SLOVENIA

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SLOVENIA AN EXAMPLE OF MURDEROUS CORRUPTION
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ON THE CORRUPTING SIDE OF THE ALPS
Slovenia is a small country situated on the
southern side of the Alps. Its surface is over
20.000 km2 and its population around 2 millions.
The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Slovenia
became a sovereign country in 1991 after the
disintegration of Yugoslavia.
3
?
? In the central part of Slovenia there is a
region called Zasavje. The area of Zasavje is 250
km2. It has 46.000 inhabitants. Zasavje
represents the most polluted area in Slovenia.
The main polluter is the cement plant (Lafarge
Cement) in Trbovlje. The conditions deteriorated
strongly during the 2003 when the French Lafarge
Cement took over the local cement plant!
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(View from the South Side)
ATTENTION The Cement Plant in Trbovlje is
situated in a narrow valley, with weak wind
ventilation, where during the temperature
inversions a sea of cold air accumulates
emissions. Inversions are frequent in Zasavje
valleys and may last for days. In this type of
landscape the restrictions for polluting should
be even more rigorous than elsewhere!
TRBOVLJE (The town with 16.000 inhabitants)
LAFARGE CEMENT
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(View from the North Side)
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
No, it is not fog! According to the data of the
periodic monitoring the emissions of Lafarge
Cement in Trbovlje contain only 15 of vapour,
85 are dust particles, heavy metals, sulphur
dioxide, carbon monoxide, NOx, TOC, dioxins and
furans ... During the standstills of
electrostatic precipitators, the share of vapour
is even smaller and the share of pollutants
further increases. Of course, the measuring is
never carried out during the standstills!
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(View from the North Side)
Lafarge Cement operates continuously 8.000 hours
per year. The pollution is at its worst during
the numerous standstills of the electrostatic
precipitators which occur approx. 1.000 times a
year. And the allowed limits of air pollution
(imissions) are in such times transgressed even
by ten times!
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
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(View from the Northeast Side)
The management of Lafarge Cement maintain that
there are no standstills of the electrostatic
precipitators! Only once in an interview for a
newspaper, they admitted that they had 200
standstills in the previous year which however is
a strongly underestimated data.
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
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(View from the Northeast Side)
The emissions are not continuously monitored in
spite of the fact that such monitoring has been a
legal requirement for 12 years!
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
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(View from the Northeast Side)
Lafarge Cement and the Inspectorate for the
environment and spatial planning claim that
emissions are continuously monitored by the
Lafarge Cement but they do not wish to disclose
the data. They admit however that the monitoring
is not performed by a publicly registered
institution but by Lafarge Cement themselves!
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
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(View from the Northeast Side)
Only periodic monitoring of emissions in Lafarge
Cement, a few hours yearly, is carried out by
publicly registered institution. This monitoring
is performed only when all electrostatic
precipitators are in operation!
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
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(View from the Northeast Side)
The electrostatic precipitators standstills ...
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
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(View from the Northeast Side)
occur mostly ...
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
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(View from the Northeast Side)
during ...
LAFARGE CEMENT ?
TRBOVLJE
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the nights! (But this time photos cannot be
taken of them!)
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Lafarge Cement Kiln

L C K
Large
Citizens Killer
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DIRE CONSEQUENCES
The Slovenian institute ERICo found out that
people from Zasavje contract more often than in
average the diseases of the respiratory systems,
of the digestive organs, of the urinary system,
of the genitals and of the blood circulation
systems, pregnancies are more often complicated,
and there are miscarriages, mental disorders,
glands diseases and tumours! The map of the
cancer incidences in Slovenia shows that Zasavje
is strongly leading in all types of cancers
(except for the cancer of uterus)! The mortality
rate of infants in Slovenia is 3,8 stillborns per
1.000 infants whereas in Zasavje there are as
many as 8,2 stillborns in every 1.000 infants!
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WHICH ARE THE CORRECT DATA?
The case of dust On the basis of periodic
measuring in 2005 Lafarge Cement reported
emissions of dust of 6,85 tons. Of course the
measuring was carried out at the time of full
operation of electrostatic precipitators. However
for the Trbovlje cement plant management only
the measuring carried out during a minor (!)
electrostatic precipitators' standstill in 2002
are relevant. If the measuring results during the
minor standstill (2.430 mg/m3 at the flue gas
flow 165.000 m3) are multiplied with 200
standstills per year we will get the result of
80.19 tons of dust emissions. If a more realistic
number of 1.000 standstills is assumed, the
emissions are estimated at 400 tons of dust per
year. The figure of 400 tons is valid if the only
short standstills are taken into account. For a
realistic estimation of dust emissions medium and
major standstills should be added to that and
besides also the dust emitted during the
electrostatic precipitators' regular operation.
The results thus obtained are 50 to 70 times
higher than those published officially! What
does this mean in terms of benzen content? The
officially published quantity (without taking
into account the periods when electrostatic
precipitators were not operating) was 5,30 tons
of benzen in year 2005. A realistic estimation
however with 1.000 electrostatic precipitators'
standstills is 300 tons (linear comparison with
dust). Where do these large emissions come from?
Lafarge Cement use petrol-coke as fuel and do not
seem to have an explicit permit for it! Finally
there are heavy metals, NOX, TOC, dioxines and
furanes ... which certainly should not to be
forgotten!
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SLOVENIAN AUTHORITIES

L C K
Lying
Corrupt Kind
Bojana Pohar Chief Inspector of the Republic of
Slovenia for the Environment and Spatial Planning
Janez Jana The Prime Minister
of Republic of Slovenia
Janez Podobnik Minister of Environment and
Spatial Planning
Bogdan Barovic The Mayor of Trbovlje
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Bogdan Barovic The Mayor of Trbovlje
Bogdan Barovic the mayor of Trbovlje is publicly
among the most fervent advocates of Lafarge
Cement. He admits that it is because Lafarge
Cement Trbovlje employs some 200 people and
because of Lafarge Cements donations in the
amount of 400.000 EUR yearly to fund sports and
cultural events in Trbovlje. But there are
indications that personal interests may be
involved. Bogdan Barovic is not at all concerned
about the electrostatic filters numerous
standstills, about degraded environment, and
about epidemiological picture of the local
population. At one particular serious standstill
of electrostatic precipitators he even suggested
that the public should not worry as he (!)
assures them that the emissions from Lafarge
Cement are not dangerous. (Perhaps we should note
here that he is not adequately educated and had
before undertaking the office of mayor been a
speaker and journalist on the local radio).
Bogdan Barovic has been a mayor in Trbovlje
since 2002. All this time Lafarge Cement have not
been called to submit the data of continuous
monitoring to the local community though the law
binds them to do so. This year only but only upon
the strong pressure exercised by the public he
asked Lafarge Cement to submit the data on
emissions for the last five years. Nobody knows
whether he received such data as they have not
been presented to the public. An example of how
Bogdan Barovic deals with the public who are
sensitive about pollutions In 2004 a civil
initiative was organized in Zasavje opposing
strongly the prospect of introducing hazardous
wastes to fuel the cement plant. The public
organized as NGO was not welcome in Trbovlje and
the NGO had to move its address to the
neighbouring municipality (Zagorje ob Savi).
After that Bogdan Barovic promptly declared that
the NGOs from other municipalities have no
business to interfere with Lafarge Cement
(though to tell the truth the pollution does not
stop on the boundaries of Trbovlje municipality).
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Bojana Pohar Chief Inspector of the Republic of
Slovenia for the Environment and Spatial Planning
- Head of the Inspectorate

• Bojana Pohar, as head of Inspectorate for the
  environment and spatial planning, directly
  supports the illegal operations of Lafarge
  Cement. Her following measures are an evidence of
  it
• She ignores the requirements and even does not
  respond to questions put by the public concerning
  Lafarge Cement.
• In spite of the provisions of legislature and
  years of calling her attention to it, she has
  required that independent continuous monitoring
  is carried out in Lafarge Cement. Only recently
  she yielded to the pressure of public and
  required Lafarge Cement to introduce this year
  (12 years too late) a credible continuous
  monitoring of emissions.
• She has recklessly believed the unofficial and
  secret data on measurement of emissions in
  Lafarge cement and performed by the Lafarge
  Cement themselves. According to these data the
  cement plant excessively pollutes the environment
  with sulphur dioxide (SO2). Therefore they are
  within the environmental rehabilitation programme
  presently building a desulphurization plant (for
  SO2) only.
• Following the secret Rehabilitation Programme
  she publicly adopted the attitude that Lafarge
  Cement may during the implementation of this
  programme continue with unrestricted pollution of
  environment.
• Also she claims that Lafarge Cement operation is
  in public interest and the public health a
  private interest.

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Janez Podobnik Minister of Environment and
Spatial Planning

• Janez Podobnik, minister of environment and
  spatial planning, directly upholds the illegal
  procedures in Lafarge Cement. His following steps
  are a proof for it
• He defends Lafarge Cement on the basis of the
  data from periodic monitoring of emissions,
  carried out incorrectly during the time when all
  electrostatic precipitator are in regular
  operation.
• With false data of emissions he is misleading
  the Slovenian public as well as the European
  Union.
• He believes that the data of continuous
  monitoring as carried out by Lafarge Cement
  themselves are plausible but he does not make
  them available to the public.
• He allowed the legalisation of illegal buildings
  whose aim is to prepare incineration of the
  hazardous wastes in Lafarge Cement.
• He allows the use of illicit fuels in Lafarge
  Cement.
• He ordered elaboration of a programme of
  rehabilitation for Lafarge Cement. The programme
  however is secret for the public.
• Allegedly aiming at improving situation of air
  in Zasavje, he appointed a working committee
  which is pure eyewash The committee is totally
  useless and serves actually only to buy time. The
  local environmental activists who participate in
  the committee are helpless since the activities
  of the committee are controlled by the Ministry
  of Environment.
• He too ignores the requirements and even does
  not respond to questions put by the public
  concerning Lafarge Cement.

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Janez Jana The Prime Minister
of Republic of Slovenia
Janez Jana, the Slovenian prime minister has
been kept informed in the course of the last two
years about the disastrous circumstances in the
Zasavje region and about the deliberate
non-activity of the responsible authorities above
all of the Ministry of Environment. Upon pressure
by the local population, the prime minister
replied once only saying that the question had
been conveyed to the Ministry of Environment.
Thus he would not tackle the problem and he
shifts the responsibility to others. Though it
is true that the present Jana's government
inherited the issue Lafarge Cement from the
previous government (with prime minister Anton
Rop and minister of environment and spatial
planning Janez Kopac) who even allowed the Cement
Plant a test incineration of over 30.000 tons of
hazardous wastes the Prime Minister Jana has
since 2004 done nothing to solve the situation
with the Lafarge Cement. Moreover in spite of the
obvious evidences of devastating and even illegal
activities of Lafarge Cement the problem has been
aggravated in the course of the last two years
(e.g. Lafarge Cement built illegally the
appliances necessary for incineration of
hazardous wastes. They obtained the permits from
the authorities ex post and were fined a small
penalty payable for usurping the land). Today
the Jana's government boast with the
construction of desulphurization plant as if the
sulphur dioxide were the only culprit for the
catastrophic health situation of the region
Zasavje. What they are boasting about is the
solving of a marginal problem. HYPOTHETICAL
QUESTION What would the French government do if
a Slovenian cement plant operated with similar
environmental impact on the French territory?
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SLOVENIA

L C K
Latent
Corruption Kingdom
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WHY SLOVENIA?
As in 1991 Yugoslavia disintegrated, Slovenia
gained not only sovereignty but also changed the
political system. On one hand it turned into a
democratic society on the other hand the former
socialist system was replaced by a rather
orthodox capitalism commencing with property
transformation and ruthless materialistic
competition. Socially safe society with strong
middle class has been intensely polarised on poor
and rich. The driving power of the system has
become Be resourceful (in terms of grab what
you can but do not get found out). To
understand the state of mind in Slovenia it is
more important to know that there is a public
known confidential information that some of the
leading politicians were allegedly involved in
sale of weapons to Croatia and Bosnia and
Herzegovina during the last Balkan war. In
short a small country with uncontrolled social
stratification, greed in all social layers (even
in political élite), record delays in court
procedures In Slovenia there are excellent
conditions for corruption!
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STOP Lafarge Cement!
STOP killing citizens!
STOP corruption in Slovenia!
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Help us at least by transmitting this
presentation of our local drama on to other
people. Hopefully it may reach those who are
willing and capable of taking appropriate
measures. While waiting for the slow Slovenian
legal procedures to be completed (too) many may
fall ill or may even die.
!
For more detailed information contact
non-governmental organization (NGO) EKO KROG
eko.krog_at_gmail.com www.eko-krog.org
Author of this presentation