Serious consequences for residents/ Bulqiza mines, the biggest air and water polluters

For more than seven decades, life in the impoverished town of Bulqiza in northeastern Albania has been closely linked to chromium. Over 120 entities, or 22 percent of all mining permits in the country, have focused their activity on the Bulqiza mine – which is also the largest employer for the area’s residents.

But in parallel with economic activity, mining has now become a high cost to the environment and the health of residents.

The Municipality of Bulqiza considers mining activity to be the biggest polluter of air and water in the area. The situation is further aggravated by the lack of control of environmental permits, which, according to the Municipality, allow mining companies to not respect even the minimum standards of environmental protection and employee health.

The Municipality of Bulqiza lists air pollution due to explosions or the spread of mining dust as well as pollution of surface and groundwater as its main problems.

“Mining companies often dump hazardous waste into streams or rivers. There are cases of contamination of drinking water with heavy metals such as hexavalent chromium, a highly toxic compound,” the Municipality said in response to a right to information request from BIRN.

The Bulqiza mine began operations in 1948 and peaked during the communist regime in the 1980s. After the 1990s, dozens of different companies obtained mining permits to exploit chromium, although investments in technology and environmental rehabilitation were limited.

Doctor Fatos Hoxha told BIRN that the air in the Bulqiza area is polluted by mining dust and gases emitted from machinery and transport vehicles.

 "The dust that comes out of the explosions in the mine spreads into the air and penetrates people's lungs, causing respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and even more serious problems," said Dr. Hoxha.

"Unfortunately, many residents are exposed to these pollutants every day without any protective measures," he added.

Danjel Bica, president of the "Young Environmental Experts" Association, says that the unstoppable mining activity has caused water and soil pollution. According to him, water is used to extract chromium in the galleries, which is then mixed with hazardous substances and discharged into nature without any treatment.

“These waters pollute the Bulqiza gravel with toxic substances, making it unsuitable for agriculture,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bica continues, the natural landscape of Bulqiza is also extremely damaged.

"The terrain on the entire southern side of Bulqiza, where numerous galleries have been opened, has been destroyed as a result of the uncontrolled dumping of mining waste that comes out of these galleries. This has not only destroyed the natural beauty of the area, but also contributed to the extinction of many species of plants and animals that lived in this ecosystem," he added.

Lawyer Durim Balla, former head of the Zerqan municipality, also emphasizes that the problem of mining pollution in Bulqiza remains an alarming problem. According to Balla, instead of strengthening the implementation of the law, the opposite has happened, removing control powers from the local government and concentrating them in the Regional Directorate of Environment in Dibër.

"This has significantly minimized the implementation of ecological standards by mining companies," Balla stressed.

Seit Paci, a mining engineer, says that working in the mine is difficult and requires advanced technological equipment, which is expensive. Paci also notes that the opening of dozens of galleries by companies has caused mining pollution to significantly threaten the area's ecosystem.

 "However, to cope with this situation, it remains necessary for the authorities to strengthen environmental protection laws and ensure that mining companies respect ecological standards," says engineer Paci.

He stressed that the time has come to invest in cleaning up polluted areas, treating polluted waters and rehabilitating the land – while residents must be informed about the health risks./ BIRN