The citizens of Zenica, and especially the local communities of Tetovo and Podbrežje, have been exposed for 15 years to the continuous action of carcinogenic and mutagenic pollutants in the air, which are created as a result of the operation of the coke oven contrary to BiH regulations. A detailed study that would link the causes and consequences of this pollution to the health of the population has never been conducted, although it was planned in a series of strategic documents of the Zenica-Doboj Canton. The last excuse of the Cantonal Institute for Health and Food Safety was that they do not have the "necessary equipment and financial resources to carry out that research".
Local environmental NGO Eko Forum Zenica has provided financial resources and laboratory services with the necessary equipment from international donors (project "Think nature!" financed by Sweden and the "Response Hub" by European Fund for the Balkans), but it is exposed to systematic obstructions by the Cantonal Institute for Health and Food Safety. The Institute for Public Health within that Institute does not want to conduct the research, nor does it allow anyone else to conduct the research. In this way, citizens are denied evidence of the negative impact of pollution on health.
DNA damage is a reliable biomarker of exposure to various genotoxins, and methods that enable the measurement of DNA molecule damage are widely used both in biomonitoring of human populations and in controlled studies of the genotoxic potential of various agents. This research envisages the collection of saliva samples from healthy voluntary donors in order to monitor the level of basal DNA damage on isolated oral leukocytes using the comet test method. Isolated leukocytes (if present in sufficient numbers) will be stored to verify the expression of molecular markers involved in metabolizing genotoxins.
Hourly average concentrations of benzene registered in the vicinity of the coking plant in Zenica in March 2022 were between 1,3 and 1279, and daily averages were between 20 to 228 μg/m3. Hourly concentrations in average were 18 times higher than the target values for the protection of human health. The maximum hourly concentration was recorded in the last week of March and amounted to 1279 μg/m3, which is 255 times higher than the target values for the protection of human health!
Daily average concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene in PM10 were between 1,4 and 58,6 ng/m3. The measured concentrations are on average 12 times higher than the target value for the protection of human health, and the highest measured value was even 58 times higher than the target value.
Eko forum Zenica is currently implementing a pilot study, in order to establish the cause-effect relationship between the specific air pollutants and theis genotoxic health effects. The project contains the following components:
- Measurements and chemical analysis of PM10 suspended particles to determine the concentrations of PM10, benzene and 16 PAHs in PM10 at the location exposed to emissions from the coking plant (Zenica) – performed in March 2022 by the Ministry for environment and tourism of the Federation B&H
- Measurements and chemical analysis of PM10 suspended particles to determine the concentrations of PM10, benzene and 16 PAHs in PM10 at the control location (village Ribnica near Zavidovići), not exposed to emissions from the coking plant, performed in October-November 2023, funded by the Response Hub
- Measurements and chemical analysis of PM10 suspended particles to determine the concentrations of PM10, benzene and 16 PAHs in PM10 at the location exposed to emissions from the coking plant (Lukavac) – to be performed in December 2023, funded by the OSCE mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Genotoxic analysis of DNA adducts taken from 40 volunteers exposed to emissions from the coking plant (Zenica), performed in November 2023 by the Institute for genetic engineering and biotechnology of the University of Sarajevo, funded by the Center for promotion of civil society (CPCD) Sarajevo within the project "Think nature!"
- Genotoxic analysis of DNA adducts taken from 40 volunteers at the control location (village Ribnica near Zavidovići), not exposed to emissions from the coking plant, to be performed in December 2023 by the Institute for genetic engineering and biotechnology of the University of Sarajevo, funded by the Center for promotion of civil society (CPCD) Sarajevo within the project "Think nature!"
- Genotoxic analysis of DNA adducts taken from 40 volunteers exposed to emissions from the coking plant (Lukavac), to be performed in January 2024 by the Institute for genetic engineering and biotechnology of the University of Sarajevo, funded by the OSCE mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The project was planned to start in February 2023. On 31.1.2023 we asked the Cantonal Public Health Institute whether they want to participate in this study, as this was their responsibility defined in several strategic documents. They responded on 21.2.2023 that they do not have the capacities or funding for such a study. We then decided to perform the study without them.
As the best results for DNA analysis would be the samples taken from the children at the age of 10-12, Eko forum asked the permission to choose volunteers in primary schools in the vicinity of the steelworks / coking plant. The request was sent to the relevant ministries on 8.3.2023: the Ministry of health and the Ministry of education of the Zenica-Doboj Canton.
On 27.3.2023 we organized a meeting with the Ministry of health, trying to inform them about our intentions and the purpose of the project. It was agreed that the ministry will ask the Cantonal Public Health Institute to assist Eko forum in taking the samples from the school children.
As there was no response from the ministry, on 17.5.2023 we have sent the request for information to the ministry, as the school year was approaching to its end, and we would have to wait the September to continue with the activities. The Ministry of education never responded to our request.
On 24.5.2023 we were informed that the Ministry of health asked the Cantonal Public Health Institute to provide the expert opinion about this pilot research study on 4.4.2023. The Cantonal Public Health Institute responded to the ministry on 22.5.2023, claiming that this study is "tendentious" and "irrelevant" and disparaging references and expertise of the Institute for genetic engineering and biotechnology of the University of Sarajevo. The ministry informed us that they do not support such a study.
As a response to this obvious negligence of the public health authorities, on 15.6.2023 we asked the Federal institute for public health to support us in this research. Our request was submitted by the post with supporting documentation, but there was no response from them until 15.8.2023. After several phone calls, we were informed that they never received our request and that documentation we sent was allegedly "lost by post office". We then scanned the documentation and sent it by email. Finally, they responded on 30.8.2023, claiming that they support the research, but they are not authorised to grant us the permission to perform such a study.
We then decided to change the scope of the research, by choosing alternative sample. Instead of children, we publicly invited volunteers from the villages in the vicinity of the coking plant, at the age of 20-40, nonsmokers, without a diagnose, without a therapy, to participate in this study. We organized the press conference and boosted our invitation on our web page and on social media on 17.9.2023. After a month, and 30.000 post reach on Facebook, only 10 volunteers responded, which led us to conclusion that there is not enough healthy adults to participate in this study, which is alarming indicator of the urgent need to act, confirming our assumption that health impact is catastrophic. We then organized face-to-face meetings in these villages, and we finally managed to have 40 volunteers and the sampling started in November 2023.
In the meantime, we managed to provide funding from OSCE mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina to extend the air quality measurements and DNA testing in Lukavac, another location in Bosnia and Herzegovina where there is a coking plant. We will perform these tests in December 2023 and January 2024.
As we had to wait the responses from the health authorities too long, we could choose the control location only after we realized that these institutions will not participate in any way in this research. We chose the village Ribnica, near Zavidovići, which is 41 km away from Zenica and 23 km away from Lukavac and is not affected by the specific pollutants released by the coking plants in Zenica and Lukavac as there are mountains between these locations.
We expect to have the results in the first quarter of 2024.