Copsa Mica - Review

DoiPeDoi is hosting again a great contest about your hometown. Task: present your hometown, here I go!

Copsa Mica, a typical Romanian town, represents the standard of the martyr towns, victim of pollution and the place where I grew up . This town developed itself with the price of permanent aggression of pollution over the entire population, from a newly born to the one who dies before he's time is up.

Beside the humans, the aggression of pollutants manifests itself also over the flora and fauna which present signs of suffering, with economic consequence, ecologic and high aggression over people by closing the trophic chain.

The dates about the health of children justifies the term genocide because all the children present the signs of impregnation with lead and cadmium and the consequences are very severe because it affects the physical and intellectual evolution, the homeopathic organs.

Not long ago, in Copsa Mica there were 2 great industrial factories: The metallurgic factory of non-ferrous metallurgy (M.F.N.M) and the plant “Carbosin”, producer of black smoke with its multiple use.

After the year 1989 had intervened an essential optical improvement of the mentality of people, beginning with the simple citizen to the highest political man, reflected by the major decisions taken. The plant “Carbosin”, which massively polluted Copsa Mica and its neighbor cities for 60 years with black smoke was closed, but not only for its pollution but also because it became unprofitable. The M.F.N.M. was sold and became S.C. Sometra S.A. with the hope that the foreign director, which bought the factory, will reduce the concentrations of inorganic lead and other evacuated toxins so they fit the normal limits.

At first sight you would say that the problem was successfully solved but the situation is far from this. It becomes more clearly that the plant “Carbosin” was making a pollution called optical pollution, which meant that the black smoke was indeed dangerous but not so like the high inorganic lead concentrations which we know. In winter, because of the plant Carbosin, the snow would be sometimes black and in the rest of year the trees and houses were covered in black.

Through the years the authorities supervised the value of lead and cadmium from the surface waters, fountains but also from the potable water ellaborated from the surface water source in Copsa Mica. So the authorities were suprized to notice that in 1978 the values were 6,6 times than normal, 4 times in 1989 and 1992, 3,8 times in 1985, 3 times in 1982 and 2 times in 1986. This dates were for lead, and for cadmium there was a record in 1979 of 276,6 times the normal limit. There test were ellaborated from the river Tarnava Mare, near the town Copsa Mica.

The principal toxins which affect the atmosphere from Copsa Mica are: lead, cadmium, SO2 and dioxide of azote.

The industrial platform of Copsa Mica charges the atmosphere with noticeable quantities of smoke, vapors, gazes (sulphuric dioxide ) and the most dangerous aerosols being: lead, cadmium, zinc and copper.

The polluted zone covers the hole town Copsa Mica, but it extend itself trough the vale of the river Tarnava Mare beetwen several towns, affecting several other towns.

The heavy metals can get inside the enviroment – water, air, soil,vegetations. Because of that there is an enlargement of the soil pollution and through the planted plants on this soils and also of the inspired dust the people's health is very affected. There were ellaborated test on the grounds of the near factory, from schools and grounds for cultivating and the conclusions were that the concentrations of metals were over the normal limit.

The pollution acts like an external factor, very aggressive, affecting biochemical and chemical processes from plants and soil, making great ecological imbalances, and even genetic, over the great functionality of forests, affecting the hydrological and climatic functions. The negative effects of the forest pollution affects the natural balance of nature and also the society.

The effects of the pollution on the social plan have been analized also in Copsa Mica. It is about the permanent discomfort provoked over the population through smells and the irritation of the respirator's ways and of the eye conjunctivitis. At this it adds the pollutions of the external environment and of the houses. I remember how i used to play outside with my friends and we were sometimes obligated to go inside because of the gazes emitted by the factory, which was a feeling that you can't get enough air and constantly coughing.

Although you saw in this essay many negative aspects of this town, this little town it will always stay in my heart because here is where I grew up, made great friends, dreamed for a better future. I wrote this essay in the hope that those of you who read it won't make the same mistake and appreciate the true value of nature and that money can't buy the natural beauty of our mother Earth.

For more facts and picture please visit Copsa Mica Online