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220:. The company's products were the chief raw materials for various objects made of rubber (tires, transmission belts, conveyor belts, protective clothes and shoes), but were also used in the chemical, pharmaceutical, agricultural and other industries. The output of various types of carbon black amounted to 24,400 tons in 1989 (63,000 tons had been projected), a number that steadily decreased until 1993, when the factory was shut down following lengthy negotiations. Black dust pollution affected a strip of land over 20 km in length and 5–6 km in width, although work was later done to clean this up.
143:. In 1984, a second blast furnace began operation, so that the old components built from 1939 to 1957 were retired. Between 1985 and 1989, zinc powder production began and a system for collecting residual gases was put in place. In 1988, a 250 m high chimney was built. By 1989, the plant was annually generating 43,490 tons of sulfuric acid (against a projected capacity of 126,000 tons), 23,519 tons of electrolytic lead (below the 38,000 tons projected), 29,840 tons of pure zinc, 2,094 tons of zinc powder, 19 tons of cadmium, 29 tons of bismuth and 195 tons of antimony.
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lead-induced anemia or severe lung and stomach pains. Of local children aged two to fourteen, 96% had chronic bronchitis and respiratory problems. Studies of children seven to twelve years old from Copșa Mică and Mediaș found that many showed signs of mental retardation, two-thirds were underweight and 30% of boys and nearly half of girls had high blood pressure. Five babies were born with malformed hearts between 1977 and 1983, a number that rose to 16 in 1988 alone. In 1985, a local doctor wrote a detailed report that ended up in the hands of dictator
322:; trees paid for by the company were planted on 35 ha between 2000 and 2003. With Sometra shuttered, the year 2010 marked the first since measurements were taken that air pollution did not exceed legal limits. Plants began to regrow in forests that were shrinking as late as 2001. Whereas moles and hedgehogs had disappeared and rabbits and deer had migrated to cleaner areas, rabbits, foxes, wild boars and deer later returned. Isolated honeybee colonies and other insect species also reappeared.
150:. Starting in 1990, production continuously fell, reaching 25% of its former level. However, output recovered to 1989 levels in some categories in 1995-1996. Starting in late 1992, efforts at updating the plant were made, including better gas purification at the agglomeration unit and blast furnace, completion of the tall chimney and a new dust filtration and water recirculation system. By 1997, some 40% of employees were laid off. The firm was privatized in 1998 when it was sold to
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70:, and shut down in 1993. The two were the town's principal employers, but combined, they made it among the most polluted places in Eastern Europe. Soot from Carbosin encased Copșa Mică in a black covering, while metals from Sometra suffused the air, water and soil, leading to serious health effects on surrounding residents, vegetation and wildlife.
162:, due to a major fall in zinc and lead orders, 80% of employees or over 700 people were laid off. The remainder were kept on for equipment maintenance, and the factory was temporarily shut down. Including their dependents, this measure affected nearly a third of the town's inhabitants, as well as provoking significant losses to the town budget.
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proving especially well adapted, among other species. Upon privatization of
Sometra in 1998, the government, in accordance with a 1995 law, stipulated that fourteen steps would have to be taken by 2002. These would lessen the plant's environmental impact by reducing gas and toxic dust emissions. One
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Natural regrowth of forests has been made more difficult in the least polluted areas, while in the severely to moderately polluted zones, it had stopped completely or was trending in that direction by 2008. Planting trees, even with additional costs such as fertilizer, has not always been successful
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describes the town: "For about 15 miles around, every growing thing in this once-gentle valley looks as if it has been dipped in ink. Trees and bushes are black; the grass is stained. The houses and streets look like the inside of a chimney. Even the sheep on the hillsides are a dingy gray." Horses
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was inaugurated. The unit was expanded in 1966, a year that also saw the introduction of a system for agglomerating concentrates of zinc and lead. This was the culmination of a four-year program of thorough restructuring and modernization, with the new equipment having a capacity of 30,000 tons of
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In 1977, 70 residents had excessive or dangerous lead levels, a figure that had risen to over 400 by 1990, when over half of
Sometra employees had above-normal lead. One test of nearly 3000 residents showed over half had lead poisoning. From 1983 to 1993, some 2000 people were hospitalized due to
111:
zinc and 20,000 tons of lead bullion per year. The 1967-1970 period saw the introduction of an electrolytic lead refining system (capacity 24,000 tons a year); a unit for extracting metallic bismuth for technical and pharmaceutical use from anode sludge, as well as gold and silver alloys and
281:(8,900 ha), so that over 30,000 ha were polluted, a number that remained constant in 1999. The intensity of damage also grew. In 1973, 120 ha of Mediaș forests fell into the category of most severe damage. This grew to 900 ha in 1978, nearly 2600 ha in 1988 and over 4500 ha in 1999. The
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and elevated acidity. For instance, between 1994 and 1998, planting yielded a success rate of between 12 and 95%. Erosion, landslides and repeated fires have taken place, and trees' beneficial effects on climate, water and air quality have been seriously diminished or eliminated.
232:, contaminated plant products and health risks to farm animals and human inhabitants. Until operations were suspended, Sometra remained the area's chief polluter, its emissions of sulfur dioxide and dust affecting all aspects of the environment. A March 1990 report in
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secret police and leading to construction of the tall chimney that spewed sulfuric emissions toward nearby villages. Residents were dependent on the factory for their livelihood, saw the pollution as part of reality and were reluctant to agitate for change.
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of trees, those in direct proximity to the sources of pollution, were afflicted. This figure had risen to 1650 ha by 1973 and nearly 8000 ha in 1978. Studies in 1988 and 1999 revealed that the entirety of the forests managed from
131:. Capacity was doubled between 1975 and 1984. A second zinc and lead extraction unit, with annual capacities of 30,000 tons (zinc) and 20,000 tons (lead) went online, as well as two thermal zinc refineries and greater
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103:. Its initial capacity was 3000 tons of zinc per year, expanded to 4000 tons in 1946. Between 1950 and 1960, capacity was gradually expanded to 28,000 tons a year. In 1955, a unit for
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By the early 1990s, Copșa Mică was among the most polluted towns in
Eastern Europe. Over 60 years of unrestricted emissions led to lower air quality, surface water contamination,
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Local authorities became aware of damage to vegetation caused by the factories by the early 1960s, a phenomenon that widened and intensified over time. In 1961, some 100
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could only live there for two years, and the only animal life in the immediate area were wildfowl, the meat of which was inedible from the toxins.
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was taken over by the Nazi regime, contributing to the crippling of
Romania's efforts to maintain an army outside German control.
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Over the years, the company has been known as
Sonemin, U.C.M., 21 Decembrie and I.M.M.N., acquiring the Sometra name in 1991.
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The communist regime, which considered the factory crucial to the national economy and did not export its products,
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were polluted—20,110 ha in the earlier study, or 17,247 ha in 1999, following the transfer of two parcels to
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Petre Opriș, "Industria românească de apărare înainte de înființarea organizației
Tratatului de la Varșovia", in
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The Omri Annual Survey of
Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, 1996: Forging Ahead, Falling Behind'
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invested in the enterprise in order to develop its defense capabilities, ordering munitions and arms for
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Replanting of intensely polluted soil started in 1988 and by 2008, 644 ha had been replanted, with the
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refining. In 1983, metallic antimony production began by extracting the metal from slag, along with
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The River Runs Black: The
Environmental Challenge To China's Future
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Anuarul
Institutului de Istorie 'George Barițiu' - Series Historica
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Sometra was founded as a private firm in 1939 for the purpose of
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460:"Through a Thick Veil of Soot, Romanian City Faces Future"
701:, at the Copșa Mica town hall site; accessed June 5, 2012
496:"Criza de la Sometra 'taie' bugetul orașului Copșa Mică"
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step was to plant 40-50 ha of trees on the banks of the
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Remains of the Carbosin factory in the background, 2006
181:Carbosin was founded in 1935, mainly for producing
154:. It was the country's only producer of lead and
800:Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1993
545:The Economy of East Central Europe, 1815-1989
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780:Manufacturing companies established in 1935
692:"Reconstrucția ecologică de la Copșa Mica"
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416:at the Sometra site; accessed June 5, 2012
595:, p.223. Cornell University Press, 2005,
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27:Two factories in Sibiu County, Romania
722:. University Press of Florida, 1999,
577:, May 11, 2011; accessed June 5, 2012
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629:Open Media Research Institute, p.325
547:, p. 255. London: Routledge, 2004,
289:forests are the most polluted, the
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775:Environmental disasters in Europe
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346:Soot-blackened buildings in 2002
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704:Open Media Research Institute,
247:, earning him a visit from the
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785:1935 establishments in Romania
515:"Concedieri masive la Sometra"
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765:Chemical companies of Romania
370:Shift change at Sometra, 1996
571:"Miracolul de la Copșa Mică"
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158:. In early 2009, during the
297:ones less so, and those at
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745:Metal companies of Romania
674:Reconstrucția..., p.18, 20
87:Sometra in operation, 2005
42:were two factories in the
760:Companies of Sibiu County
656:Reconstrucția..., p.14-15
197:. In 1939, following the
203:Československá zbrojovka
177:Abandoned Carbosin, 1996
611:Reconstrucția..., p.6-7
189:gas. The government of
119:production; a unit for
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647:Reconstrucția..., p.14
638:Reconstrucția..., p.13
201:, the 20% interest of
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137:sodium thioantimoniate
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718:N. Patrick Peritore,
708:. M.E. Sharpe, 1997,
690:Sibiu Forest Agency,
482:Reconstrucția..., p.5
442:Reconstrucția..., p.6
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770:Pollution in Romania
256:Effect on vegetation
224:Environmental impact
591:Elizabeth Economy,
218:methyl methacrylate
152:Mytilineos Holdings
127:production; and an
697:2014-03-15 at the
464:The New York Times
458:Celestine Bohlen,
412:2012-04-29 at the
320:Târnava Mare River
307:soil contamination
235:The New York Times
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60:non-ferrous metals
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575:Evenimentul Zilei
519:Evenimentul Zilei
500:Evenimentul Zilei
245:Nicolae Ceaușescu
199:German occupation
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301:the least.
214:oxalic acid
99:by the new
739:Categories
728:0813016886
714:1563249251
682:References
601:0801489784
553:1563249251
291:Șeica Mică
271:Dumbrăveni
249:Securitate
48:Copșa Mică
407:"History"
277:(60 ha),
105:producing
695:Archived
410:Archived
283:Micăsasa
169:Carbosin
141:stibnite
113:antimony
64:smelting
46:town of
287:Târnava
187:methane
133:cadmium
79:Sometra
56:Romania
18:Sometra
810:Carbon
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299:Dârlos
275:Agnita
267:Mediaș
210:formic
376:Notes
295:Boian
185:from
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597:ISBN
549:ISBN
293:and
285:and
279:Blaj
216:and
212:and
139:and
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121:zinc
38:The
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