3 December 2009

PANCEVO - After the latest air pollution in Pancevo, which lasted several days, an emergency meeting of the Workgroup for the monitoring of pollution in Pancevo was held. The meeting was organised by the Serbian Minister of environment and spatial planning Oliver Dulic, who said on this occasion that some of the plants at the Oil Refinery in Pancevo and "Petrohemija" had to be renovated and modernised in order not to pollute the environment and so that the pollution of 26th November would not happen again.

There were no investments in the modernisation of plants in "Petrohemija" for 20 years and the measures to reduce pollution will be conducted at the end of the year.

"The situation is not good, but it is much better than last year, because a lot of money was invested in ecology", said Dulic during the tour of Pancevo, adding that the reconstruction of plants at "Petrohemija" and the Refinery would make it possible to enter the following year more calmly. According to his words, the State will help "Petrohemija" financially and the Refinery, which is a branch of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), will be helped with the issuing of necessary working permits, with strict control of working deadlines.

"We understand the difficult economic situation, especially in NIS, but I do not like it when other bureaucratic procedures regarding the issuing of working permits are used as an excuse for the lack of investments", said Dulic during the talks with the CEO of NIS Kirill Kravchenko. Kravchenko formerly said that the investments in ecology were standing still because local authorities did not issue the working permits.

The CEO of NIS announced increased investments in the ecological projects next year and stated that 30 percent more money would be invested than this year. According to him, the cause of frequent pollution in Pancevo is traffic. "If we inspect the situation in the city carefully, we will see that the biggest problem is traffic and not production", says Kravchenko

The mayor of Pancevo Vesna Martinovic asked the Ministry of environment to increase the number of inspectors in Pancevo and protested against the negation of the existence of pollution problems in the city. "There are children and old people living here who are very sick and the majority of my friends cannot live normally without an inhaler. Do not tell me that this is normal", says Vesna Martinovic.

A dozen of Pancevo citizens waited for minister Dulic in front of the main entrance to the City Hall with whistles and banners that said "Boo!". Minister Oliver Dulic did not meet them, because he went to the meeting using a different entrance.

The night when pollution reached maximum

High pollution was registered in Pancevo on 26th November. The Republic environmental inspection examined the factories of the petrochemical complex and determined numerous irregularities. Inspector Jelena Stankovic stated for Radio Pancevo that charges would be raised against the responsible persons and the company for economic offence.

On that night the devices of the city system for the monitoring of air pollution in Pancevo measured increased concentration of benzene, hydrogen sulphide, total amount of hydrocarbons and powdery substances in the air. Many citizens called the Information Centre in Pancevo, to complain about the unpleasant smells and irritation of the throat and eyes, and the Emergency medical service received calls from a number of citizens suffering from suffocation and cardiovascular difficulties. Several heart attacks were treated at the Emergency medical centre.

The following morning there were no increased concentrations of polluting matter like the previous night, but there was a high concentration of grime.

"During the last 24 hours, at the measuring point "Institute", grime was present in high concentration. Its concentration was 214 micrograms per cubic metre, which is four to five times above the limit. The threshold limit value is 50 micrograms per cubic metre over 24 hours. Almost identical concentrations of grime were measured in other measuring points of the Institute of public health", said the director of the Institute, Dr Ljiljana Lazic.

The Republic Inspection for ecology announced that they would raise charges against the responsible persons at "Petrohemija" and against the company itself for the pollution measured in the city on 26th November. Inspector Jelena Stankovic performed an inspection of the factory at the petrochemical complex and determined numerous irregularities. However, director of "Petrohemija" Sasa Pavlov asked for the Republic Inspection to give them evidence based on which they would raise charges against the company.

Mayor Vesna Martinovic stated on 26th November that the pollution was the culmination of environmental contamination that lasted for days.

"It is absolutely unacceptable that all responsible persons are behaving like everything is fine", said the mayor, adding that if the Republic Inspection did not do its job properly, she herself would raise criminal charges against the polluters.

"For me as a citizen of this town, and I believe for all citizens of Pancevo, the excuse that the cause of pollution cannot be determined is not good enough. It is simply immoral that we have pollution, like in the case of Pancevo, and that we still do not know who the polluter is or why the air is polluted, as well as what to do to solve the problem", stated the mayor of Pancevo.

Effect of grime on public health

What is especially interesting is that over the last years the public attention was constantly directed to air pollution caused by the industry, and the presence of grime was neglected.

The reports of the Institute of public health show that the concentration of grime in Pancevo during two months in a year is significantly above the values allowed by the Regulations on threshold limit values of emission, and that it is four to five times above the allowed value.

It was scientifically proved that the increase of grime particles by just 10 percent in the city affects public health, mainly those who suffer from cardiovascular diseases.

Comparative researches on the effects of polluted air on public health, which were conducted in several countries, definitely proved that the presence of poison gasses and grime particles in the air were the cause of heart and lung diseases. At the end of November, grime in Pancevo exceeded the threshold limit values by 16 times and during the critical days it was four to five percent higher than the allowed concentration.

Subspecialist of ecotoxicology Dr Mica Saric Tanaskovic points out that the citizens react the most when they hear that the amount of benzene in the air was increased and that the particles, like grime, are much more dangerous for public health.

Grime particles damage the mucous membrane, either through direct contact or chemical substances present in grime, and that becomes a good terrain for a person to catch both viral and bacterial infections. On that night (26th November), we had a cocktail of polluting substances in the air, which made the citizens feel much worst than the previous days.

The concentrations of grime in Pancevo are increased during two months in a year, as shown by the research of the Institute of public health, conducted in this town over several decades.

Dr Saric Tanaskovic warns that it is dangerous when grime reaches the value of 10 micrograms per cubic metre, and in the case of Pancevo, during the previous days the amount of grime went over 100 micrograms per cubic metre. Dr Saric Tanaskovic says that these turbulences are dangerous. "These fluctuations, these changes in the concentration are more dangerous than when you have a constant concentration. Chronic patients, children and pregnant women are threatened the most. Small children have a sensitive and not fully developed mucous and pregnant women are in a particular physiological condition, which causes their whole cardiovascular and respiratory system to work more intensely", says she.

With the increased concentration of particles we have an increased risk of dying with people suffering from cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, when we talk about lung cancer, which people generally connect with pollution, the fact is that the disease is not the result of pollution itself. It also depends on a personal choice when someone, for example, decides to be a smoker.

Unlike us, the cities in Europe, which do not have problems with heating, when they register increased concentrations of pollution caused by traffic, they react immediately. Using light signalization they stop the traffic in the problematic parts of the city. "It is a sign of political power to be able to come to that kind of a decision", says Dr Saric Tanaskovic.

Will Europe come to Pancevo or will the city solve the problem in a different way, remains to be decided by the authorities.

A temporary salvation for the citizens of Pancevo could be the rain that was announced for the middle of December, since it reduces the concentration of grime particles in the air.

Source: EkoForum