The story that the citizens of Tuzla live next to a carcinogenic landfill has been officially confirmed. A team of experts, appointed by the Tuzla Canton Government, confirmed the presence of extremely large amounts of hazardous waste in the industrial zone. It is hazardous waste generated by the chemical industry in Tuzla, and which has not been properly disposed of. Today, the Minister of Physical Planning and Environmental Protection, Zvjezdan Karadžin, presented the results of a geological survey of soil testing for the purpose of locating a dangerous landfill in the Tuzla industrial zone.
A team of experts determined the exact location of the landfill in the irregular shape of a triangle, with an area of 800 to 1,000 square meters.
“The research established that the waste is at a depth of half to three and a half meters, and the total volume is from 1,200 to 1,500 cubic meters. After laboratory analyzes, we determined the volumetric mass, which differs in bulk and compacted in barrels, with an average of 1,135 kilograms per cubic meter. It is important that the total amount is between 1,370 and 1,750 tons, and I hoped that it would be less”, said Zvjezdan Karadžin, Cantonal Minister of Physical Planning and Environmental Protection.
Samples of the first substances found were sent for analysis to the Eurofins laboratory in Zagreb, and according to the number under which the waste was registered, it is waste that was generated from organic and chemical processes or the rest of the reactions and distillations. Karadžin states that the chemical analysis, along with waste, determined and increased the amount of chlorine in the amount of three percent, due to which the incineration of hazardous waste will not be possible in the incinerator of the Cement Factory in Lukavac.
“When burning in cement factory, the limit amounts of chlorine can be between 0.7 and 0.8 percent. We will also analyze the content at the local company and examine the composition of some other samples, which is important for us to determine the extent to which chlorine is dangerous, which we know is toxic, corrosive and carcinogenic,” said Karadžin, emphasizing that they, besides chlorine, found other heavy metals in increased quantities, such as chromium, lead and nickel, and they were marked as toxic and carcinogenic.
Waste and other chemical compounds that were found pose a danger to the health of the population, especially due to the fact that they are buried in the ground, right next to the river Jala, and they are also found in barrels that started decomposing. Karadžin states that there are special risk moments due to raising groundwater, which can lead to rinsing of material and its further spread through the watercourse.
The relevant cantonal ministry is now facing activities that will lead to the neutralization of hazardous substances. After the initial report, a study is planned, based on which the solutions for removal of the substances will be determined.
One of the realistic options is to export waste abroad where it will be incinerated in incinerators, which could cost more than four and a half million KM. It is also the most expensive option, and for this purpose it would be possible to provide funds through projects of the Federal Fund for Environmental Protection, the Czech Development Agency and the UNDP, it was stated at today’s press conference.
