Mass lead poisoning of people in Vareš, ZDK authorities remain silent

Health examinations of the population in the Vareš area have revealed shocking results, as the presence of lead in the blood was detected in all tested individuals. All 44 analyzed blood samples from people of different generations tested positive for the heavy metal, which causes serious health consequences, and in as many as 17 cases the recorded levels require urgent medical intervention. Additional concern is raised by the silence of the competent authorities in the Zenica-Doboj Canton and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have not made any public statement even 14 days after receiving the results.

“We informed all relevant institutions and ministries at the federal and cantonal levels and requested the urgent adoption of measures to manage this situation. At the local level, we cannot deal with this on our own,” Ahmed Memić, Director of the Vareš Health Center, told the local newspaper Bobovac. Director Memić warns that it is necessary to conduct a systematic blood analysis of the entire population of the wider affected area, given that so far samples have mostly been taken from people living near the tailings dump of the DPM Metali mine in the Vareš villages of Pržići and Daštansko.

Blood sampling was carried out in agreement with this Canadian investor, which took over the mine and the company Adriatic Metals a few months ago in a transaction estimated to be worth around USD 1.3 billion. From that transaction, the local community in Vareš, the Zenica-Doboj Canton, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not receive a single convertible mark. Instead of revenue, it now appears that Vareš and the Zenica-Doboj Canton may be facing severe and long-term health consequences.

The President of the Pržići Local Community, Mario Mirčić, emphasizes that residents had warned from the very beginning about the need for health monitoring and that the results confirm the justification of those demands. “After a public hearing organized in early 2020 by Eastern Mining, then led by Miloš Bošnjaković, a citizens’ assembly was held at which the local community gave conditional consent to the project for the exploitation and processing of lead, zinc, and barite ore, with eight clearly defined requirements, including mandatory blood sampling of the population. That was not done at the time, nor later, when Adriatic Metals began production. All our demands remained a dead letter.”

The Zenica Institute for Health and Food Safety, which has so far been the only institution to respond concretely to appeals from the Vareš Health Center, analyzed water from the two main water sources serving the mentioned villages. The analyses showed no presence of lead in the water, which has led the affected population to suspect that the source of contamination lies in airborne particles and dust associated with the truck transport of ore and tailings. “Although some have tried to shift responsibility to the operations of the pre-war mine, it should be clearly emphasized that some of the tested residents were not even born at the time of its closure,” notes Mario Mirčić, President of the Pržići Local Community.

The alarming findings of lead in the blood of Vareš residents raise a number of serious questions about the responsibility of the competent ministries that issue concessions, approve permits, and are supposed to protect the interests and health of citizens. Less than a month ago, 50 civil society organizations and local communities from the Krivaja River basin submitted an open request to the Prime Minister and the Government of the Zenica-Doboj Canton to terminate the concession for the exploration and exploitation of chromium ore in the Duboštica–Tribija area, owned by the already mentioned Miloš Bošnjaković.

This is yet another planned mine in the municipality of Vareš, whose opening could have far more serious consequences for the environment and human health, particularly in the Krivaja River basin in the municipalities of Olovo and Zavidovići. In their request, civil society organizations and local communities warned the Prime Minister and the Government of the Zenica-Doboj Canton about the dangers of high-risk chromium exploitation, as well as violations of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Law on the Temporary Prohibition of Disposal of State Property. There has still been no response from the competent authorities.

And while warnings and evidence of high-risk mining projects and legal violations continue to accumulate, the authorities of the Zenica-Doboj Canton persist in ignoring the demands of concerned citizens, even in light of the extremely serious health situation in Vareš which, by all indications, would require the declaration of a state of emergency.

Photography:Robert Oroz