Fear of disease, chemical leaks as floods recede
Date: 22-Aug-02
Country: CZECH REPUBLIC
Author: Alan Crosby
At least 97 people have died in storms and flooding in Germany, Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic in recent weeks, sparked by weeks of heavy rain. Hundreds of thousands more have been driven from their homes, crops have been ruined and buildings and roads destroyed.
The damage in Germany alone is estimated at more than 10 billion euros ($9.84 billion).
Hundreds of tonnes of rubbish were piling up in Prague as some 20,000 clean-up workers in the Czech Republic were being offered hepatitis vaccinations, health official Michael Vit said this week.
Czech officials said a flooded chemical factory could still pose a threat to the environment after leaking poisonous chlorine gas last week.
Czech and German environment ministers toured the Spolana chemical plant in Neratovice, 20km (12 miles) north of Prague, to assess the risk of leaks into the River Elbe, which flows north into Germany.
"Apart from Spolana, the other problem was the destruction of sewage treatment plants on the Elbe. Both sides agree that it is necessary to renew the operation of the plants as soon as possible," German Environment Minsiter Juergen Trittin told a news conference following the tour.
His Czech counterpart Libor Ambrozek said preliminary tests at the site have showed no dioxin or mercury leaks, but he added that final tests on dioxin contamination would only be ready later this week.
The total cost of the cleanup at Spolana, where lethal herbicides were produced in the 1960s and are feared to remain in the walls, will reach around 65 million euros.
"There are 94 types of fish living in the Elbe now, and we have a strong interest in maintaining what we have achieved (in cleaning up the river over the past decade)," Trittin added.
COMMUNIST-ERA FACTORIES
The Rivers Elbe and Vltava, which broke their banks throughout the Czech Republic and Germany last week, are lined with towns and cities - including Prague and Dresden - as they wind their way north through Hamburg and into the North Sea.
Both are also lined with factories dating back to the communist-era, when environmental standards were rarely taken into consideration during construction.
Near Berlin lies the town of Wittenberg, the former home of religious leader Martin Luther and home to a complex of chemical plants.
Officials say potentially dangerous chemicals have been cleared from the area or stored safely above ground, but residents and environmental groups have expressed fears of a spill or water contamination.
The fears are not limited to former Eastern Bloc areas. In Lauenburg, 40 km (25 miles) from Hamburg, two chemical plants have been evacuated as northern Germany braces for flooding.
For residents returning to their homes, disease was a more pressing concern as they faced dealing with piles of decaying household waste and debris from shops and restaurants.
Many sewage treatment plants have been forced to halt operations and the carcasses of fish and animals have been dumped along with the mud by the flood water.
But authorities in Germany and the Czech Republic were keen to play down fears of epidemics.
Trittin said there was no need for people clearing up debris to take special precautions, but they should take sensible measures.
"People must stick to the hygiene rules, wear protective clothes, dispose of spoiled foods properly and also ensure that sources of drinking water are checked," he said.