ASSESSMENT HISTORY
BTF ( Balkan Task Force - UN Team to asset environmental damage in Yugoslavia) have stated that "have found no evidence of a major ecological catastrophe in Yugoslavia as a result of NATO's bombing". How can two mobile laboratories, rushing for 10 days over Yugoslavia, provide accurate and reliable information on overall impact of NATO bombing to environment during which more than 105 industrial installations ( see the list ) and infinite number of civilian targets were destroyed ?
BTF confirmed that they will not exercise nuclear pollution measurements due to not having adequate equipment, still, in their preliminary report they stated that there were no signs of increased radiation ( they used just an ordinary Geiger counter that is for gamma radiation measurements only - gamma rays were not in the question but the alpha ones, emitted from DU, that are 20 times more destructive for living tissues).
____________________________FOCUS ( Austria, Greece, Russia and Switzerland ) Teams made more precise environmental damage evaluation and their unofficial preliminary results on the levels of various pollution ( mercury in Danube, PCBs in Kragujevac, dioxin, VCM...) are rather scary.
Ministries for environment of all four countries met in Vienna on July 27, to conform their further activities and they decided to allocate 40.000 USD ( sic! ) for mending the damage in Pancevo, Kragujevac and Bor. Only one cruising missile ( of more than 10.000 dropped to Yugoslavia ) costs some 800.000 USD!____________________________
BTF Danube Mission to start work 23 August 1999
Geneva, 19 August, 1999 - The UNEP/UNCHS
(Habitat)Balkans Task Force (BTF) mission to assess
the environmental impacts of the NATO bombing on
the Danube River will start work on 23 August.This, the third BTF mission to the region, is to be
carried out in cooperation with the Vienna-based
inter-governmental organisation, the International
Commission on the Protection of the Danube River.Timetable (in August):
21: Briefing of BTF experts, Budapest
22: Arrival in Belgrade
23: Start of mission (meetings in Belgrade)The team will then concentrate on sampling water and
sediments upstream and downstream of specific sites:24: Novi Sad
25: Pancevo
26: Iron Gate I
27: Kragujevac
28: De-briefing of experts in Belgrade and departure.The mission left for Budapest on 21 August, where a meeting was held to brief BTF Danube River experts.
The team of nine international experts from BTF started their work in Belgrade on 23 August to assess the environmental impact of the Balkans conflict on the Danube River. This mission was organized in cooperation with the International Commission on the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR).
During that week BTF scientists visited pollution "hot-spots" up and down-stream of the Novi Sad oil refinery, Pancevo industrial complex and a tributary near the Zastava car factory in Kragujevac. The team also visited the Iron Gates dam on the border between Yugoslavia and Romania, where the Djerdap reservoir holds extensive layers of sediment that can absorb organic matter, and toxic and hazardous waste possibly carried down the river Danube.
In an effort to assess the environmental health of the Danube before and after the conflict, the scientists collected sediment and water samples. They also measured the accumulation of pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) in living mussels, in order to get a picture of the possible toxic releases to the Danube in the hours immediately after the damage to industrial facilities.
Visited Sites
Novi Sad
Pancevo
Iron Gates
Kragujevac
Bor
____________________________BTF expert group on depleted uranium which consists of well known scientists from the World Health Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, EU Commission, Swedish Radiation Institute, World Wildlife Fund and others is looking into the risks to human health, damage and pollution of soil and water. The preliminary assessment and a parallel desk study were subject to a wider review process on 1 September, which will form the basis for decisions on any further actions.
____________________________Huge concern is the lack of electricity in Serbia at the moment. In some towns the district heating system is destroyed. The lack of electricity causes additional environmental problems, because fresh water and wastewater pumping stations and processes are not used properly for this reason. It was also found in the mining town Bor that emissions into the river Danube, as well as into the air, have increased due to the electricity shortage.
____________________________Who helped BTF efforts? Mr.Pekka Haavisto stated that, so far, Austria (USD) 30,000), Denmark (USD 278,000), Norway (USD 250,000), Sweden (USD 120,000) and Finland (USD 537,000) have financially contributed to their work, and Germany and Slovakia have given support in kind with mobile laboratories and experts. Other governments have pledged to contribute to the efforts of the Balkans Task Force.
In all, well over 1 billion USD from which not a cent ( yet ) has been spend on mending the environmental damage caused by NATO bombing.____________________________
BTF PRESS RELEASE
Balkans Task Force Recommends Immediate
Environmental Action as part of Humanitarian Aid
Four environmental hot spots found in SerbiaGENEVA - STOCKHOLM - 14 October 1999 n In its report released today, the Joint UNEP/UNCHS (Habitat) Balkans Task Force (BTF) concludes that the Kosovo conflict did not cause an environmental catastrophe affecting the Balkans region as a whole, but that pollution detected at four environmental hot spots (Pancevo, Kragujevac, Novi Sad and Bor), is serious and poses a threat to human health. At these sites, all in Serbia, immediate clean-up action, which should be seen as a part of humanitarian assistance to the region, is called for.
The BTF report, The Kosovo Conflict - Consequences for the Environment and Human Settlements also concludes that much of the pollution identified pre-dates the conflict and that there is widespread evidence of long-term deficiencies in the treatment of hazardous waste. It also concludes that in Kosovo the human settlement problem is not just about reconstructing houses but a question of establishing administrative procedures that will give people security of tenure.
The BTF was set-up by Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Center for Human Settlements, UNCHS (Habitat), in May 1999, to assess the environmental and human settlement consequences of the Balkans conflict. Under the leadership of the former Finnish Environment and Development Cooperation Minister, Pekka Haavisto, the BTF acted on the recommendation of an earlier UN mission to the region that a detailed assessment of the full extent of the environmental impact of the conflict be urgently carried out.
In a post conflict situation, such a neutral, objective and scientific assessment of the real situation on the ground is essential, said Toepfer. The BTF report not only acts as a much needed and reliable source of information to the peoples affected, but also provides a management tool to the international community for the overall emergency humanitarian effort. It clearly highlights the important links between environmental concerns and humanitarian assistance.
As part of the humanitarian aid to the region, the international community should assist the relevant authorities in dealing with the key environmental hot spots, thus avoiding further harm to human health and the environment in Yugoslavia and the wider Balkans region, said Haavisto. Although the Yugoslav government, which has the main responsibility for clean-up efforts, can deal with some of the priorities we have identified, others will require assistance from the international community.
The BTF focused its work on five areas. To this end, four field missions were carried out between July to September:
* Environmental consequences of the conflict on industrial sites
* Environmental consequences of the conflict on the Danube river
* Consequences of the conflict on biodiversity in protected areas
* Consequences of the conflict for human settlements and the environment in Kosovo - field assessment and project development/implementation.The exact sites visited by the various field missions were selected after systematically reviewing information from a wide range of sources. During the industrial sites and Danube missions, BTF scientists took samples of air, soil, water, and biota, and held meetings with environmental experts, and representatives of local NGOs and local authorities. The Biodiversity mission visited four protected areas in Serbia and Montenegro.
The fifth area of work concerned the possible consequences for the environment and human health of depleted uranium (DU) weapons used in the conflict. Because of the lack of information on actual use of DU, this subject was covered by carrying out a Geneva-based desk assessment with an expert group comprised of representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute and UNEP.
BTF Report: Recommendations
The recommendations contained in the report highlight activities that are urgent and needed to halt or mitigate the further degradation of the state of the environment in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), and diminish the risk to human health.
At all the industrial sites visited, the report recommends: further studies to determine whether pollution has contaminated sources of drinking water; the treatment or removal (if necessary) of surface soil contaminated with heavy oil, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals and other hazardous substances; the development and implementation of detailed waste disposal plans; and continued monitoring of air, water, soil, agricultural products and human health.
Concerning the identified hot-spots, the report recommends:
- At Pancevo (industrial complex), urgent remedial action should be taken at the wastewater canal which flows into the Danube and which is seriously contaminated with 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC) and mercury. Also, immediate clean-up of the mercury spill at the petrochemical factory.
- At the Zastava car plant in Kragujevac, immediate steps should be taken to clean-up PCB and dioxin contamination, and improve storage of significant quantities of hazardous waste.
- At Novi Sad (oil refinery next to the river Danube) detailed studies should be carried out to determine whether oil product pollution has contaminated the groundwater/drinking water supplies.
- At Bor (ore smelting complex), immediate action should be taken to prevent further releases of large amounts of sulphur dioxide gas in the atmosphere. Damaged equipment containing PCB oils should be removed and stored securely.
Danube River
The BTF scientists found no evidence of an ecological disaster for the river Danube as a result of the conflict. However, the report states that the analysis of samples taken from the Danube sediment and biota revealed significant chronic pollution, both upstream and downstream of the sites directly affected by the conflict. Further monitoring and investment in appropriate production and waste management processes is recommended. Also, it recommends the urgent need for the FRY to be integrated within international agreements for water quality monitoring, pollution reduction and emergency response.
Biodiversity
The report says that the physical damage from the air strikes is significant within limited areas, but of relatively minor importance when seen in relation to the overall size of the protected areas and the ecosystems which surround the sites which were hit. However, it warns that unexploded ordnance is both an immediate safety issue (risk to staff working in protected areas) and a possible long-term constraint to future tourism in and around protected areas.
Depleted Uranium
Since very little information was available on the actual use of DU in the Kosovo conflict, the expert BTF desk assessment group was forced to rely on available published information. Given these circumstances and taking a precautionary approach to the issue, the BTF report recommends that at places where contamination has been confirmed, measures should be taken to prevent access. And, the local authorities and people concerned should be informed of the possible risks and appropriate precautionary measures.
The report states, however, that its assumptions have not been verified and the results are subject to some uncertainty. It stresses that immediate action is necessary to obtain information from NATO confirming if, how and where, DU was used during the conflict. This is a prerequisite for verifying initial risk assessments, making necessary measurements, and taking precautionary actions. The report recommends that a thorough review of the effects on health of medium and long-term exposure to DU should be undertaken under the auspices of the WHO (see what NATO thinks about it).
Human Settlement
In Kosovo, the Habitat-led assessment found that, apart from considerable damage to the infrastructure and housing, rehabilitating returning refugees is complicated by the collapse of municipal administrative systems, including the destruction or loss of all property records. Furthermore, the province lacks a legislative and policy framework on housing and property consistent with accepted international standards.
The recommendations of the report include providing ongoing technical support to UNMIK in order to produce guidelines and procedures for municipal administration. This should include procedures to regularise housing and property rights including the establishment of an independent mechanism to deal with conflicts. Technical support should also be given to develop a cadastral information system and to upgrade property registries and documentation.
Since it was established, the BTF has worked as an integral part of the UN system and in Kosovo continues to work within the framework of UNMIK. Sixty experts, drawn from six UN agencies, 19 countries and 26 scientific institutions and NGOs, have been involved in the various BTF assessment missions. Funding for the BTF work (in the form of voluntary contributions) came from Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Additional in-kind support was provided by Russia and Slovakia, and NGOs including Greenpeace, WWF, IUCN, Green Cross and the WCMC.
The BTF report was presented to the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, in Geneva last Saturday. It is available on the Web at http://www.grid.unep.ch/btf.
____________________________
See also the final FOCUS report and executive summary on http://www.focus-initiative.org
____________________________
The Independent
October 16, 1999NATO OBSTRUCTS UN INQUIRY INTO
DEPLETED URANIUM
AFTER INSISTING that no scientific study had ever proved depleted
uranium (DU) shells could cause cancer in Iraq or Kosovo, Nato has refused
to co-operate with a United Nations team investigating the use of the
munitions in the former Yugoslavia.Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the UN's Balkan environment task force, says
Nato refused to co-operate with his team and that "immediate action is
necessary to obtain information from Nato confirming if, how and where, DU
was used during the conflict."There is, of course, no "if" about it. Nato admitted in answer to a question
from The Independent in May that US A-10 aircraft had used DU shells -
designed to penetrate thick armor - against Serb targets, a statement the
US Department of Defence later repeated. A Nato spokesman claimed -
inaccurately - that a Rand Corporation study had proved DU munitions
caused no harm.Hundreds of tons of DU were used in the 1991 Gulf War. In the years that
followed, there was an epidemic of cancers among Iraqis living near the
battlefields - many of whom showed symptoms identical or similar to
thousands of Allied veterans now suffering from Gulf War syndrome.
Scientists fear similar contamination has taken place in ex-Yugoslavia. Yet
when last month Nato was asked for the locations in Kosovo where DU was
used, a spokesman said the information was "not releasable".The UN, it now turns out, got the same runaround. "Nato always replied to
our letters," an official in Mr Haavisto's office told me yesterday. "But
they never gave the answers we were expecting. They were never able to release
the information. They said it was `security'." Inquiries by The Independent
have established that Nato knows perfectly well, from munitions and pilots'
reports, target areas against which DU weapons were used. They include
districts close to Djakovica, Mitrovica, Pristina, Urahovac and in Serbia
proper.In private, Nato officers have been telling humanitarian officials in Kosovo
to stay away from any area where DU was used - while still refusing to state
where they are. Mr Haavisto's report recommends "a thorough review of the
effects on health of medium and long-term exposure to DU" by the World
Health Organisation.Yet two years ago the Iraqis asked the WHO for just such a report. It was
never produced. Now the UN says - in its DU report - that "during and
immediately after any attack where depleted uranium was used, some people
in the immediate vicinity may have been heavily exposed to depleted uranium
by inhalation". Special health examinations are necessary, the UN says,
adding that the possible contamination of land need not prevent refugees
from returning to their villages. But "hot-spot" target areas must be identified
as soon as possible and arrangements made "for the secure storage of any
contaminated material".This, of course, cannot be done - because Nato is keeping the information
secret.
Overall (repeated) impression is that the damage assessment and mending is still very much politicized, both from actual Yugoslav regime as well as by international organizations. The first ones are trying to gain their own benefit from total national disaster, bargaining with international community on quantities and types of damages to be recognized as war reparation, what the others smoothly rejected, however, soothing their conscience by sending assessment teams and waiting for political resolving.
Unfortunately, the ordinary people and the nature suffers, as always.
UNEP Releases Final Report on DU Impact in Kosovo
GENEVA, March 13, 2001 - The final report of the United Nations Environment
Program (UNEP) on the environmental impact of depleted uranium (DU)
ammunition used during the 1999 Kosovo conflict has been released here today.
In November 2000, a UNEP field mission visited 11 of the 112 sites that were
identified as being targeted by ordnance containing DU, including five in
the Italian sector (MNB (W)) and six in the German sector (MNB (S)).
The UNEP team, consisting of 14 scientists from several countries, collected
soil, water and vegetation samples and conducted smear tests on buildings,
destroyed army vehicles and DU penetrators. Remnants of DU ammunition were
found at eight sites. Altogether, 355 samples were analyzed, including 249
soil samples, 46 water samples, 37 vegetation samples, 13 smear tests, three
milk samples, four jackets (specialized parts of ordnance), two penetrators
and one penetrator fragment.
Transuranic isotopes found
Seven-and-a-half DU penetrators were found during the field mission. Low
levels of radiation were detected in the immediate vicinity of the points of
impact, and mild contamination from DU dust was measured near the targets.
There was also some evidence from bio-indicators of airborne DU
contamination near targeted sites.
In addition to U-238, which makes up the bulk of depleted uranium, the
penetrators contained uranium isotope U-236 and plutonium isotope Pu-239/240
(see UNEP press releases of 16 January and 16 February 2001). The presence
of these transuranic elements in the DU indicates that at least some of the
material has been in nuclear reactors. However, the amount of transuranic
isotopes found in the DU penetrators is very low and does not have any
significant impact on their overall radioactivity.
No widespread contamination
No widespread ground contamination was found in the investigated areas.
Therefore, the corresponding radiological and chemical risks are
insignificant. There were a great number of contamination points in the
investigated areas, but there is no significant risk related to these points
in terms of possible contamination of air or plants.
"These scientific findings should alleviate any immediate anxiety that
people living or working in Kosovo may have been experiencing," said UNEP
Executive Director Klaus Toepfer. "Under certain circumstances, however, DU
can still pose risks. Our report highlights a series of precautionary
measures that should be taken to guarantee that the areas struck by DU
ammunition remain risk-free."
Precaution recommended
It is highly likely that penetrators are still lying on the ground surface.
Although the radiological and chemical risks of touching a penetrator are
insignificant, if one was put into a pocket or somewhere else close to the
human body, there would be external beta radiation of the skin, leading to
quite high local radiation doses after some weeks of continuous exposure.
Skin burns from radiation are unlikely.
Regarding contamination points, if a child were to ingest small amounts of
soil, the corresponding radiological risk would be insignificant, but from a
biochemical point of view, the possible intake might be somewhat higher than
the applicable health standard. "There are still considerable scientific
uncertainties, especially related to the safety of groundwater," said Pekka
Haavisto, Chairman of UNEP's Depleted Uranium Assessment Team. "Additional
work has to be done to reduce these uncertainties and to monitor the quality
of water."
Remaining penetrators and jackets that may be hidden at several meters depth
in the ground, as well as any on the ground surface, constitute a risk of
future DU contamination of groundwater and drinking water. Heavy firing of
DU in one area could increase the potential source of uranium contamination
of groundwater by a factor of 10 to 100. While the radiation doses will be
very low, the resulting uranium concentration might exceed health standards
for drinking water established by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Although the mission findings show no cause for alarm, the report describes
specific situations where risks could be significant. There are also
scientific uncertainties relating to the longer-term behavior of DU in the
environment. For these reasons, UNEP calls for certain precautionary
actions.
According to UNEP, this precautionary action should include visiting all DU
sites in Kosovo, removing slightly radioactive penetrators and jackets on
the surface, decontaminating areas where feasible, and providing information
to local populations on precautions to be taken if DU is found.
UNEP recommends mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina
In order to reduce scientific uncertainty on the impact of DU on the
environment, particularly over time, UNEP recommends that scientific work be
undertaken in Bosnia-Herzegovina where DU ordnance has persisted in the
environment for over five years. This could be done as part of an overall
environmental assessment of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
UNEP's work in Kosovo was carried out in close cooperation with the United
Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR), which
assisted with logistics, accommodation, transport and security.
The samples were analyzed by the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute
(SSI) in Stockholm; AC Laboratorium-Spiez in Switzerland; Bristol
University's Department of Earth Sciences in the UK; the International
Atomic Energy Agency Laboratories (IAEA) in Seibersdorf, Austria; and the
Italian National Environmental Protection Agency (ANPA) in Rome, Italy. The
assessment work on depleted uranium has been financed by the Government of
Switzerland.
IAEA, UNEP and WHO on future cooperation
In view of the remaining scientific uncertainties surrounding the long-term
effects of the possible health and environmental impacts from the use of
depleted uranium, the IAEA, UNEP and WHO, in accordance with their
respective mandates, will consider together whether it is necessary to
prepare future missions to areas where depleted uranium has been used during
military conflicts.
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