Mittal has both the good and the bad side. On the one hand, around 4000
families depend on it, while on the other, it is rapidly polluting the
environment and jeopardizing health of citizens.

For the past couple of years, Dino Džihić, a Zenica Faculty of Pedagogy student, who lives with his family in the Tetovo Settlment near Zenica, has been dealing with the problem of polluted air and soil and impaired health. Since his father is the only employed member of their family of four, home grown vegetables mean a lot to them. However, the soil they cultivate is polluted by red dust that visibly destroys and pollutes everything they sow.

˝Few days after they sprout, plant leaves in our garden change their colour and the grey tint becomes predominant˝, says Dino, who is well aware of the problem he and other citizens are exposed to due to such level of pollution.

Citizens of Zenica are facing the same problems caused by the work of the Arcelor Mittal Company. The environmental pollution is making Dino´s life more difficult since all the vegetables that grow in his garden are polluted by the chemical substances that comprise dust coming from the Arcelor Mittal´s chimneys.

˝Since I live in the Tetovo field, I can try and describe these daily occurrences closer to you. There are days when the sky turns red. I get the proof of pollution every morning, since I have to wash my car completely covered with a thin layer of dust˝, says Dino in the interview for this story.

Arcelor Mittal is a company that is active in sixty countries across the world. In Zenica, it has replaced an old ˝Željezara˝ (forge plant), meaning that the old infrastructure remained and the management team has been replaced. Hence, this company has both the good side and the bad side. On one hand, around 4000 families from Zenica depend on it, while on the other, it is rapidly polluting the environment and it is harmful for the health of citizens of Zenica. In regard to the pollution caused by Arcelor Mittal, it seems that its management is fully aware of the problem, since, probably to reassure the public, they have announced that 23 million USD have been invested in the environmental protection machinery reconstruction. However, ˝this turned out to be an attempt to add new parts to the existing old machinery which were supposed to improve it, but came to present a lethal danger for the workers, rather than a quality reconstruction.˝, says Sanjin Osmanbašić from Zenica, a ˝Dosta!˝ (Enough!) movement activist.

Supported by the citizens, the activist from the ˝Dosta!˝ movement have raised their voices against the pollution caused by Arcelor Mittal on several occasions. In one of their campaigns, they distributed gas masks at the entrance to the ˝Bilino polje˝ stadium in Zenica on the day one of the best attended matches was played. This act aimed to awake citizens´ consciousness concerning the violation of their health.

Individuals from certain state institutions did react, which can be seen from the press release issued by the Federal Administration for Inspection Issues. This administration organised an inspection which concluded that Arcerol Mittal had not been operating properly. Due to this, they had to pay a 59,500.00 KM fine in 2008 and 2009. Reports show that only a few days before the inspection, carbon dust and smoke gases emission in Zenica was increased to such an extent that a call for inspection of this company was inevitable. In the same press release, the Federal Administration for Inspection Issues invites the local government, namely the Zenica Municipality office, to take responsibility. The administration has allegedly sent a document to the municipality demanding that they deal with the issue of facilities and machinery they are in charge of which pollute the environment, part of the Rača landfill and former Željezara company. They claim that the Zenica Municipality officials tend to forget their obligations and instead transfer the entire burden regarding this problem to the Federal Administration for Inspection Issues.

The Problem of Red Dust

It is important to know what particles comprise dust coming from the Arcelor Mittal's chimneys, since the correct data on the chemicals people of Zenica are inhaling and indirectly swallowing with the food they cultivate can give us an insight into how severe the consequences for their health are.

Docent, Dr. Smajil Durmišević, Chief of Hygiene and Health Ecology Service at the Public Health Institute in Zenica, published an article in the ˝Ze-Do eko˝ bulletin on the pollutant emissioned into Zenica´s environment as a consequence of iron and steel production. He also wrote that ˝the gases from the forge furnace contain the largest amounts of particles. The dust is composed of 30-50% of iron, 4-14% of carbon, 8-13% of silicon oxide. In regard to the pollutant gases, he wrote that the level of carbon monoxide emission is the highest.˝

˝Eko forum Zenica˝ also deals with these issues. This forum published a review on the results of the measurements of air pollution caused by the floating particles in Zenica (PM10, PM 2,5 and PM1) for the purpose of which mobile stations of the Zenica-Doboj Canton were used. The measurements were conducted on three locations in Zenica. The results showed that the level of floating particles emission on all three locations was constantly higher than allowed. ˝Eko forum Zenica˝ also wrote about the impact of so called fine dust on health. They mention that data show that fine dust PM10 from the atmosphere contains tiny molecules which can reach lungs and enter the bloodstream, directly affecting the entire cardio-vascular system.

Local government in Zenica issued the Local Environmental Action Plan stating that the citizens of Zenica have the right to clean environment and they expect this plan to be followed and regarded as one of the most important documents for this city. Mayor´s Cabinet officials stated that the LEAP has almost been completed and it would be proposed to the Municipality Council for adoption in May. The Zenica Municipality plans to allocate 51,000 KM for the implementation of the LEAP.

It is obvious that people of Zenica are not indifferent towards the pollution they are exposed to on daily basis. The question arises as to whether inspections and punishments present a sufficient solution, or there is a need for stronger vox populi to make the authorities and those responsible take necessary actions and protect Zenica and the its citizens´ health. Perhaps there is a chance that those 4000 families of the workers from Arcelor Mittal will have prospects for earning a crust and Dino´s mother will harvest healthy vegetables from her garden.

Foto: Adnan Džonlić