Caffeine, phosphates in Axios
A fondness for coffee among the people of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has resulted in disturbingly high concentrations of caffeine in the waters of the Axios River and the Bay of Thessaloniki, an environmental conference in the northern city was told yesterday. Environmentalists from Greece and FYROM also noted more conventional forms of pollution in the river – known north of the border as the Vardar – including phosphorus effluent among unprocessed waste emitted by industrial plants in Greece’s small northern neighbor. Speakers at the conference organized by the Thessaloniki Ecological Movement noted that if the current state of pollution in sections of the river can be described as «tragic,» unless action is taken soon the damage will become irreversible. «Compared to when Yugoslavia was united, economic activity related to the Axios is now about 30 percent lower,» Thanassis Parissis, a member of a cross-border environmental coordinating committee, told the conference. «But over the next few years, industrial activity is expected to increase.»
