More necessary than the sun by Matteo Trevisan

Samir Leme&scaron;, a unive...nd Herzegovian, November 2022.

Samir Lemeš, a university professor at the Faculty of Engineering in Zenica and president of the environmental association Eko Forum, observes the activities of the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Zenica. The association Eko Forum was founded in 2008 with the aim of keeping the citizens of Zenica informed about the environmental conditions in the city. The association has taken several legal actions against the ArcelorMittal company, accusing it of not respecting the environmental standards in force in Bosnia and of causing damage to the health of the more than 150,000 inhabitants of Zenica and the neighbouring villages. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovian, November 2022.

View of the Banovići mine, owne...a and Herzegovina, March 2023.

View of the Banovići mine, owned by RMU Banovici. The mine is one of the largest in the Balkans and supplies the country's power generation and industrial plants, as well as exporting its material abroad. The mine has an estimated annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of coal and ranks fifth in Europe.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

Mirsad Selimović, at his home i...nd Herzegovina, November 2022.

Mirsad Selimović, at his home in the village of Tetovo. A former worker at the ArceloMittal steel factory, he has been fighting laryngeal cancer for 15 years. In front of him are all the medicines he is forced to use. When the wind is strong and the dust from the factory gets too high in the air, he is forced to spend his days indoors. He blames his illness on the pollution caused by the still factory; his wife also suffers from heart problems. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022.

A miner inside one of the build...ia and Herzegovina, March 2022.

A miner inside one of the buildings of the Banovići coal mine, where about 2000 people work. The average salary of a miner in Bosnia and Herzegovina is around 400 euro per month. Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2022.

A young boy inside his home, wh...ovina, November 2022.

A young boy inside his home, which will rise a few dozen metres from the Zenica steel factory. He, his two brothers and his parents live in a difficult economic condition and cannot afford to leave their home to find one in a less polluted area. His father says they can never drink coffee in the garden because it fills up with black dust within minutes. The boy suffers from chronic respiratory problems. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022.

View of the village of Tetovo, ...and Herzegovina, November 2022.

View of the village of Tetovo, bordering the steel mill owned by ArcelorMittal. In 2004, the local steel mill in Zenica was acquired by the multinational steel company ArcelorMittal. The Zenica steel mill was first opened in the late 19th century and during Tito's rule it was one of the largest plants in the former Yugoslavia. Workers were recruited from all over the former Yugoslavia and even from further afield. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022.

The pipes used to transport was...zegovina, March 2023.

The pipes used to transport waste material from the thermal power plant (TPP), owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EBiH), into the Jezero Dva reservoir. There are no official studies on the correlation between the plant's activity and public health. The only known research to date is the one sponsored by the Centre for Ecology and Energy (NGO), conducted by Professor Nurka Pranjic from the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tuzla. The study found a statistically significant association between negative health impacts and long-term exposure to heavy metals dispersed in the vicinity of the thermal power plant and landfills. Bukinje (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

Miners prepare to go undergroun...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Miners prepare to go underground at the Banovići mine. To reach the place where they will work, they will have to descend 7 km underground and it will take them 45 minutes to get there, travelling on a conveyor belt.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Izet Barcic, in the village of ...zegovina, March 2023.

Izet Barcic, in the village of Bukinje; he lives with his wife a few hundred metres from the Tuzla thermal power station. "I feel lucky to still be alive. They operated four times and removed my lung. Before the operation I weighed 120 kilos, I felt very strong. Afterwards I weighed only 40. This plant is killing us all and I hope one day to be able to leave this place". Bukinje (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

A resident of Zenica sweeps her...rzegovina, March 2023

A resident of Zenica sweeps her terrace from the black dust that has settled there. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report published in June 2019, there are almost five thousand premature deaths in Bosnia and Herzegovina in urban agglomerations, where it is estimated that people can lose up to 1.3 years of life due to bad weather conditions. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023

The Banovići coal mine, owned b...zegovina, March 2023.

The Banovići coal mine, owned by the RMU Banovici company. The mine is one of the largest in the Balkans and supplies the country's power generation and industrial plants, but also exports its material abroad. The mine has an estimated annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of coal and ranks fifth in Europe. Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

Alma Alić, in the village of Te...ovina, November 2022.

Alma Alić, in the village of Tetovo. "I came to Tetovo 43 years ago after getting married, at that time many people worked in factories, now there are very few left. Today the situation is terrible, within a 300 metre radius of my house everyone has cancer". Alma has stomach cancer and was recently operated on. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022.

Some local farmers near the vil...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Some local farmers near the village of Fajtovci take a break while threshing the fields. Before the arrival of winter, they prepare to process fodder and store it for the animals. Local farmers complain that dairy farms in the area do not want to buy their milk because the animals drink water and eat fodder contaminated by the mine.  Fajtovci (Sanski Most), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Two wolves at the 'Bing...nia-Herzegovina, October 2023.

Two wolves at the 'Bingo' zoo in Tuzla, a few hundred metres from the thermal power plant (TPP) owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EBiH).  Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, October 2023.

The artificial lake Jezero Dva ...zegovina, March 2023.

The artificial lake Jezero Dva (lake two), containing the waste from the Tuzla Thermal Power Plant (TPP), owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EBiH). The power plant and the reservoirs into which the combustion ash is discharged are located on the edge of the city, close to inhabited areas. "The reservoir has not been sealed, so the toxic sludge can seep into the ground and seep into the water table, while the dust can be dispersed into the air with terrible consequences for public health and the environment'. These are the words of activist Denis Žiško from the Centar za ekologiju i energiju in Tuzla. In the background the city of Tuzla, the third largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bukinje (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

Edita, inside her house in the ...nd Herzegovina, November 2022.

Edita, inside her house in the village of Tetovo, a few dozen metres from the steelworks owned by the ArcerloMittal company. "The young people here want to leave, they have lost confidence and only the elderly are left to fight. I wonder why we don't have the same rights as those who live in London. Why is it not like in Europe?" Edita is a member of the EkoForum association and has been involved with the community in the village of Tetovo for several years. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022.

View of the city of Zenica and ...and Herzegovina, November 2022.

View of the city of Zenica and the stadium of the Čelik football team, which means 'Steel' in Bosnian, founded in 1945. In the background is the steel factory owned by the ArcelorMittal company. According to data from the Hydrometeorological Institute of the Federation of BiH, in 2019 Zenica had the most polluted air in the Federation of B&H and the high concentrations of sulphur dioxide and dust were particularly pronounced. The metallurgical factory, which produces energy by burning coal, is, according to the association Eko Forum, the dominant source of SO2 and dust emissions in Zenica. Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022.

The Muslim cemetery in Tetovo, ...rzegovina, March 2023

The Muslim cemetery in Tetovo, behind ArcelorMittal's steel factory. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report published in June 2019, in 19 Balkan cities, including Zenica, air pollution causes one in five premature deaths. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023

A stray dog walks in front of a...rzegovina, March 2023

A stray dog walks in front of a basketball court in the village of Tetovo, bordering the steel factory of the ArcelorMittal company. According to the Human Right Watch report, Bosnia and Herzegovina has the fifth highest incidence of air pollution deaths globally and lung disease rates are among the highest in the world. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023

The pipes used to transport was...ia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

The pipes used to transport waste material from the thermal power plant (TPP), owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EBiH), into the Jezero Dva reservoir. There are no official studies on the correlation between the plant's activity and public health. The only known research to date is one promoted by the Centre for Ecology and Energy, an NGO, and conducted by Professor Nurka Pranjic from the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tuzla. The study found a statistically significant association between negative health impacts and long-term exposure to heavy metals dispersed in the vicinity of the thermal power plant and landfills. Bukinje (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

An 'iron picker&#39...and Herzegovina, November 2022.

An 'iron picker' inside the Rača landfill. This man, together with his son, lives by collecting ferrous waste that comes from the factory and is then sold back to the factory. This work is paid very little and is very dangerous because it exposes these people to contact with waste materials that are deposited in the ground without any treatment; the dust spreads in the air and can pollute groundwater. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022.

The Rača landfill. The picture ...ia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

The Rača landfill. The picture shows the hills formed by waste materials from the steel plant owned by ArcelorMittal. The materials from the factory are deposited in the ground without any kind of treatment. According to Bosnia and Herzegovina's environmental regulations, these materials should be stored in special facilities to prevent dust from spreading into the air or polluting groundwater. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

View of the steel production pl...zegovina, March 2023.

View of the steel production plant of the ArcelorMittal company in the city of Zenica. The plant was bought by the Indian steel giant in 2004, but the agreements between the company and the government remained secret and never made public. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

Kemal Kudozović in his home in ...a and Herzegovina, March 2023.

Kemal Kudozović in his home in the village of Bukinje, just a few hundred metres from the thermal power plant (TPP) owned by state-owned Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EBiH). Kemal suffers from respiratory problems and his wife recently died of cancer. "I have no doubt that if I am sick and my wife is dead, it is only the thermal plant's fault. Bukinje (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

The interior of a house in the ...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

The interior of a house in the village of Bašići, not far from the town of Sanski Most. Strong vibrations from the lignite mine, owned by the Lager company, are making many houses uninhabitable and causing large cracks in the walls. Despite the fact that the company does not have an environmental permit to mine coal, its excavations are moving closer and closer to the settlements in the area. The Centre for the Environment in Banja Luka filed a lawsuit in an administrative dispute against the decision of the Ministry of the Environment and Tourism rejecting the application of the company "LAGER" d.o.o. for the renewal of the environmental permit for the surface mining of brown coal in the area of the municipality of Sanski Most. The case was filed because, according to the Ministry of the Environment and Tourism's interpretation of the new regulation adopted in 2021, a permit is no longer required for this activity. Bašići (Sanski Most), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Aerial view of the coal mine ow...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Aerial view of the coal mine owned by the company 'LAGER' d.o.o. According to the 'Centre for Environment' in Banja Luke, the mine is operating without complying with environmental regulations, causing serious damage to the environment. Gorice (Sanski Most), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

A swan at the 'Konjički...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

A swan at the 'Konjički klub SMET' animal rescue centre on Smetovi Mountain, outside the industrial city of Zenica. The private facility is home to many species rescued from all over Bosnia and brought to the sanctuary, where they live thanks to the help of private individuals and associations. The family that runs it left the city of Zenica because it was too polluted to live there and decided to move to the mountains surrounding the city.  Smetovi (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

A miner inside the Banovići coa...zegovina, March 2023.

A miner inside the Banovići coal mine. According to the head of the miners' trade unions, the mine has coal for another 40 years, but will most likely have to close in 15 years to comply with agreements made with the European Union. Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023.

A detail of industrial waste fr...rzegovina, March 2023

A detail of industrial waste from the ArcelorMittal steel plant collected in the Rača landfill. According to Bosnia and Herzegovina's environmental regulations, these materials should be stored in special facilities to prevent dust from spreading into the air or polluting groundwater. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023

Hotel Zlača, built by Tito for ... and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Hotel Zlača, built by Tito for the employees of the Banovići mine. Famous throughout Tuzla County, it is located in the middle of a forest and has become a starting point for hikers visiting the mountains surrounding the town of Banovići.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Each miner is given a personal ...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

Each miner is given a personal number plate, which he must hand in to the technical office before going underground to receive his personal torch.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

The shift supervisor calls the ...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

The shift supervisor calls the miners to roll before going underground at Banovići mine. The mine employs more than 2000 people, including miners, technicians and administrative staff.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

A villager in Gorice is about t...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

A villager in Gorice is about to milk a cow in the evening. Local farmers complain that dairy farms in the area do not want to buy their milk because the animals drink water and eat feed contaminated by the mine.  Gorice (Sanski Most), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

The road used to transport mate...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

The road used to transport materials from the Banovići open-cast mine, owned by the RMU Banovici company. The mine is one of the largest in the Balkans and supplies the country's energy and industrial production facilities, as well as exporting its material abroad. It has an estimated annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of coal and ranks fifth in Europe.  Banovic (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

A farmer in the village of Bist...and Herzegovina, October 2023.

A farmer in the village of Bistarac Gornji, behind her the Global Ispat Koksna Industrija Lukavac (GIKIL) coking plant. The coke battery was built between 1945 and 1959, with facilities for the production of coke oven by-products and electricity, followed by chemicals (fertilisers, maleic anhydride). In January 2003 it became KIL (Koksna industrija Lukavac) and in November 2003 it became GIKIL with the participation of Global Steel Holdings Limited (formerly Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited), whose former chairman is Promod Mittal, an Indian businessman suspected of organised crime in connection with GIKIL.  Bistarac Gornji (Lukavac), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023.

The Saveza Izvidaca refuge, on ...egovina, August 2019.

The Saveza Izvidaca refuge, on Mount Smetovi, is one of the most popular places for the citizens of Zenica, who usually spend weekends here to enjoy the cleaner air. Smetovi (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 2019.

Night view of the ArcelorMittal...ovina, November 2022.

Night view of the ArcelorMittal steel factory on the border with the city of Zenica. The factory and the city are almost the same size. Local activists say that the factory's activity becomes more intense at night when it is more difficult to monitor the plant's emissions. Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022.

Matteo Trevisan

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