On 14-16 March 2023 representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Montenegro and Tunisia—participating countries in the GEF-UNEP MedProgramme— met in Sarajevo with the institutions supporting implementation to review progress on two (out of eight) Child Projects (CP): CP 1.1 (“Reducing pollution from harmful chemicals and wastes in the Mediterranean hotspots and measuring progress to impacts”) and CP 4.1 (“Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Environment and Climate Regional Support Project Countries)”. Meeting participants also travel to the city of Tuzla, where they visited a former industrial site known as Chlor-Alkali Complex (HAK-1). The University of Tuzla is undertaking an important assessment of mercury pollution at HAK-1, with support from CP 1.1.
Maren Mellendorf, Programme Management Officer at the UNEP/MAP Coordinating Unit, who specializes in Chemicals and Waste within the MedProgramme team, answered six questions about the activities undertaken in Tuzla, linkages with other actions being rolled out across the Mediterranean and relevance to the broader UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system’s mandate.
- Why is the MedProgramme working at the HAK-1 site in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Maren Mellendorf (MM): The now-decommissioned Chlor-Alkali Complex, an electrolysis plant known as HAK-1, is one of the industrial pollution hotspots in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Soil analysis performed in February 2013 detected high concentrations of mercury near the plant. This caused alarm because HAK-1 is located near the Jala River and when mercury is present in water, it takes an extremely toxic form. Sediment analysis from the Jala River revealed that concentrations of mercury and other heavy metals were present further downstream of HAK-1. Samples from a nearby monitoring well also confirmed an elevated concentration of mercury in groundwater. Supporting Bosnia in conducting further assessments of the extent of mercury contamination of both soil and groundwater around HAK 1 is a MedProgramme activity that comes under Child Project CP 1.1.
- Where does the mercury pollution found at HAK-1 come from?
MM: The electrolysis plant at HAK-1 had been in operation from 1977 to 1992. Along with it, there was a plant for the purification of hydrogen from mercury, forming sodium amalgam. In theory, mercury was supposed to circulate in a “closed circuit”. Despite this, there were losses of mercury in the exit fluids. In addition, the decomposition of sodium amalgam yielded quantities of elemental mercury.
- What kind of hazard does mercury pollution pose to human health?
MM: In addition to being very toxic to aquatic life, mercury has scientifically verified impacts on human health. It is a toxic metal negatively affecting vital organs, the skin, and the central nervous system. Mercury evaporates at room temperature and, in case of high exposure, can cause hyperirritability and delirium with hallucinations. It can pass through intact skin and can have long-term impacts.
- What actions is the MedProgramme taking to respond to mercury pollution at the HAK-1 site?
MM: As part of Child Project CP 1.1, the MedProgramme brings a two-pronged intervention supporting partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina: an assessment, to acquire a better understanding of the extent of pollution, and the identification of possible mitigation measures. Such measures include remediation or treatment interventions that must be both technically viable and feasible. The MedProgramme team is currently supporting the University of Tuzla in the assessment of mercury in soil and groundwater. This is crucial because there are densely populated and urbanized areas in the immediate vicinity of the HAK 1 site.
- How will the region benefit from this local intervention?
MM: What the MedProgramme is accomplishing in Tuzla, is in line with the UNEP/MAP Programme of Work (PoW) for the biennium 2022-2023, as adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols. Implementation is being conducted in synergy with the GEF Chemicals and Waste. In addition, the MedProgramme is actively promoting the sharing of experience and best practices among participating countries. All the studies and elements of knowledge captured as the implementation of the MedProgramme advances will be made available to the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and the Parties to the Minamata Convention.
- How does the work of the MedProgramme relate to Multilateral Environmental Agreements?
MM: One important message that the MedProgramme is conveying to participating countries is the importance of ratifying crucial Multilateral Environmental Agreements, such as the Minamata Convention and the Barcelona Convention protocols, especially the Land-Based Sources (LBS) Protocol. When we visited the HAK-1 in Tuzla, my colleague Eloise Touni of the UNEP-GEF Chemicals and Waste remarked that the MedProgramme is supporting efforts by Bosnia and Herzegovina in gaining access to international support and funding. Such opportunities can be unlocked, as Eloise noted, with the ratification of all the amendments to the Stockholm Convention as well as the protocols to the Minamata and Barcelona conventions.
