Yugoslav Environment Hurt, Too

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Yugoslav Environment Hurt, Too

Newsday

6-23-99

By . is a New York-based

foreign affairs analyst specializing in Eastern Europeaan affairs.

AMONG THE broad range of difficult issues to be resolved in the

post-conflict period in Yugoslavia, one that has been largely overlooked is

the environmental damage caused as a result of NATO bombing.

During Operation Allied Force, besides hitting military targets, NATO

consistently bombed strategic sites such as fuel-storage depots, oil

refineries, petrochemical and fertilizer plants and numerous other

industrial complexes. The destruction of these facilities is raising

concerns about the impact of the war on the natural environment of

Yugoslavia as well as neighboring Balkan countries.

Among the targets blasted during the thousands of sorties flown by NATO

warplanes were the petrochemical facility in Pancevo, the oil refinery in

Novi Sad and the pharmaceutical complex in Galenika. Numerous attacks were

reported on petroleum storage sites throughout

Yugoslavia.

Three weeks into the military campaign, NATO planes struck the polyvinyl

chloride (PVC) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plants of the HIP

Petrochemija facility in Pancevo, 15 kilometers outside Belgrade. PVC, of

which VCM is the parent compound, is a plastic resin used in a wide range of

industrial and consumer applications. According to published authorities,

exposure to certain levels of these materials, which are carcinogens, poses

potential health threats to humans.

In addition, fears are being voiced about the impact of depleted uranium

contained in NATO munitions on Serb and Kosovar Albanian civilians. U.S.

A-10 Warthog jets, which saw action during the Kosovo conflict, use

munitions coated with depleted uranium. These same weapons

were employed by U.S. forces for the first time during the Persian Gulf War

and many U.S. veterans groups contend that exposure to the depleted uranium

contributed to " Gulf War Syndrome, " which is said to have affected tens of

thousands of service people since 1991.

Depleted uranium, a waste product of the uranium-enrichment process for

civilian and military purposes, is used because it can penetrate the outer

shells of tanks and artillery. According to scientists, if inhaled, it can

potentially harm the lungs and kidneys of humans and animals.

Yugoslav and international authorities are now starting to sort out what

environmental damage may be occurring as a result of the bombings. The

United Nations, the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the European Union are

among the groups seeking to examine the situation more closely.

Continuing hostilities have hampered a precise assessment of possible damage

but there are indications that considerable environmental impact may turn

out to be an ugly by-product of this

conflict.

Early last month in Weimar, Germany, European Union environment ministers

discussed environmental issues relating to the Kosovo conflict. The

ministers emphasized the importance of taking measures facilitating a swift

assessment and cleanup of environmental

contamination.

The nature fund has warned of environmental damage to the Danube River

ecosystem and the Black Sea. The group reported that one oil slick was

detected last month in the river, but there are concerns that other toxins

have spilled into it as a result of the bombings of the oil refinery in Novi

Sad and the chemical and fertilizer plant in Pancevo.

The Danube is a source of drinking water for some 10 million people in the

region.

Philip Weller, the nature fund's Danube-Carpathian program director, says

his organization " believes the potential damage could be significant and

that an immediate assessment of the situation is needed with expanded

monitoring of the river in Bulgaria and Romania and to the

extent possible in Yugoslavia. " There are also concerns in Bulgaria about

potential effects of any contamination of the river on the Kozloduy nuclear

plant. The facility lies near the southern bank of

the Danube in northern Bulgaria and is roughly 100 kilometers downstream

from the Serbian border.

Bulgarian officials have noted that oil pollution in the Danube could affect

the Kozloduy plant, which uses river water for its cooling procedures. As a

precaution, Bulgarian authorities have installed

oil booms near the plant.

In order for cleanup operations to begin, international authorities must get

a firmer grasp on the actual scope of any damage. Toward this end, the

United Nations is pushing for full-scale environmental

assessments as soon as possible.

Last week, Undersecretary-General Klaus Toepfer announced that a team from

the joint UN Environment Program-UN Center for Human Settlements (Habitat)

Balkans Task Force would seek to travel to Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro to

start work on a detailed assessment of the

environmental impact of the Balkans conflict.

But there is a potential political roadblock to the assessment and cleanup

efforts in Serbia. The United States and several European allies have

indicated that, other than humanitarian support, no international assistance

will be offered to Serbia while an indicted war criminal leads that country.

The end result is that serious cleanup efforts are likely months-and

possibly years-down the road.

The reconstruction of Serbia's infrastructure and social system, as well as

the development of open and accountable public institutions, will

undoubtedly take a very long time. Should some of the more dire predictions

come true, lingering environmental problems may prove another grave obstacle

to renewal in Serbia-and the entire region.