Toxic mine spill in North Macedonia threatens health, food safety, 30 March 2025

The Kriva River in North Macedonia’s town of Kriva Palanka has been severely polluted following the recent accident at the Toranica lead-zinc mine, which leaked heavy metals and cyanide into the water, the municipality announced on March 28.

The pollution from the Toranica mine threatens human health, contaminates soil and agricultural crops, and endangers livestock that rely on the affected watercourses. This, in turn, poses a significant risk to food safety...

According to a report by Skopje-based laboratory Tehnolab, water samples taken after the accident at the Toranica mine show that the water is seriously polluted and dangerous to human life and health. The results indicate alarmingly increased concentrations of harmful substances, including a ten-fold increase in the concentration of lead and several hundred-fold increased concentrations of cyanides, phosphorus and nitrogen...