UNMIK ON AIR

26 June 2003

Health Hazards at Obilic

(By Luan Qorraj)

SLUG: kosovo’s power plants produce a little electricity and a lot of pollution.

Drive from Prishtina towards Obiliq, and the first thing you see are clouds of gray smoke rising from the chimneys of kosovo’s power plants. The smoke leaves a dusting of gray silt over most of the fields surrounding Obiliq, and the once red-tiled rooftops of surrounding villages are now gray. This gray blanket seems to be the most visible sign of electricity production.

Other signs, though less visible, are mentioned in media, and conversations. A couple of weeks ago Zeri weekly published an article about a woman from Obiliq whose two children died. Pollution was blamed for their death.

There are many rumors circulating about the health situation of the people living around power plants. A common response to someone who coughs frequently is “you cough like you are from Obliliq”.

So just how dangerous are Kosovo’s power plants? According to Florina Skeja from the Regional Environmental center they are very dangerous:

Florina Skeja: An increase in Cancer cases was noticed with the population in Obiliq. These numbers should be found and made public. At least that way people would be informed and could do something about it.

Environmental groups like The Kosovar Young Ecologysts have been warning about the dangers of kosovo’s power plants for quite a while; especially kosovo A, which is believed to be the greatest polluter because of outdated technology, and the fact that the filters on its chimneys don’t usually work. Guri Shkodra from the kosovar Young Ecologysts, says that kosova A is very dangerous for the surrounding area and doesn’t produce much electricity either:

Guri Shkodra: what kosova A does is that it drastically puts at risk the health of the surrounding population including Obiliq, a part of Fushe Kosova and even parts of Prishtina. I know that for the workers, according to some analyses done by Kek’s institute for working medicine each Kek worker has at least one illness.

But Doctor Xhevat Pllana, from KEK’s institute of working medicine, says the numbers of sick have been inflated in the past. But the numbers of some illnesses are still much higher than they should be, especially in areas surrounding Kosovo A. And it’s not only workers exposed to the dangerous coal dust who are affected.

Xhevat Pllana: I have already said that the sicknesses of the respiratory system are dominant with the workers in Mirash and separation- mainly in Kosovo A. But even those workers who are not in production, those who work in closed offices, the fact that they are close to the plant means they still have very high levels of upper respiratory tract illnesses.

Although the ministry of environment recently came out with a study that remarks an increased number of cancer cases in the Obiliq surroundings, it has no explanation for it. No measurements of levels of dangerous toxins have been made and, according to REC’s Florina Skeja, the lack of hard evidence only makes the chance of doing something about it more difficult:

Florina Skeja: Unfortunately there are no measurements, and so it is very difficult to prove something either way to donors that might be interested in investing here. But it is more than evident that the air we are breathing is not healthy. Maybe for us, who are grown up, the effects won’t be as strong, we will only have problems with our lungs. But I do not know what kinds of problems our children will face.

As Obiliq’s smoke keeps pouring from the chimneys, one can only imagine the health problems the gray dust is bringing with it. There are even days when Prishtina residents wake up to the smell of sulphur. And the accumulated effect of it all will only be worse for the younger generations, says Skeja.

Florina Skeja: It is expected that, especially Prishtina citizens, and the people who are directly influenced by the Obiliq chimneys, will have respiratory problems, especially lung problems. But everyone will have the tendency to develop chronic bronchitis. But this is only the starting phase. We do not know what might happen afterwards since we do not know what exactly is in the dust.

And it may take some time before we find out. On the brighter side- the new environmental law has just been signed by the SRSG expected to bring many positive changes since it covers issues that were once in the gray zone. The new law will even allow people who were affected by pollution to sue the polluters.

With this we close today’s edition of UNMIK on Air, thanks for listening and stay tuned for more.