could be detected so far". This assessment was based on information provided by conference participants and downstream countries. It was called for by Yugoslav authorities who report grave environmental damage as a result of the NATO bombings. This conference was organized by the UN Development Program and was supported by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube river. Participants came from all Danube countries, the UN Environment Program, the World Bank, the World Wildlife Foundation and the Danube Environmental Forum. The participants agreed that more rigorous monitoring and assessments were urgently needed in the region for precautionary purposes. - For further detail on the information sources mentioned at the end of this report, please send an email to Dr. Bora Cvetcovic: boradean at xs4all.nl
Greetings, Josselien Janssens
Text of the report follows:
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THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE NATO BOMBING IN YUGOSLAVIA
By Dr. Bora Cvetcovic Amsterdam, 19 May 1999
Nato bombing in Yugoslavia started 24, 1999. Up to now, 9000 missiles and bombs have been fired at various targets, an expenditure of more than 12 million kilograms of explosives. Many of these guided devices have been targeted at the Yugoslav infrastructure, the destruction of which has caused serious environmental problems in the region. The main causes of the pollution in the area are:
- The destruction of:
chemical and petrochemical plants
fertilizer factories
oil depots and refineris
pharmaceutical plants
-Use of depleted uranium
-Burned aircraft fuel
DESTRUCTION OF CHEMICAL AND PETROCHEMICAL PLANTS
In the city of Pancevo, 15km northeast of Belgrade, there are located combined petrochemical and fertilizer factories and an oil refinery. A VCM (vinyl chloride monomer) plant was targeted two times in april. Vinyl chloride is used principally for the production of polyvinyl chloride, a synthetic resin. VCM is known to cause cancer and has a damaging effect on liver and kidneys in humans. This factory produces 300 tons of VCM per day. NATO airforce hit production facilities and storage depots of the VCM while the plant was in regular operation. This resulted in a huge explosion. A toxic cloud of smoke and gas, hundreds of feet in hight was produced containing phosgene, hydrochloride acid, ethylene dichloride and VCM. 20 tons of luiquid chlorine was released into the atmosphere. This threatened Pancevo urban area of 120,000 inhabitants and indirectly Belgrade with its population of 2 million. After the bombardment the amount of the toxic gases in the air above Pancevo were 1000 times above the permitted level, reported Violeta Orlovic from the Institute for the Protection of Nature of Serbia. Many people were affected by the gas. Several thousand reported feeling nausea and vertigo. Residents were told to breathe through scarves soaked in sodium bicarbonate. Plants of chemical process industries of this type have never been military targets or subject of strikes. On April 15 NATO airforce bombed a fertilizer company in Pancevo. The ammonia division facility, the power supply division and the units were destroyed. The municipality of Baric was also hit. There is in Baric a large complex for the production of chloride. On the second day of bombing, a chemical factory in the Belgrade suburb of Sremcica was also targeted and hit. Other facilites for the production of potentially hazardous material that have been damaged are: the pharmaceutical factory "Galenika" in Belgrade, a plastics factory in Pristina, a chemical industry "Milan BLagojevic" in Lucani and a factory for the production of prharmaceutical products "Zdravlje" in Leskovac. In addition, several transformer stations were destroyed in NATO attacks which resulted in the leakage of highly toxic pyralene.
BOMBARDMENT OF OIL DEPOTS
NATO military jets repeatedly target dozens of the country's major oil refineries. NATO reported the destruction of the 70% of the refineries and 30% of the counttry's capacities. Such installations were hit in the cities of Novi Sad, Pancevo, Belgrade, Nis, Pristina, Sombor, Smederevo and elsewhere. Power-heating plants with their oil reservoirs were destroyed in Novi Sad and Belgrade.
WATER POLLUTION
Serbia has one of the most extensive underground water systems in Europe. The contamination of these vital water sources will be felt in the whole surrounding area and all the way to the Black Sea. Oil and petrol from the damaged refineries area has flowed into the Danube, forming slicks 15km long and 400m wide. Workers at the Pancevo petrochemical complex decided to release ethylene dichloride into the Danube to avoid the risk of an explosion. The engineers of this plant have recently reported that in total 1400 tons of this carcinogenic matter, 800 tons of 33% hydrochloride acid, large deposits of mercury and 3000 tons of lye flowed into the river. The pollution is expected to go downstream to Romania and Bulgaria. Bombing at the Zastava car factory in Kragujevac has caused several tons of pyralene to leak into the Velika Morava river, one of the major tributaries of the Danube in Serbia. Even a small amount of this carcenogenic material can poison one million litres of water. About 10 million people in Balkan region depend on the Danube for drinking water.
USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM
At a US Defence Department briefing held on May 7, 1999, Pentagon has confirmed the use of depleted uranium (DU) in the conflict with Yugoslavia. This is the third time in history that this dangerous metal is being used in weapons. Bullets being fired by A-10 anti-tank aircraft and probably all Tomahawk Cruise missiles in the campaign Allied Force contain DU. The Coghill Research Laboratories from UK cite eminent radiation physicists who calculate that unprecedented use of DU inserts in Cruise missiles in Yugoslavia will have the same effect as Chernobil and the Three Mile Island disaster. DU is a waste product of the enrichment of uranium for military and civilian use. It is 40% less radioactive than natural uranium. The half life of this sort of uranium is 10 billion years. It pollutes the environment for a very long period of time. That's why it has as nickname "metal of dishonor". DU is used in shells because of it's low price and because of it's extreme density (1,7 times as dense as lead) which penetrates targets better. The U.S. stockpile exceeds a billion pounds of this heavy metal. DU was used, for military purposes, for the first time during the Gulf War in the 1991. The estimated amount of DU left around the Gulf War zone is between 350 and 750 tons. As the shell hits its target, it burns and releases uranium oxide. This aerosol contains particles of DU 0.5-5 microns in size which, once they are in the air, can be carried by the wind and inhaled or ingested. DU is both radioactive and toxic. Once in the lungs, one such particle is equivalent to having one chest X-ray per hour for life. Because it is impossible to remove, the victim is gradually irradiated. There extensive reports from southern Iraq about a large increase of stillbirths, birth defects, leukemia and other cancers in children born since 1991. Some scientific researches indicates that DU could be responsible for the Gulf War syndrome from which thousands of US veterans suffer.
AIRCRAFT FUEL
More than 1,100 military aircraft are being used in the bombing of Yugoslavia. NATO claims it has carried out around 21,000 sorties so far. Jet fuel exhaust releases toxic and cancerous gases into the atmosphere such as: ammonium-perchlorat, polyvinyl-chloride, lead-stearate, polybutadie, polyethan etc. Ivan Grozdanov, a chemist at the Centre for Radioisotopes in Skopje said that the burning aircraft fuel is a primary source of stratospheric nitrogen oxides which are severely damaging the ozone layer. In combination with other sources of pollution, this has caused acid rains which have already occured in northern Serbia and that will affect agriculture and forest regions.
AFFECTED COUNTRIES IN THE REGION
"By burning down enormous quantities of naphtha and its derivatives more than a hundred highly toxic chemical compounds that pollute water, air and soil are released endangering the entire Balkan ecosystem", said New Green Party scientist Luka Radoja. The chief inspector of the Macedonian Ministry of environment, Miroslav Baburski, claims that furans and dioxins released by bomb explosions are being carried over very long distances. The pollution is entering Macedonia by air and by the river Lepenec which crosses the border between Yugoslavia and Macedonia. The toxic products in the air which are spreading in the Europe, have already reached Poland. Depending on a weather conditions they could also affect Hungary, Greece and Italy.
CONCLUSION
The NATO campaign in Yugoslavia is exposing hundreds of thousands of citizens to various sorts of poisoning. This will have serious short, medium and long term consequences to the health of the inhabitants and the environment of the southeast Europe. Long lasting toxic, mutagenous and cancerous effects of the released chemicals will increase malign, lung, skin and other diseases. Over 20 international treaties and conventions are being violated by this agression. Pollution on such scale deserves greater attention of the world's public and direct actions of all those who are commited to protecting the natural environment.
Bibliography:
Coghil Research Laboratories Lower Race, Pontypool, Gwent NP4 5UH, UK Tel. + 44 1495 763389 Fax.+ 44 1495 769882 E-mail: cogreslab at aol.com Website: http://www.cogreslab.demon.co.uk Depleted uranium article: http://192.41.18.8/nato/du/du.htm
Violeta Orlovic Head of the Department for Education and Communication Institute for the Protection of Nature of Serbia III bulevar 106 11070 Belgrade, Yugoslavia Tel./fax: + 381 11 142 281 E-mail: nature at net.yu Website: www natureprotection.org
BBC Internet news May 7, 1999 Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news
International Action Center 39 West 14th Street, #206, New York, NY 10011 U.S.A. Tel. + 1 212 633 6646 Fax.+ 1 212 633 2889 Website: http://www.iacenter.org e-mail: iacenter at iacenter.org
Yugoslav Academic Community Website: http://www.aim.ac.yu feed at aim.ac.yu
The Regional Enviromental Center (for Central and Eastern Europe) Website: http://www.rec.org
The Managing Board of HIP - Azotara (Fertilizer company from Pancevo, FR Yugoslavia) Statement for the press April 15, 1999 Website:http://www.beograd.com/nato/saopstenja.htm
Dr Gabor Mesaros Institute for Biological Research Department of Evolutionary Biology 29. novembra 142 11 000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia Website: http://www.ibiss.bg.ac.yu/nato/default.htm
http://mesaros.ibiss.bg.ac.yu E-mail: mesaros at ibbi.ibiss.bg.ac.yu
Statement for the press Dejan Dimic production engineer VCM-DP HIP Petrohemija-Pancevo, Yugoslavia (Vinyl Monomer Plant) E-mail: dima at yubc.net
"Ecological Catastrophe Hits Yugoslavia" EcoNet Website: http://www.igc.org/igc/en/hl/99042913202/hl1.html
"Depleted Uranium" Military Toxics Project Website: http://www.miltoxproj.org
News, May 19, 1999 Glas Javnosti (Yugoslav daily) Website: http://www.glas-javnosti.co.yu
Ass.Prof. Dr. Radoje Lausevic Serbian Ecological Society Univ.Belgrade, Fac. Biology Takovska 43 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia Tel. + 381 11 767 988 Fax.+ 381 11 769 903 E-mail: rlausevic at EUnet.yu
ENDS