Montenegro warns the public to stay away from Port of Bar due to fears of toxic metals October 15, 2024

Photo: Luka Bar, port of Montenegro

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Montenegro warns the public to stay away from Port of Bar due to fears of toxic metals.

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

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

Long-term exposure to toxic heavy metals can 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 made by the Ecotoxicological Research Center... in 2023 around the port of Bar show that lead and arsenic concentrations are very high, with arsenic levels up to 10 times higher than the permissible limit,” said EPA director Milan Gadzic.

Separately, a routine medical examination of workers who handle hazardous materials and heavy metals for Port of Adria - the company that operates the privatized part of the port - revealed that they had high levels of lead in their blood.

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

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 in a private clinic, which, unlike public ones, can test for lead or arsenic poisoning.

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

The Health Ministry tried to downplay the scare, saying that the workers' lead levels “remained within acceptable limits, considering their functions and their exposure in this type of work.”

It did not specify the exact levels found.

However, he said that those affected would undergo additional health checks at a clinic in the capital Podgorica “to eliminate any doubt” and, if necessary, 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 ships, is majority-owned and operated by Turkey's Global Port Holdings.

oz/gil