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Photo: PRESSPHOTO BTA |
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They like to play football in the streets, run and hide in the labyrinth of
old alleyways, and fish in the Topolka River, just where it flows into the Vardar.
They often count the eagle nests lining the walls of Babuna Canyon, and sometimes
climb up to them, clear to the top of Solunska Glava peak.
Like other children, the youngsters of Veles, FYR Macedonia love their town
and dream of exploring the rest of the world. Their town, however, does not
always love them back. In contrast to the scenic aerial photo seen above, for
more than three decades Veles and its surroundings have been contaminated by
the nearby lead and zinc smelter factory. High concentrations of sulphur dioxide
in the air caused the WHO to declare Veles a dangerous place in 2001.
Concentrations of lead and other heavy metals, including cadmium, mercury and
arsenic, pervade the town’s atmosphere, although to what extent is anyone’s
guess. The state doesn’t even measure them. Scientific reports conclude
simply that the contamination of Veles directly harms the health of its citizens,
especially the youngest.
Physician Velimir Stojkovski examined the umbilical cords of 86 women after
childbirth and found concentrations of lead and cadmium that were three times
higher than those in Skopje, itself one of the most polluted cities in the country.
Stojkovski’s colleague Snezana Jancevska tested the blood of newborn children
in Veles and found much higher concentrations of lead than in Skopje newborns.
The facts point to a source: the nearer children live to the smelter, the higher
the concentrations of heavy metals in their body tissues.
After receiving their academic titles, however, the two physicians refused
to announce their work in public. Their sudden modesty at a pollution conference
in Veles last year puzzled the local public and NGOs. Some said they were protecting
the results from scrutiny. “These people received Ph.D. degrees off the
torment of the people of Veles, and now they do not want to speak in public
or to present the facts,” said Sonja Gavrilova, president of the Veles
Society of Parents for Healthy Generations. But with health care completely
dependent on government funding, the scientists’ reluctance to step into
the spotlight surprised few.
Foreign researchers have confirmed the findings. The Centre
of Biotic Medicine in Moscow studied hair strands from 70 Veles
children. High amounts of lead were discovered in 43 percent of
the samples and cadmium in 21 percent. Meanwhile, vitally important
magnesium concentrations were deficient in 51 percent of the samples.
According to the leading Russian researcher, a close correlation
exists between heavy metal contamination and illnesses among Veles
children. A high presence of heavy metals harms their health.
High concentrations of lead and cadmium, in particular, deprive
the body of useful metals.
Anita Vojnovska is editor at www.eko.net.mk
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