From: "Janet M Eaton" <•••@••.•••> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 15:59:25 +0000 Subject: "War in Europe - Ecocide" Publication + CD ROM [Press R http://www.flora.org/flora.mai-not/13040 PRESS RELEASE "WAR IN EUROPE - ECOCIDE " Tehnokratia 2. Belgrade. 1999. [and CDROM] --------------------------------------------------------------- I am pleased to be able to assist my colleague Dr. Radoje Lausevic, Guest Editor of this Special Edition of Tehnokratia, with the editing and distribution of this press release. I have contributed "Ecological Catastrophe and Health Hazards of NATO Bombings Part [1] to [6]" a compilation of some 80 articles for the CDROM and provided an article - upon the request of the editor Dr. Lausevic - which will appear in both the hard copy magazine and CD ROM. The Special Edition of Tehnokratia - "War in Europe - Ecocide", provides invaluable and essential documentation of the recent war in Yugoslavia and all its ecological consequences, and is an excellent resource for researchers, educators, policy makers as well as a guide for all visitors to Yugoslavia. All the very best, Janet Eaton =========================================== Intervision, Belgrade & the Serbian Ecological Society PRESS RELEASE: R. Lausevic (Ed.): War in Europe - Ecocide. Tehnokratia 2. Intervision, Belgrade. 64 pp + CD ROM. The Publishing House Intervision Production, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in cooperation with the Serbian Ecological Society has published a special issue of Tehnokratia - a magazine for popular science, multimedia and modern technologies, entitled "War in Europe - Ecocide" which includes a CD ROM. This special issue, edited by Dr. Radoje Lausevic from the Serbian Ecological Society, provides articles written by a group of independent experts, and represents the first such comprehensive popular report on all the consequences of the war in Yugoslavia on the environment, both on a local and on a transboundary (global) level. All presented material is based on already published data from various sources, which are independently confirmed. In the hard copy magazine issue (64 pp, full color covers) leading experts from Yugoslavia, the international scientific community and the non-governmental community speak about the impact of the war on the environment. All 24 articles are presented in a bi-lingual format (Serbian and English) and are grouped into several main chapters: an overview of the natural heritage and biodiversity characteristics of Yugoslavia before the war (FRY Before), an illustrated overview of the destruction (War), the list of all main chemicals which were released into the environment as a result of the destruction (Poisons), as well as an analytical overview of the consequences of the war to the air, water, soil, nature and biodiversity. The last chapter (Other) presents legal consequences of the war, chronic effects on human health, review from regional environmental organizations and global activists closing with the list of anticipated future risks or threats. The CD ROM which is included, offers, through a user-friendly and well designed interface, an extremely comprehensive overview of more than 300 articles (over more than 1,500 standard text pages) and several hundreds photos - which provide a record of the destruction and impact on the environment. The articles have been collected from various sources, mostly from the Internet, and are written by nearly a hundred different authors from many countries over the World. All the articles are presented as documentary material - without any editing, and provide an excellent resource on reactions around the world to the environment destruction in Yugoslavia caused by the activities of the war. Navigation throughout the whole CD ROM is user friendly and logical and all virtual chapters are easy to locate. The CD ROM also includes an Index which facilitates searching this comprehensive resource. Besides chapters from the hard copy magazine (as a full story in itself ), the CD ROM includes several interactive maps which offer an excellent review of the destruction e.g industrial facilities, refineries, bridges, airports, etc. as well as a photo gallery, a complete version of several recently published analytical reports on the environmental consequences, and a list of a few hundred related Internet links. The Special edition of Tehnokratia - "War in Europe - Ecocide", edited by Dr. Radoje Lausevic, provides invaluable and essential documentation of the recent war in Yugoslavia and all its ecological consequences, and is an excellent resource for researchers, educators, policy makers as well as a guide for all visitors to Yugoslavia. The price is 15 DEM or $ 10.00 US for overseas countries. All information, ordering, paying details including discount rates are available from: The Publishing House Intervision Production, Belgrade:: •••@••.••• (Attn Dusan Jovic, Secretary of Press), Phone: (+ 381 11) 32 23 726, By mail: Intervision, Takovska 9, 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Website: http://www.digit011.co.yu [ ordering should soon be possible from the website ] Scientific Inquiries: Ass. Prof. Dr. Radoje Lausevic Serbian Ecological Society Univ. Belgrade, Fac. Biol. Inst. Bot. & Bot. Garden "Jevremovac" Takovska 43, 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia Tel: +381 11 767-988 Fax: +381 11 769-903 •••@••.••• ----end------ **************************************************************** From: "Janet M Eaton" <•••@••.•••> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 22:51:08 +0000 Subject: UN Team Finds Contamination at Sites of NATO Bomb Attacks http://www.flora.org/flora.mai-not/13031 Included in this e-mail please find: 1] Introduction & background 2] References to other UN Balkans Team reports 3] Boston Globe, August 6, article "UN team finds contamination at sites of NATO bomb attacks" By Joe Lauria, Globe Correspondent. 1] Introduction & background Dear All: The UN Balkan Team's report of the first phase of investigation of environmental damage due to NATO bombings, released July 27th, tended to dismiss the idea of an ecological catastrophe and to define the problem as "hot spots" many of which were contaminated to begin with. Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the U.N.'s Balkan Task Force at that time said: "We talk about chosen hot spots where immediate action has to take place, but not about a major ecocide or country-wide catastrophe." and "One of the most difficult problems the team faced was distinguishing between pre-existing environmental damage in Yugoslavia...and damage caused by the war." According to a UNEP news release on July 27th a team of 12 scientists arrived in Belgrade 18 July and visited the Pancevo industrial complex (fertilizer plant, petrochemical factory and oil refinery), Novi-Sad oil refinery, the Zastava car factory in Kragujevac, Nis (transformer factory), Bor (copper factory) and fuel depots in Kraljevo, Prahavo and Pristina, Kosovo......Looking for toxic compounds such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the scientists have taken extensive soil and ground-water samples. The same news release also reported that further missions to the region were planned (in August) in order to assess the impacts on the Danube river; the region's biological diversity; and on human health. The following news release from the Boston Globe, Aug 6th, reports on the second phase of the investigation which relates to the bombing effects on the River Danube and on health in the region. In contrast to the first UN Balkan Team report this second report seems to articulate more serious environmental and health consequences. The head of a UN environmental team, Pekka Haavisto, said yesterday: " NATO's bombing of Yugoslav industrial sites has contaminated the river Danube and ground water in parts of Serbia and Kosovo, posing a health hazard for several years." and ''We have found that on many of these targeted sites there are serious environmental consequences and probably also serious health consequences.'' The following news item also reports that the team will study the environmental and health effects of the depleted uranium [DU] shells left over from NATO attacks. Haavisto said he has contacted NATO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Yugoslav government, and the World Health Organization for information about these shells. All the best, Janet Eaton <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 2] References to other UN Balkans Team reports a] http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/unwire.cfm#11?ID=48127 UN WIRE, Tuesday, 20 July, 1999 BALKANS: UN Team Begins Environmental Assessment b] http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_398000/398781.st m BBC Online News Monday, July 19, 1999 Published at 22:17 GMT 23:17 UK Green team investigates NATO campaign Oil refineries were a regular target of NATO bombs By Belgrade Correspondent Jackie Rowland c] http://www.unep.org/unep/per/ipa/pressrel/r07-2799.002 JOINT UNEP AND UNCHS (Habitat) NEWS RELEASE FOR USE AS INFORMATION. NOT AN OFFICIAL RECORD. THE BALKANS CONFLICT: ASSESSING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE WORST DAMAGED INDUSTRIAL SITES July 27, 1999 UNEP-led Balkans Task Force Mission Leaves Yugoslavia d] New York Times, July 28, 1999 Team Finds NATO Bombing Left Few Environment Woes By STEVEN ERLANGER e] http://www.telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph, July 28, 1999 UN denies bombing led to pollution catastrophe By David Graves in Pancevo f] http://www.grid.unep.ch:80/btf/pressreleases/usmedia.htm UNEP Media Advisory, For Information only, Not an official record New York, August 5, 1999. Pekka Haavisto, Chairman of the Joint UNEP/UNCHS (Habitat) Balkans Task Force in New York to brief senior UN officials. <><><><><><><><><><><> 3} Boston Globe August 6th Article: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/218/nation/UN_team_finds_contaminat ion_at_sites_of_NATO_bomb_attacks+.shtml UN team finds contamination at sites of NATO bomb attacks Boston Globe, August 6, 1999 By Joe Lauria, Globe Correspondent, 08/06/99 UNITED NATIONS - NATO's bombing of Yugoslav industrial sites has contaminated the river Danube and ground water in parts of Serbia and Kosovo, posing a health hazard for ''several years,'' the head of a UN environmental team said yesterday. ''We have found that on many of these targeted sites there are serious environmental consequences and probably also serious health consequences,'' said Pekka Haavisto, a former Finnish environmental minister, who heads the UN Environmental Program/Habitat Balkans Task Force. Haavisto said his team has determined that reports of workers at a chemical factory in Pancevo dumping toxics into the Danube ahead of NATO attacks were false. ''The workers denied this and our observations showed that the area where the chemicals leaked into the Danube had been bombed,'' Haavisto said in an interview. The 12-member UN team returned this week from a 10-day mission to targeted industrial sites in Serbia and Kosovo, and will return for two more weeks at the end of the month. The team will present its findings in a report to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the end of September. ''It will then be up to the secretary general to decide what action the UN should take,'' Haavisto said at a news conference. The team will take samples of sediment from the Danube to gauge the extent of the contamination. The team will study what impact the bombing fallout has on the long-term health of the people of the region. ''It is too early to give figures on how many people are in danger,'' Haavisto said. The team has determined that ''a lot'' of mercury, asbestos, and other toxic substances were found in the soil surrounding several of the 15 industrial sites visited. ''The overall estimation is that there are certain environmental and human health risks if immediate action is not taken,'' Haavisto said. He noted that if the cleanup were to begin tomorrow it would take ''several years'' to complete. In a visit to Washington this week, Haavisto appeared uncomfortable talking about the response State Department officials gave to his request that the United States lift its ban on reconstruction aid to Yugoslavia to help pay for an environmental cleanup. President Clinton has said Belgrade will not get ''one red cent'' until Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is removed from office. The United States will offer aid if the need is determined to be humanitarian. But it may prove difficult to judge whether aid to protect Yugoslav workers already rebuilding contaminated industrial sites could be considered humanitarian. Haavisto said State Department officials were waiting for the team's final report ''before making up their minds.'' The team also will study the environmental and health effects of the depleted uranium shells left over from NATO attacks. Haavisto said he has contacted NATO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Yugoslav government, and the World Health Organization for information about these shells. ''We are ready to take samples and work with this issue,'' Haavisto said. ''Whether we find something that is alarming remains to be seen. We have with us simple radioactivity measurement equipment and we haven't found any high radioactivity levels at the moment.'' Many of the sites the team is studying, however, had environmental problems before the war began, Haavisto said. ''Some opposition local officials told us they have been waiting 10 years for us to arrive,'' Haavisto said. ''We have to make the distinction between the problems caused by the crisis and the previous environmental and health problems.'' This story ran on page A20 of the Boston Globe on 08/06/99. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
