For two weeks, the workers of the "Port of Adra" company have had multiple elevated levels of lead in their blood, but the competent health institutions have taken no action to treat them, nor to determine how the poisoning with that extremely dangerous heavy metal occurred.
It was confirmed to "Vijesti" yesterday that 58 of the 63 tested workers have elevated lead levels in their blood, that they contacted selected doctors, one of them and the Institute of Public Health, but that they did not receive help.
While the employees are waiting for medical help, the Institute for Public Health announces that they have received a letter from one of them and that they believe that "colleagues from the competent health institutions have taken all necessary measures".
"We believe that, in accordance with the laboratory findings and the clinical picture of the patients, colleagues from the competent health institutions took all necessary measures in this case. The inspection services have been informed, and we expect that all measures have been taken in accordance with their competences. Exposure to lead, whether through the work environment or other sources, can have serious health consequences, which depend on the degree and duration of contact with this dangerous metal," they told TV Vijesti.
The "Vijesti" source claims that on Friday they turned to the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection, which should determine how the poisoning occurred.
Testing revealed poisoning two weeks ago
It was confirmed to "Vijesti" that two weeks ago, testing revealed an increase in the concentration of lead in the workers' blood, several times higher than the permitted level, and that they contacted the Inspectorate on Friday.
The "Vijesti" source claims that the workers turned to the selected doctors after receiving the findings, but that nothing was done, and that the company's employees and management are waiting for the findings of the Inspection, in order to know what their next steps are.
The workers of PoA, the privatized part of the Port of Bar, handle, among other things, transshipment of ores and heavy metals.
"Vijesti" was told yesterday that the workers were tested in a private laboratory because, as they claim, there is no state laboratory or hospital where they could be tested for increased lead concentrate.
The source of "Vijesti" states that the testing was requested by their protector at work, in accordance with legal regulations.
The permissible value of lead in the blood is 28, and the same source states that for some workers this value is three or more times higher, while one of them allegedly has a blood lead concentration of 119.
President of the Trade Union Organization Zoran Martinovic he told the newspaper that he first saw the finding of a colleague who had this value of 44, and then contacted others who were in a similar situation.
When they realized that several of them had this problem, he demanded a meeting of management, occupational health and safety and experts to explain to them what they were facing.
The workers were scared when they saw the findings, he said, especially because, as he claims, they did not receive any useful information from the selected doctors. For this reason, as he states, one of his colleagues sought help from an occupational medicine doctor from Podgorica, who explained to him that through the chosen doctor he should ask for a referral to a council that will refer him to foreign treatment because his condition cannot be treated in Montenegro. .
The meeting with the employer was held after a week, he claims, when the procedure of testing those who are most vulnerable was started again, in order to determine whether any part of the body was attacked.
An expert was also allegedly present at that meeting, who explained the consequences of this condition and possible health problems.
"First it breaks down in the blood, then in the muscles, then it goes to the bones. I was informed that the situation as it is now is not alarming if the lead has not penetrated the body, and if it has, then we are in a problem. This will be determined by further analysis, so we will see what can be done, to get some therapy or treatment", said Martinović to "Vijesta".
Headache and shortness of breath
According to him, most of them have health problems, and the most common symptoms are headache and difficulty breathing. They attributed it to something else, he said, because they were not sufficiently informed and thought that heavy metal poisoning manifests itself differently.
He calls what they go through a "silent killing system" because they are exposed to metals that they inhale every day, which remain on their skin, clothes and other objects, and they even "carry them home".
Those who do not work on transhipment, but in the immediate vicinity, are also poisoned with lead.
"Should we wait for workers to start falling? At some point it will cross a line that we will no longer be able to correct. One expert told us that the situation is not yet fatal, that everything can be regulated, that everything depends on the organism", he said and said that this is why we need to react as soon as possible.
Martinović explained that the ores they work with are most often stored indoors, but transshipment is done outdoors, which is especially difficult when the wind blows and increases the presence of ore in the air. This, he explained, is Prague ore that is easily carried by the wind and raises the question of how much territory is actually contaminated.
The workers of AD Luka Bar have the same problem, he claims, and all of them are in an additional problem because they work next to each other, with the same or different ores that are mixed both on the ground and in the air.
The equipment is (are) not disputed
The workers reportedly want to handle this situation responsibly and do not want to blame or hold anyone responsible before it is proven.
Because of this, Martinović sent a request to the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection three days ago, and he says that he has information that the employer has also done so.
"Once the cause is determined, we will decide on further steps and how we will deal with the whole situation", he said, adding that they have already lost two weeks since they received the results, and that they hope that everything will go faster because this is about their lives.
As he said, the employer is ready to pay for additional analysis and treatment in order to approach the problem in the right way. For sick leave, if the need arises, it will also not be a problem.
However, according to Martinović, it will not be an easy process either, since it is not an injury at work, nor an illness at home, but the very nature of the work is life-threatening. Protective equipment, he claims, includes suits and masks, but health findings clearly show that this is not enough.
"I cannot say that it is the equipment when they say that it was made according to the standards prescribed for it. If some state institution says that the problem is the equipment, then we have located the problem," he said, because he does not want to blame anyone until the authorities do their job.
The law recognized the torment
How difficult and dangerous the work of port and transport workers is for their health, the workers of AD Luka Bar, who launched an initiative to increase the benefits of service, so that they could retire with 25 years of service, also emphasized.
That Law on Amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance was unanimously supported by the deputies in the Assembly.
The labor union of AD Luka Bar launched the initiative at the end of January this year. Port and transport workers do physical work with dangerous heavy metals, and these jobs are in danger zone 1.
They then told "Vijesti" that, according to the law that was in force at the time, they would not even see their pension.
They work all the time
Martinović says that he believes that the employer is not running away from this problem, but that it is not good that he is procrastinating.
The employer wants to bear all the costs, claims Martinović, of both the testing and the treatment, only an appropriate way must be found.
For now, as he said, they are looking for a temporary solution and a different way of working in order to protect their health in every possible way and so that their condition does not get further complicated. They informed the management that they must give the workers sick leave and the opportunity to receive treatment.
"I was in our occupational health and safety and asked that, due to medical findings, workers who are 'plus' are not sent to that type of goods anymore. You don't have to ban them from working, but they can't work where they are at risk. "No one really pressured anyone to do that," said Martinović.
His opinion is that those workers should be prohibited from contact with the goods, and that until the lead level is reduced to an acceptable limit, they should not have contact with the ore.
"If we continue to work in this way, we will have the same problem. We have not yet found what caused the contamination. There is an error, it is now clear to everyone, but until the problem is identified and corrected, it makes no sense to continue working in the same way, because we will be contaminated again in a few months".
Representatives of the workers' union proposed an urgent change in the work process and advised workers who have elevated lead levels in their blood not to perform work that is in direct contact with ores.
Yesterday, the office of the executive director of "Port of Adria" did not respond to calls from the editorial office, and questions were sent to them in writing.
The company was created by the privatization of the former container terminals of the Port of Bar at the beginning of 2014. The Turkish "Global Ports" is the majority owner of the company that operates in part of the Port of Bar.
Clinical toxicologist is not recognized by the system
The Institute for Public Health says that they are waiting for a response from a toxicologist, but they do not specify which one.
Although Montenegro has a clinical toxicologist, Dr. Sandra Đuranović, she cannot treat the workers of the bar company, because, as she says, the system does not recognize her.
"Consequences of chronic lead poisoning can affect various human organs and organ systems. However, if I were to make an official statement, given that the system did not recognize me, that way it would be considered quackery and I could be prosecuted, because I am not recognized as a toxicologist in the Montenegrin system," she told TV Vijesti.
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