Bosnia: Is coal mining making people sick?
Bosnia generates two-thirds of its electricity from coal. Increasingly, residents around the largest power plant are being diagnosed with cancer, respiratory problems and diabetes. They see a connection.
Category
๐
NewsTranscript
00:00 Gina is harvesting the last tomatoes of the season.
00:07 They're not as tasty anymore as the ones in August, she says.
00:11 She is 74 years old and lives alone.
00:13 Her house is right next to the biggest coal power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
00:19 "I have to grow my own vegetables.
00:25 I can't walk very well in the supermarket as far away.
00:30 When I harvest something, I wash it well, three times, and eat it.
00:36 I don't think it's dangerous."
00:41 She tells me she has four chickens and two cats that keep her company after her husband
00:46 died.
00:49 "My husband died of stomach cancer in 2018, but I don't know what caused it."
01:04 On one side of Gina's house lies the coal power plant.
01:07 On another side, it's ash disposal site.
01:11 This is where the ash from the plant is dumped.
01:14 It's just outside of town, but it feels as far away as the moon.
01:24 This is where we meet Dennis Sisko.
01:27 He is an environmental activist and has been opposing the power plant for years.
01:32 "So, if we look at this."
01:41 "That's poisonous.
01:42 I would wash my hands after to eat that.
01:47 It's full of heavy metals, cadmium, arsenic, lead.
01:51 It's not healthy."
01:52 "So I should better drop it?"
01:54 "Please do, and wash your hands, but not in this water."
02:01 The ash from the plant is pumped with water into the basin.
02:05 Presumably, the ash will be left here for good.
02:08 Dennis tells me that according to a study he did together with a scientist from the
02:12 University of Tuzla, the mixture contains a range of heavy metals.
02:17 The water is toxic and extremely alkaline, he says, so it should not come into contact
02:21 with underground water.
02:24 "So how is this basin, how is it sealed off?"
02:29 "They just built a dam at the end of the valley, and unfortunately there is nothing
02:34 sealing the bottom of this thing.
02:37 So that's where we have a problem.
02:39 Because the way it should have been done, they should have put the liner, some kind
02:42 of prevention of this water penetrating the underground water, which they did not do."
02:48 Dennis comes here regularly to document the site.
02:52 He is afraid that the heavy metals will end up in the soil, the groundwater and ultimately
02:57 the food chain.
02:59 We want to know, does this ash site violate legal standards?
03:03 "According to our legislation it's legal, unfortunately.
03:09 The environmental permits, they're doing everything in accordance with the environmental
03:14 permits.
03:15 So the problem we have in this country is that the whole system is actually working
03:20 to protect the polluters, rather than protect the people and the nature."
03:29 We ask the company whether a sealing exists and get an evasive answer saying they comply
03:34 with all regulations.
03:37 To double check the accusations we ask the Environment Ministry to get an insight into
03:41 the official environment impact assessment of the site.
03:44 They tell us that they can't get hold of the document.
03:50 While water and soil pollution might be one issue, air pollution seems to be the bigger
03:55 one.
03:57 Besides the power plant, traffic, household heating and other industries contribute to
04:02 it.
04:03 Tursla is considered one of the most polluted cities in Europe.
04:08 And measures of particulate matter in the air are often in the unhealthy range during
04:12 our stay.
04:17 Another person who is deeply upset about air pollution is Iset Bartcic, who lives near
04:22 the plant.
04:25 He wants to show his health problems.
04:28 "I have four ruined ribs here."
04:37 He tells us he has been sick for more than 20 years and suspects the reason is the plant.
04:44 "I lost part of my lung, I had cancer, I had tuberculosis.
04:51 All because of the plant.
04:53 Guaranteed.
04:54 It's all because of the power plant.
04:57 I was born here.
04:59 When I was a kid the snow was black in the 70s.
05:06 And now the rain is full of dust."
05:11 Iset shows pictures of his surgery.
05:18 By now he has only half of his lung capacity, he says.
05:22 Iset doesn't want the plant to be closed, but demands better protection.
05:27 He needs to take an array of medication and only goes outside when the pollution level
05:32 is low.
05:33 "Doctors even recommended that I move away if I can.
05:37 But where to?"
05:43 At the local hospital, pulmonologist Zefika Umihanec is treating patients who live in
05:48 the area.
05:52 I show her the level of fine particulate matter of the last days.
05:56 "It's in the red area.
05:59 With up to 200.
06:00 What does it mean for your health, for my health, for everybody's health here?"
06:05 "That's much higher than the maximum for that size of particulates.
06:10 Basically, no amount of this is healthy for humans.
06:16 The higher the concentration and the longer the exposure, the more harmful and longer
06:20 lasting the consequences."
06:27 Fine particulate matter, also called PM2.5, can lead to cancer, cardiovascular diseases,
06:33 diabetes and ultimately premature death.
06:37 I want to know, is it possible to quantify how much harm is caused by the power plant
06:42 and how much by other factors, such as traffic?
06:46 "I cannot give you a percentage because there is no data.
06:56 When it comes to the area around the power plant, air pollution is higher than it is
07:00 in other parts of the city.
07:06 The power plant itself definitely has a negative effect on air quality.
07:11 It is also comparable to other sources of pollution."
07:22 Yet some locals perceive the power plant as the main culprit.
07:26 On Iset street, residents realize we are here to talk about the plant.
07:31 And suddenly everyone wants to have their say.
07:34 They tell us almost all of them have sick or deceased family members.
07:38 "We are being poisoned here.
07:41 My mother died, this neighbor died, his son died, she had surgery.
07:46 And look at Iset's situation."
07:51 Another man stops his car to give his take on it.
07:55 He is in favor of the coal power plant.
07:58 A heated debate starts.
08:04 "They can't close the power plant now.
08:10 This region and the people here depend on it.
08:13 Closing it would mean the end of mining here.
08:16 It would mean job losses.
08:18 And what would we end up with?
08:20 Poverty.
08:21 And somebody from up there deciding when to open and to close the pipes.
08:27 Nowadays, a country that exports energy is a rich country."
08:31 "But there's so much dust."
08:36 "They should use better filters so we can feel better and breathe easier."
08:39 "Especially during winter.
08:44 You can't breathe.
08:45 We are suffocating.
08:47 I've seen many doctors.
08:49 They told me it's no surprise knowing where I live.
08:51 We just want to be healthy.
08:53 We walk around like zombies."
08:59 Bosnia and Herzegovina has huge coal reserves.
09:03 Last year it exported a quarter of the energy it produced.
09:06 The economic benefit to locals, however, here seems limited.
09:11 According to the company, only 352 of the employees are from town.
09:17 Management is not willing to give a TV interview.
09:20 They respond to our questions via email, emphasizing that they comply with all legal requirements.
09:27 They send us their emission data.
09:30 But even when asked again, don't specifically clarify emissions of PM2.5, fine particulate
09:36 matter.
09:40 Despite many cancer cases and a small study funded by an NGO, it's difficult to legally
09:45 prove a link between the power plant and people's sickness.
09:49 I want to get answers from the Public Health Institute of the canton.
09:53 But don't get clarity there either.
10:01 Research is needed to assess the impact energy producers have on people's health.
10:07 But neither the state nor the canton dedicates enough financial resources for it.
10:14 We ask for the money, but nobody wants to give it to us.
10:18 The only study that has been done was by an environmental organization, and they only
10:24 had a small budget.
10:28 It seems like official institutions and government bodies are turning a blind eye, or shifting
10:34 the blame.
10:41 Gina is living a slow life.
10:44 Sometimes she suffers from pronchitis.
10:47 But she has no anger against the coal power plant.
10:54 I love living here.
10:56 It's what I know.
10:59 She has made peace with the place where she lives.
11:06 At my age, you don't have big dreams.
11:09 You fight to take the next step, to walk, to stand up.
11:16 It's been more than 50 years since the power plant was built here.
11:21 I leave wondering how the situation will look for the next generation in Tuzla.
11:26 (upbeat music)