A press tour was organized to draw attention to the effects of coal-fired thermal power plants operating in the Afşin-Elbistan region on human health, agricultural lands and natural life.
Public Health Expert Prof. from the Right to Clean Air Platform. Dr. During the field trip, which was attended by Gamze Varol and Greenpeace Lawyer Gökhan Candoğan, residents of the region talked about the problems they experienced.
During the tour in the area where Afşin-Elbistan A and B thermal power plants are located, the smoke rising from the power plant chimneys and the effects of coal activities on the surrounding residential areas were brought to the agenda. While plans for the construction of new thermal power plant units in the region were also discussed, calls for phasing out coal and fair transformation were made before the COP31 Climate Summit to be hosted by Turkey.
BİNBOĞA: “MY 5-YEAR-OLD CHILD DUE TO LEUKEMIA”
Cuma Binboğa, a resident of Çoklhan Neighborhood, explained that the local people faced health problems and many families left the neighborhood. Stating that thermal power plants affect not only Çoklhan but also the surrounding villages, Binboğa stated that agricultural lands are damaged and diseases increase.
Binboğa said, "My child became ill with leukemia in 2015, when he was 5 years old. We went to Kayseri Erciyes Medical Faculty for treatment. Almost all of the patients there were from here. We encountered a terrible sight. I stayed in Kayseri for four years. My child recovered, but many children lost their lives there."
Stating that the neighborhood was much more crowded in the past, Binboğa said, "The population of this place was close to 10 thousand. Currently, an estimated 500 people remain. Those who remain are generally people who have no means and cannot leave here and the elderly. Our village has disappeared. We think that our environment, Elbistan and the plain have been damaged. We want to live healthily here now. We want these power plants to be closed."
“I LOST MY THREE BROTHERS TO LUNG CANCER”
Nurettin Doğan, one of the residents of the neighborhood, said that he lost his three older brothers to lung cancer and that his wife also had brain cancer.
Doğan said, "The thermal power plant has destroyed our living spaces and agricultural lands. We want this power plant to be closed immediately. People will either stay here and fight against diseases or leave this place. There is not a single bird on the branches. Nature has been plundered. We do not want to live in these conditions anymore."
LAWYER CANDOĞAN: “STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS WERE DETECTED IN THE POWER PLANT”
Greenpeace Lawyer Gökhan Candoğan stated that there are two actively operating thermal power plants in the region, Afşin A Thermal Power Plant is operated by Çelikler Holding, and Afşin B Thermal Power Plant is operated by Elektrik Üretim AŞ (EÜAŞ).
Stating that the technology of Afşin A Thermal Power Plant in particular is old, Candoğan pointed out that it was aimed to make the necessary environmental investments during the privatization process, but sufficient progress was not made in this regard.
Candoğan said, "One of the reasons for privatization was to make the necessary environmental investments and to ensure that the power plant operated in a way that could comply with the emission thresholds determined by the state. However, we can easily say that no serious steps were taken in this direction in the intervening period. In fact, for this reason, its operations were stopped for a period of six months in 2020."
Stating that the power plant faced various administrative sanctions due to violations of environmental legislation, Candoğan stated that they carried out two important legal processes on behalf of Greenpeace and the residents of the region.
Stating that the first lawsuit was filed against the positive decision of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) given for the addition of two new units, Candoğan said, "The positive decision of the EIA was given for the addition of two new units. In the case we filed for the cancellation of this decision, as a result of the discovery and expert examination, it was determined that the EIA report did not meet the necessary qualifications and the positive decision was annulled. This decision is currently under appeal review at the Council of State. We expect it to be concluded soon."
Noting that the second lawsuit was filed against the environmental permits given to a unit of the power plant in 2024, Candoğan said:
"As a result of the expert examination, it was determined that the deficiencies in the power plant were not temporary and remediable, and that there were structural problems. An evaluation was made that the power plant did not operate in accordance with environmental legislation due to these structural problems. We expect the court to make a decision soon. There are two power plants operated by the state on one side and a private company on the other. The grayness of the smoke coming out of the chimney is obvious. We think that this shows that the flue gas treatment is not working. Despite human health and ecological values, these activities should not be continued. We expect Turkey to announce a closure schedule for the exit from coal."
PROF. DR. VAROL: “AIR POLLUTION IS DEFINITELY CANCEROGENIC”
Public Health Expert Prof. from the Right to Clean Air Platform. Dr. Gamze Varol said that the effects of coal-fired thermal power plants on human health have been revealed by scientific research.
Varol, who made a statement by showing the chimneys of the Afşin-Elbistan A Thermal Power Plant, stated that air pollution can affect not only the residential areas where the power plants are located, but also regions kilometers away with the winds.
Varol said, "According to the World Health Organization, outdoor air pollution is definitely carcinogenic. Not only those living in the immediate vicinity, but also inhale pollutant particles that can be carried for kilometers by winds. These not only cause lung cancer, but also aggravate many health problems and increase the frequency of occurrence."
Emphasizing that particulate matter such as PM2.5 and PM10 resulting from coal-fired thermal power plants do not only affect the respiratory system, Varol made the following evaluations:
"These pollutants have many systemic effects. They can negatively affect the growth and development of the baby in the womb. Results such as reproductive health problems, cardiovascular diseases, increase in strokes, increase in asthma and COPD attacks, increase in hospital admissions and prolongation of hospital stays can occur. Therefore, we can say that the smoke coming out of these chimneys is a threat to general public health."
Stating that environmental pollution is not limited to inhaled air, Varol said that some scientific studies conducted in the region have found findings indicating cellular and genetic effects in thermal power plant employees and the presence of pollutants in products grown in the environment.
Varol said, "It is necessary to evaluate human health as a whole with the ecosystem, environment and animal health. Pollutants can be found not only in the air, but also in the soil and water. These substances found in the soil where we grow products or in the water we use can negatively affect our health in different dimensions in the short and long term."
DALKANAT: “400 THOUSAND DECEMBER OF AGRICULTURAL LAND WAS DAMAGED”
Afşin-Elbistan Life and Nature Protection Platform Spokesperson Mehmet Dalkanat stated that coal-fired thermal power plant activities in the region have a history of approximately 50 years and that they are fighting against new power plant projects.
Explaining that low-calorie lignite reserves were detected in the Elbistan Plain in 1975 and six thermal power plants were planned to use these resources in electricity production, Dalkanat stated that two of them are in operation today.
Dalkanat said, "When they wanted to build the third power plant, the destruction caused to the environment by A and B thermal power plants became visible. In order not to lose anything in the future, we created the Afşin-Elbistan Life and Nature Protection Platform in order not to allow the third, fourth, fifth and sixth power plants. Our struggle continues."
Stating that the Afşin-Elbistan Plain is one of the important agricultural areas of Turkey, Dalkanat explained that large areas of agricultural land are out of production due to coal mining and power plant activities.
Dalkanat said, "Afşin-Elbistan Plain is the fourth largest plain and grain warehouse of Turkey. There was no grain that could not be grown here. We say that 400 thousand decares of land were damaged in a period of approximately 50 years. These lands were areas that could contribute to the grain production of the country."
Stating that the afforestation efforts around the power plants did not yield the expected results, Dalkanat said, "In the EIA reports, it is stated that vineyards, gardens will grow and forests will be created here. However, we cannot see an example of this in practice. The trees planted in the early periods did not grow and did not exceed one meter. There used to be vineyards and apple orchards here. Altınelma village was famous for its apples. Now you cannot find a single apple. The damage caused by thermal power plants to the ecological environment also affects the vegetation. There are serious product losses in the fields due to ash." he said.
Stating that Turkey should take into account the problems in Afşin-Elbistan before the COP31 Climate Summit, Dalkanat said, "Turkey, which will host the climate summit, needs to see what is happening here. The effects on health are one of our most important problems. People are slowly dying without realizing it. We do not want new thermal power plants to be built."
