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Montenegro warns public away from Bar port over toxic metal scare
Montenegro warns public away from Bar port over toxic metal scare
by AFP Staff Writers
Belgrade (AFP) Oct 15, 2024

Authorities in Montenegro advised the public on Tuesday to avoid the country's main sea port, in the Adriatic coastal town of Bar, after a lead and arsenic scare there.

The warning came after it emerged on Tuesday that samples taken in 2023 had revealed elevated concentrations of arsenic and lead in the industrial section of the port and, separately, workers at a company there were found to have high levels of lead in their blood.

Long-term exposure to the toxic heavy metals may cause cancer, skin lesions, heart disease or kidney problems.

"The recommendation is that citizens who don't need to go to the area around the port of Bar should avoid it," the head of the national Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told national television.

"Measurements taken by the Centre for Ecotoxicological Research... in 2023 around the port of Bar show that the concentrations of lead and arsenic are very high, with arsenic levels being up to 10 times higher than the permitted limit," EPA director Milan Gadzic said.

Separately, a routine medical check-up on workers handling hazardous materials and heavy metals for Port of Adria -- the company that operates the privatised part of the port -- revealed they had high levels of lead in their blood.

"Elevated lead levels were found in 58 out of 63 people tested," Zoran Martinovic, a representative of the Bar port workers' union, told AFP.

- Urgent investigation -

The maritime ministry of the small Balkan country has ordered an urgent investigation.

Martinovic told the media that this year was the first time the workers had been examined at a private clinic, which, unlike public ones, is capable of testing for lead or arsenic poisoning.

"Who knows what would have happened if the employees had gone for check-ups a year later," he said.

The health ministry sought to downplay the scare, saying the workers' lead levels "remained within acceptable limits, given their jobs and their exposure in this type of work".

It did not specify the exact levels found.

It nonetheless said those affected would undergo additional health checks at a clinic in the capital Podgorica "to remove all doubt" and, if necessary, would receive treatment.

A first group of workers was admitted to the clinic for tests on Tuesday, it said.

The Port of Adria, which handles container ships, cargo ships and cruise liners, is majority-owned and operated by Turkey's Global Port Holdings.

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