„A Roma man and his son were mowing the grass at the foot of the landfill. He told me the grass was for the horse. It was heartbreaking to hear, and I replied that the grass is poisonous. They had already fed the horse with this grass and it didn’t perish, he said. Cows were also put out to pasture in the field covered with leachate, where often the bodies of dead ducks are seen floating. It is very painful to see that people living here have no other choice and lack any knowledge regarding the health threats of living in such an environment – said István Szakáts, activist, and president of AltArt Foundation managing cultural activities of the Pata-Cluj project.

The collapsing landfill situated at a distance of 12 km from the outskirts of Cluj-Napoca, branded as the “treasure city”, speaks of the indifference of the decision makers and shows the political, economic, environmental and social neglect with its severe health implications. The Pata Rât landfill has a loaded history: it was closed because it didn’t meet the necessary requirements to continue to operate, the integrated waste treatment plant despite the promises, hasn’t been built yet and the landfill, operated only on a temporary basis, couldn’t take in any more load. On the 4th of October a fire broke out, putting it down took 24 hours. The landfill was in focus again due to the fire.

The debate about the temporary landfill focuses on three issues:
– in case of another (intentional) fire the air will be contaminated with toxic gases
– due to the fire and the water used to extinguish it, the quantity of toxic leachate tripled and might reach the river Someş;
– the overloaded landfill might collapse and endanger the eastern bypass road connecting Apahida and Vâlcele.

The fourth issue hasn’t been in focus: it concerns the life of the 1500 people living and working in the toxic environment of Pata Rât. Their survival depends on selecting the garbage, a work they do on the premises of the landfill.

„They want burn the trash like villagers, but in a city of half a million”

– said Szakáts, who for a long while now is following the events at the landfill. On the 4th of October he got to the premises half an hour after it had caught fire. By that time he got there, the mountain of trash was engulfed by the fire, the flames had reached the top, and this, in his opinion, proves that the landfill was intentionally set on fire.  „The temporary landfill is constantly on the verge of its maximum load limit. This is why from time to time it has to be set on fire: the fire eliminates of the volume and trash can be deposited here again.” – he explains.

In an interview given to the Adevărul journal, the Disaster Relief Inspectorate stated that up until the 4th of October 2017, the fire department had to intervene 27 times. Data show that 4 interventions took place in April, 15 in July, 7 in August, two in October. These fires eliminated 20 tons of trash. For the 4th of October fire, the competent authorities were issued a fine of 6000 RON (1300 EUR) by the Environmental Protection Guard. The amount represents a fraction of what the transport of the trash would have costed.

„It’s cheaper to put the trash on fire than to take it away. ” – said Szakács.

Ioan Borș, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency of Cluj said they had issued a fine because the operators of the temporary landfill did not respect the provisions of the operating license. The landfill was not fireproof and the level of toxic gases was over the limit. The Environmental Protection Agency concluded that the landfill had to be fenced, and the smaller piles of trash have to be eliminated from the vicinity of the landfill.

There was only one police investigation conducted for the 27 fires. The investigation identified a 15 year old boy as the perpetrator. But given the size of the landfill and the speed with which the fire had spread and engulfed it all, reaching the top within half an hour, shows that it couldn’t have been caused by a single cigarette butt.
„Those who live there, know who did it, but they won’t say names. Their lives depend on keeping their mouths shut. If the companies operating here were banned from the landfill, the people living there would starve to death within three days, as their only income is the 30-40 lei daily charge they get for collecting the garbage” – Szakáts explains.

The original article in Hungarian:

Patarét: a kincses várost ellepi a szemete

The mountain of trash at Pata Rât is an urgent social issue

There are no words to describe the circumstances people live in at Pata Rât. Unless we want to use words like the incompetence of decision makers, measurements, statistics, pollution, we have none to describe the circumstances people live in at Pata Rât. The photos and videos fail to show the real size of the landfill and fail to transmit the unbearable stench spreading in the area.
While we were filming I suddenly realized that the many debates, articles and studies talking about this place I found myself at examined it in the context of social justice and institutional abuse.

But the reality is even more shocking: the sun is shining and in the disgusting smell that makes me sick to my stomach, anxiety creeps in seeing the helplessness of the people living on the landfill. There is garbage everywhere, shacks and piggery are built out of trash, children of the landfill are coming towards us on carriages.

„We are not allowed to work during the weekend” – says one of the workers, accompanied by a twelve year old boy. They have no idea what company they are working for. On Sundays there is not much happening here, he says and urges me to go and see the upper landfill, too.

For children below sixteen entrance is forbidden

– says the message at the entrance. „Despite the fact that the companies agreed on not allowing children to the landfill, they are not keeping their promises. The families living in the vicinity of the landfill need to send their children to work, they need their help in the everyday struggle for survival. The authorities meanwhile, are looking for solutions that would provide humane housing and working conditions for the people living here which would also help with integrating them into the city life” – said Alex Boguş, the social worker working for several years at the landfill in the framework of the Pata-Cluj project, answering the questions of Átlátszó Erdély.
According to Boguş housing conditions are catastrophic. The bigger problem are not the shacks, but the terrible smell. The problem of the lack of drinking water and the health care problems could only be addressed by introducing comprehensive measures.

„Local decision makers have no official position on pollution for obvious reasons: if they had, it would mean acknowledging that they were completely indifferent for years and were not eager to intervene.” – Boguș explained.

There are brief studies and articles about the level of pollution and contamination, and the people living at the landfill said that many newborn babies suffer symptoms of respiratory illnesses.

Neglected by the law

The poorest and most isolated groups live on the top of Pata Rât landfill: the children are most affected. They did not attend school until the social workers of the Pata-Cluj project started enrolling them and taking them to Cojocna and Cluj, to those schools which agreed to accept them.
„Officially, employees without working permit are no longer allowed to work in the landfill. But the reality is different. The recycling companies processing the selected garbage have a lot to gain from the work done here almost illegally. The situation is worrying not only from a legal, but from a moral standpoint too: workers are paid an insignificant amount of money, they work under inadequate circumstances, without social security or health insurance while the work they are doing is extremely important and creates huge revenues for the city. Their work should be valued more.” – the social worker explained.

In the recent past, the vice mayor, Emese Oláh announced the formation of a working group where several actors would participate in order to manage both on short and long term the social issues at Pata Rât. According to Alex Boguș it is still too early to comment on the undertaking, as the work has not started yet. A significant change though, – he stressed – is that the local government, even if it is just a small step, started acknowledging and taking responsibility for the situation in Pata Rât.

There is no doubt that the landfill is polluting, the question is: do we want to acknowledge it?

In November, 2009 the city council of Cluj commissioned the Center for Environment and Health to complete a study about water, air and soil pollution for the planned integrated waste management plant. No waste management plant was built in the past eight years, and since then, the level of pollutants indicated in the study has probably risen.
The research showed that in the vicinity of the landfill several pollutants were above the limit or beyond the intervention threshold.
„It is crucial to pay attention to air pollution”– Szakáts repeated the conclusions of the study. It is difficult to prove the kind of long term effects the chemicals might have, but the high incidence of respiratory illnesses occurring right after the fires indicate and could easily prove that they are toxic. Despite being aware of the results the authorities did not step in, did not request further measurements to find out what kind of effect the pollutants and toxic gases have on the health of the people living and working at the landfill.
In October, 2017 Szakats commissioned measurement from researchers working at Sapientia University. Results showed that the leachate and the stream in its vicinity contain pollutants at levels that are several times higher than the limit set for rivers and drinking water.

According to the data, chloride is twenty, sulphate is six, ammonia is four thousand, nitrate is twenty and bicarbonate is seventy times higher than the limit set for drinking water.

The measurement fails to prove the connection between the toxic air and the high incidence of pulmonary diseases and cancer affecting people living in the vicinity of the landfill, but the high levels of pollutants are in and of themselves reason for concern.
Polluting the Someş or the Tisa river is not an immediate cause for concern. No draining permit will be issued without having the sludge and leachate filtered first.

Protecting the bypass road by building a half kilometer long wall

The research group evaluating the visible collapse of the closed landfill identified the necessary measures that should be taken in order to prevent the fall on the eastern bypass road. It is still unclear though how these measures will be implemented.

Two professors of the Technical University in Timişoara looked into the reasons behind the collapse of the closed landfill
in 1974 the landfill was already on an inclined surface;
the soil under the landfill is clay covered with sludge and leachate;
the volume of leachate is increasing, and because of the pressure, underground springs are created;
the garbage compression from 22 to 18 hectares made it easier for rain water to seep through, exerting extra pressure;
the new, temporary landfill is also exerting pressure on the old one; and the water used for extinguishing the fire seeps through the garbage of the old landfill;
relocating garbage has damaged the previous stability of the landfill.

The conclusion of the study is that the collapsing mountain of garbage should be stabilized, and a half kilometer long wall should be erected to protect the bypass road. How would all this be carried out is uncertain, as relocating the garbage would exert pressure on another landfill.
How can the measures preventing the collapse be implemented? How can the protective wall be built without filtering and draining first the leachate in the vicinity of landfill? The leachate filter is not even ready yet. And where will the 4 hectares of extra garbage exerting pressure be transported to? Where will the trash we throw out daily be taken if Pata Rât cannot take it in anymore?

Political garbage

The question is, why has the October fire alarmed local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency, whereas the leachate, leaking for years has not. And why hasn’t the April fire caused similar distress?

Based on the statements and public debates it is obvious that this highly popular topic is just a tool in the hands of politicians.
Openly the political farce involves the former PDL (Liberal Democratic Party), currently PNL (National Liberal Party), represented by Alin Tişe, the president of the City Council and the PSD, represented by the Prefect, Aurel Cherecheş.
„The landfill can be used to pressure PNL, and the PSD (Social Democratic Party) realized that they themselves can benefit from this situation.”– says Szakáts.
Informal connections secure the political alliance between the local decision makers: Tișe’s best man was the Emil Boc, the Mayor from PNL.  The Minister of Environment, Grațiela Gavrilescu is the aid of the Prefect when it comes to exerting pressure.

The political enemies seem to disagree on why the landfill was set on fire. The PSD considers that the PDL set it on fire in order to reduce its size so that it could take trash again. According to PNL it was set on fire by the PSD in order to make a scandal.

The debate consists mostly of insinuations, but certain statements are quite clear. Both Aurel Chereches and the Vice Commissioner of the Environmetal Protection Agency, Róbert Szép agree that the fire was not caused accidentally. „Taking into account the weather conditions and based on what we saw on site, I do not think the fire occurred by accident”– Said Szép at the location of the fire.
The state of emergency would have permitted Tişe to start the interventions on private property in order to prevent the further collapse of the landfill. He said that declaring state of emergency was the last chance, but did not present any documents that would support his claims, thus, his request could not be accepted by the competent authority.

„Those responsible will be held accountable”

– at the press conference on November 8th, when Tişe presented the necessary intervention measures that needed to be taken based on the expert examination, and said that those who were hindering the process will be held accountable. This was a hint at the Prefect who refrained from declaring state of emergency and slowed down the expropriation of the affected land causing extra costs to the county.

At the press conference was said that the works of stabilizing the landfill, of filtering and draining the leachate was about to start, but instead it turned out that:
1. the Someş-Tisa River Water Basin Administration (Romanian Waters-National Administration) has not issued any permit for filtering the leachate
2. the cleaning basins required for filtering the leachate have yet to be built
3. according to the legal procedures on land expropriation the Decision comes into force upon the termination of the limit of 20 days, the deadline within which the owners can take action
4. the extra trash has be cleared from the overburdened landfill; this procedure involves land expropriations and issuing environmental protection permits

It is still unknown where the waste generated in Cluj county will be deposited. According to the optimistic politician, in March 2018 all works will be finalized and the landfill will be closed down.

Waste is an issue which concerns us all, but DAHR (Democratic Alliance of the Hungarians in Romania) is keeping silent

The Hungarian community living in Cluj is as affected by the landfill as are the Romanian inhabitants, still, the Hungarian representatives shy away from taking a stand. According to Szakáts, the reason behind DAHR’s silence is that it wouldn’t bring them any political gains, given that in the city council DAHR forms a coalition with PNL.
The wet autumn and winter months are aggravating the condition of the landfill, already at the brink of collapse and are also contributing to the increased leachate level. Local authorities have not taken any measures to protect the health of the people living or working in the close vicinity of the landfill. The communities living in Pata Rât will spend another winter working under inhuman conditions that render them more vulnerable. Nor the protection of the detour, nor the redistribution of the landfill, nor closing it down would provide a solution to their problem.
Jakab Villő Hanga

Translation: Etelka Tamás-Blaha

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In Transylvania the skies are clear, but as we approach the city of Târgu Mureș on the E60 road, from Ungheni (Nyárádtő) already, a very thin, barely visible fog wraps everything up.

As we get closer to the city, the visibility progressively decreases and as we pass by the airport our eyes and noses become irritated by this weird fog, which is not even a real fog, but the smoke coming from the chimneys of the Azomureș Chemical Plant.

Given that it used to be a plant of strategic importance, in communist times it was not allowed to talk about the pollution it caused, even though the smoke coming from the chimneys could be easily seen from everywhere. The area of the plant covers 126 acres and is at 4 km distance from the city.

Good deal

The pollution caused by the chemical plant has become a hot topic. The public debate makes even more sense if we think about the huge profit the Swiss company makes. According to the Ministry of Finance, in 2014 alone the company made a net profit of 32 million euros and had a gross turnover of 380 million euros.

The argument that has been brought up way too often when defending the operation of the chemical plant, namely, that it provides work for many employees, has lately come under scrutiny. In 2013 the Swiss employer outsourced a series of activities and the number of Azomureș employees went from 2600 to 1600. Meanwhile, the number of inhabitants exposed to constant pollution is of 130,000.

But despite the pollution, authorities are unable to act: the environmental protection license issued in 2007 safeguards the operation of the chemical plant and thus, the pollution, right till the end of 2015. Another problem the authorities are facing is the insufficient amount of measurements and thus, they have a difficult time proving that the chemical plant has emission levels beyond the legal limit.

Political actors made use of the situation for their own purposes

The political parties with the upcoming municipal elections took advantage of the turmoil caused by the mix of growing population discontent and the passivity of the environmental authorities. In the recent past DAHR declared that it would call for referendum on Azomureș. The mayor, Dorin Florea, started making threatening statements and not so long ago, the Minister of the Environment paid a visit to the city.

Following the fall of the communist regime, a Turkish company, Transworld Fertilizers Holding bought the plant in 1998 and a Swiss company, Ameropa Holding AG bought it in 2013 for 54 million euros.

The Hungarian and Romanian versions of this article:

Az Azomureş szennyez, a hatóságok csak füstölögnek

Azomureş poluează, autorităţile dau din umeri

The chemical plant gained important privileges

2007 is an important year in the chemical plant’s history: during the talks on EU accession, the company managed to reach a deadline extension for complying with the Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Pollution Reduction (IPPC) until the 31st of December 2015.

The chemical plant still uses the technology of the’60s and 70’s and needs to do a great deal to improve its technological equipment in order to comply with the requirements. This basically means that the plant managed to reach an 8 year long extension for modernizing its technology.

It is not only the filters that need to be replaced: in order to comply with EU emission limits, most of the equipments need to be changed.

According to the 2007 environmental protection permit, Ameropa commits to comply with EU emission levels by the 1st of January 2016. The currently ongoing works rise up to an investment of 170 million euros.

There never was so much pollution

But besides the works, something else must be happening at the chemical plant. Our interviewees in Târgu Mureș told us that they never before had such penetrating ammonium smell than this year.

„I grew up seeing the red star on the building of the Prefecture from my window and the chimneys of the plant at a distance. During communist times and in its aftermath, in the ’90s and 2000s pollution did not upset the locals. Who would have thought that 25 years after the regime change we would have a visibility educed to a kilometer or a kilometer and a half?” – asks Cristian Vântu, a friendly doctor in his forties.

A couple of years ago Vântu created a Facebook group for the locals protesting against the pollution. In the early days only a few of his friends joined, but later on many more became members only to stagnate at around 2500 members. But this year, in just two months time, from June to August, the number went up up to 10.000 members. They not only share links and photos, the various forms of protest take a better shape each time.

A more organized protest against pollution

Each professional focuses on a special issue. A petition was sent to Karmenu Vella, the EU Commissioner for Environmental Policy – and, as far as we know, the European Environmental Agency is already investigating.

Another petition has been sent to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and on the 13th of August a protest was held in front of the Prefecture. The local population has also become very active: the Environmental Guard in Târgu Mureş was notified 160 times this year. This is an extremely high number.

But the members of the group have different views on what should be done with the Azomureș chemical plant. And, as a consequence, the protests are also quite uncoordinated. When the different members or leaders do not agree on certain issues, they start acting on their own.

Stop the pollution!

„I don’t think anyone has the right to ask for shutting the plant down” says Vântu, then adds: „we can ask authorities to limit the harm done to the environment. They should stop the pollution. It’s up to them to decide whether this means closing it down or not. I have no problem with the leaders of the plant, but I do have problems with the authorities who are funded with my tax money.

They should guarantee that no harm is done to my health and should make sure that we all enjoy a proper quality of life. But according to the logic of business making, the possibilities that are available out there will be used to their advantage. And of course, if nobody stops them, they will carry on with the pollution. The chemical plant does not have strategic importance, as many claim. Instead, it is a private business and it has to respect rights and has to fulfil obligations. The authorities need to act and need to step up and say that this cannot go on like this” – says the doctor, who does not make his case based on the the harmful health effects.

„I have the right not only to live in a healthy environment, but also to live in one that pleases me, that looks nice. Nobody can take the blue sky and the view away from me” – he says on a terrace in the city centre, then adds that he is a libertarian and he doesn’t consider himself an environmentalist, nor a leftist.

Giving green light to pollution

„The source of all evil is the environmental protection license issued in 2007. This license sets limits that are simply outrageous. And even though Azomureș has emission levels that are beyond the limit, there is nothing I can do about it” – says Annamária Székely, the director of the Environmental Protection Guard in Mureş County.

On the inspector general’s packed desk we find the 120 page long license with important parts underlined in bright yellow. But she doesn’t really need to open the document: Székely knows it by heart already.

Let’s focus on the technical details

If we want to understand why it is so difficult to act against the pollution of Azomureș, we need to understand the difference between two basic notions. The first is emission – the amount of pollution coming from the chimneys. The second is immission – the concentration of pollution in the air.

The environmental protection license contains a chart with the emission levels for each chimney, broken down to components. All the limits, added up, represent the total limit with which Azomureș can still operate. For instance, for ammonium (NH3) this level is of 780 milligramms/normal cubic meters.

These levels, despite being very high, are not illegal: when the accession contract was negotiated, the EU agreed to these levels. The agreed emission levels are exceeded only when the chemical plant malfunctions, stops due to maintenance works and is restarted. But the exceeded limits are part of the normal technological processes and thus, are unavoidable. The environmental protection license stresses that the emissions occurring under these circumstances cannot be prevented.

The fines are given based on an old standard

Thus, there is no legal basis for fines for the high emission levels. But the situation is different with imission levels, the concentration of pollutants in the air. Even though ammonium is not categorized as pollutant by the 104/2011 law on air quality, there is an old standard (STAS 12574/1987) which sets a maximum of 0.300 milligramms of ammonium per cubic meter for each measurement set at every half an hour. But the document has no provisions for sanctions.

„This license could not be issued today in its actual form” – the inspector general concludes. „If at the fence of the factory the limit is set to 0.300, then, under normal circumstances the limit at the chimneys could not have been set at 780 milligramms. Given that the emmission levels are not beyond the limit, there is nothing I can do about the high immission levels.”

The ammonium levels that are measured in the area close to the factory depend greatly on weather conditions. In the best case scenario, emmissions rise upwards, or the wind blows them away. But if the wind blows towards the city, or there is no wind and the air pressure is high, then the pollutants weigh down on the city.

They make their own measurements

In the environmental license it is stipulated that the factory has to adapt its operation to weather conditions. We asked about it at Azomureș, but we did not receive any answers from Ovidiu Maior, the spokesperson of the factory.

„In order to answer the set of questions that were sent to us on the 25th of August, we need to collect so much data that it will take up several working days” – he said, when we made a phone call asking about when we would receive the answers to our set of questions.

According to the Environmental Protection Guard, the factory is eager to adjust the emissions to the weather conditions. The results of the measurements made every half an hour prove it as well: in only less than 2% of the cases are emissions over the limit. This is not a bad result – the inspector general concluded.

The environmental protection license obliges the plant to measure its level of emmission and immission, too, but also provides them with the possibility of making their own measurements. The license also makes clear that the measuring devices need to be calibrated once a year.

„Given that they have an accredited lab, I have to accept the data presented to me by Azomureș at face value, I cannot question their validity” – said Annamária Székely, when we asked weather the factory can alter the values, given that the measurements are not made by an independent authority.

This year the fines rose up to 56,000 euros

The 1987 standard is the only tool that authorities have for giving out fines for high immission levels. „At the beginning the factory appealed to the fines, but after having lost several cases in a row, they realized they have to pay” – said the inspector general.

The total amount of the fines for 2010-2014 is 755,000 lei (175,000 euros). This year the plant was given 4 fines, the total amount being of 250,000 lei (56,000 euros). But this most certainly is just pocket money for the factory.

A thin layer of dust covers the vehicle of the Environmental Protection Agency Mureș left in the parking area of Hotel President, carrying equipment that measures immission levels. We can say without doubt, that it was not used for a long time: even the tires are flat. „The Environmental Protection Agency identified the place in the vicinity of the plant as the location where the highest ammonium concentration can be measured”– explains Székely.

„It is also the place where we have access to electrical power” – Dănuţ Ştefănescu adds a practical reason regarding the placement of the car. The director of the EPA Mureș gives the impression of a typical official who is worn out by his work.

Will everything change from next year?

„The 1st of January 2016 will be the beginning of a new era” – Ştefănescu adds when we ask about the new environmental permit that will be issued by EPA Mureș. The chemical plant needs to reduce emissions by half or by a third in order to comply with EU and national legislation. „It will a be a thick document package” – he gesticulates.

He also agrees that it is difficult to do anything about pollution, until the current permit expires. Only in August, the agency’s car measured 151 times ammonium concentration levels that were over the limit – the data was handed over to the Environmental Protection Guard by EPA.

„This 0.300 milligramm limit is a 1987 standard and ammonium is not even categorized in EU nor national legislation as pollutant” – says the director of the Environmental Protection Guard, when we ask him weather the 151 cases of exceeded limits equals 151 fines.

But what is also problematic is that according to the environmental permit at shut down and restart the emission levels are not taken into account. „A 10 minutes long shut down at the chimneys, in cases of high atmospheric pressure can easily influence 5 to 6 immission measurements that take place every half an hour.”

„If the emission is legal – and in case of shut down and restart it certainly is – then there is nothing we can do about immissions” – says Székely, then adds: „ we could fine them if during the normal operation the emission levels would exceed legal limits, which is not the case. Based on immission levels only, I think we could not suspend the chemical plant’s operation license”.

The paragraph that vanished

Naming which authority which could suspend the environmental license of the chemical plant is an endless subject. Nonetheless, the permit clearly states that the authority which issued the license – in this case the EPA Mureș – can take the decisions of closing the plant down if the permit requirements are not fulfilled.

„Are the 151 cases of exceeded ammonium emission levels sufficient to take measures? – we ask the director of EPA. „ I don’t know, the Environmental Protection Guard did not issue such a request” – said Ştefănescu. „Why can’t you act on your own?” – we ask. „And what kind of measures should I suggest? Tell me” – he replies.

But what is even more interesting is that a paragraph on the terms for closing down a polluting plant simply disappeared when EPA modified the chemical plant’s environmental permit in 2014.

The paragraph with the number 10.1.7, can be used as a lever for authorities to intervene in cases of emissions that were beyond the limit, was simply erased. This also explains the confusing numbering of the rest of the paragraphs. Dănuţ Ştefănescu has his signature on this permit as well.

According to EPA, the paragraph is redundant, because the preamble of the permit states clearly that if provisions of the permit are not respected, it permit can be suspended, or redrawn.

The dust, the noxes are more harmful

Of all particles ammonium is probably the least harmful to health. Ammonium is at the center of attention because of the strong, pungent odour that is so striking even from a great distance. The dust and the noxes are way more damaging to the human health, but they are almost never measured.

The Environmental Protection Ministry has two stations that can measure air quality but we found out that they don’t always work. According to Ştefănescu, the stations do not measure dust concentration, nor the concentration of noxes and nobody knows when they will be fixed. What is strange though, is that we found data on measurements on the Ministry’s website. But it is not clear weather the values are current enough.

Even if the stations were operating, it would be very hard to make an argument using this data. Even though in the city and its neighbouring areas the chemical plant is still the biggest pollutant, is not the only one emitting dust and noxes. Even if it were used as an argument against the plant, the intervention of the authorities could be attacked easily in court.

As in a Kafka novel

„It’s like a Kafka novel, it stings your eyes, you can’t see the city properly and then you are told that measurements show nothing outstanding” – says Cristian Vântu.

The doctor-activist does not understand what is the point of talking about measurements when above the city of Târgu Mures there is a gigantic cloud, the city is foggy, grey and you can’t even see the hill one and a half kilometres away.

„Many people tell me, but Miss, the fog is quite visible” – replies the Environmental Protection Guard’s inspector general and continues: „But what should I write into the protocol, how should I quantify it? I felt my nose would fell off, it was so smelly. Until we find a way to quantify it, our hands are tied. Besides, EPA send us the measurements and if they don’t send us data with levels beyond the limit, there is nothing we can do.”

Doctors won’t give statements

Pollution is a hot topic and so is the topic of the effects pollutants have on the health. But we know even less about it. During our field trips we heard several rumours – we were told about mystical cancer cases and about doctors who suggested their patients with acute respiratory problems to leave the city.

We could not check any of the rumours. We tried to contact several doctors living in the city in order to talk about the health effects of the chemical plant – but nobody wanted to do the interview.

It is easy to understand the caution of the doctors: they would not make statements that are difficult to prove scientifically or that cannot be proved at all.

No statistics

The Agency for Public Health Mureș has no statistical data on the effects the plant has on health, despite the fact that it has been operating for 50 years already. What we know for sure, is that in 2015, 1900 persons were diagnosed with cancer and this number shows an increase if compared to the previous years.

We also heard that a couple of years ago the University of Medicine in Târgu Mureș and the Azomureș chemical plant collaborated for a research on the health effects of the chemical plant, but we have no information about the results.

We were also curious about the most common illnesses of the employees, the people most affected by the chemical plant. As a reply to our request, the Occupational Safety and Health Department Mureș sent us statistics containing very little information on the results of the research conducted at Azomureș.

We don’t know what stands behind the numbers: a former occupational health and safety doctor said that employees don’t have severe health issues as we might assume.

„Those who take care of themselves, don’t have health problems” – said the doctor, but he refused to tell us more.

Zoltán Sipos, translation: Etelka Tamás-Blaha

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