Skip linksSkip to Content
play
Live
Navigation menu
  • News
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Middle East
  • Explained
  • Opinion
  • Sport
  • Video
    • Features
    • Economy
    • Human Rights
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Podcasts
    • Travel
play
Live

In Pictures

Gallery|Environment

Life in the shadows of Greece’s coal mines

Residents of Greek villages in coal mining areas are at risk of displacement and contracting health issues.

Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
Mavropigi, the most recently abandoned village, is ready to be demolished for coal extraction. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
By Anna Pantelia
Published On 5 Feb 20185 Feb 2018
facebooktwitterwhatsappcopylink

The sun can barely be seen in the sky while driving through the outskirts of Ptolemaida, a city 500 kilometres northwest of Athens.

The thick dust suspended in the air doesn’t allow you to see far but Kostas – a native of Ptolemaida –  says he could drive here blindfolded.

“My father died of cancer when I was 12,” he says, adding that four of his father’s colleagues also died from the disease.

Kostas works as a guard for the state-run power company, the Greek Public Power Corporation (PPC), just like his father did.

Kostas’ father was one of the many PPC workers who died prematurely due to pollution caused by coal mining in Ptolemaida, which lies in the Western Macedonia region of Greece.

Despite strict EU regulations on coal and declining profits, Greece has just made an investment of 1.4bn euros ($1.75bn) for the construction of two new plants in Ptolemaida.

The post-apocalyptic landscape of Ptolemaida is made up of a sprawling black mine that spans 625 square miles and includes a few deserted villages. Ptolemaida’s mine is the biggest in the Balkans and is responsible for 30 percent of the country’s electricity production.

Greece, along with Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, accounts for over a third of the world’s coal production, one of the world’s worst pollutants.

Burning coal creates toxic particles of fine dust that not only contaminate areas in which the plant is situated but travel hundreds of kilometres to neighbouring countries. According to Greenpeace’s Silent Killers report, coal combustion causes more than 1,200 premature deaths in Greece.

Advertisement

In 2012 alone, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 7 million people died as a result of exposure to air pollution.

In a letter to the Greek Ministry of Health, the deputy regional health manager for Western Macedonia mentioned that seven out of 10 deaths in Ptolemaida are due to cancer or thromboembolic disease (stroke, stroke, pulmonary embolism).

Cancer cases have risen by 16 percent since 1950 and life expectancy in the region has been shrinking.

At the same time, PPC and its partners have created 10,000 jobs for the residents of Western Macedonia, where unemployment during the financial crisis was the highest in Greece.

Many, like Kostas, sacrifice their health for as little as 680 euros ($847) per month while others have had to give up land and houses as they were engulfed by the expanding mines. Since 1976, more than 4,000 inhabitants of five different villages that sat on coal reserves have been internally displaced.

Half-demolished houses, a few hungry stray dogs, dilapidated churches: That’s what’s left of the village of Mavropigi, near Ptolemaida, today.

In 2010 the first excavation took place just 800 meters from the first houses in the village.

Since then, some have left the village in fear, and schools have closed permanently. 

Aristokratis and his wife are two of Mavropigi’s remaining 10 residents.

“I have my wife and my dogs here. I don’t want to live anywhere else, this is my only home,” says Aristokratis.

Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
Two PPC workers clean the ash around the conveyor belt that transfers coal. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
Kostas is one of the youngest workers in PPC. Every day he has to clean the dust and ash produced by the mine to keep electricity running. The mine is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
Kostas supervises the excavation of coal at the north field mine in Ptolemaida. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Kosta''s eyes have turned red from the dust. Everyday he has to clean the dust and ash produced by the mine in order to keep the electricity production running. The staff works 24/7 seven days a week.
Kosta's eyes have turned red from the dust. Due to the high pollution, staff and the locals face many serious health issues, including cancer. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
A portrait of a worker in the PPC production unit. More than 10,000 people are deployed by PPC and its partners. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
Giannis, a PPC worker, poses after finishing his work near the conveyor belt that transfers coal to the production unit. Accidents are common and sometimes fatal. Safety measures are often not followed. Since 1970 more than 106 people have died in work-place accidents. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
A worker at a mine in Western Macedonia. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
A PPC worker collects a coal sample for examination. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
A church lies abandoned in the middle of the coal mine. It's all that remains of Charavgi, a village that was expropriated and its inhabitants removed so that the mines could be extended. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
Aristokratis is one of the last 10 residents of Mavropigi, a village ready to be demolished for coal extraction. Even though PPC have officially relocated Mavropigi's residents, a few still live in the village. 'We get paid to die,' he says. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
Two workers operate a coal excavator in Ptolemaida. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
The mine is Western Macedonia is the largest in the Balkans and the sixth-largest worldwide. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
Kostas' father died of cancer when Kostas was just 12. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]
Greece’s dirty secret/Please Do Not Use
The post-apocalyptic landscape of Ptolemaida is composed of an endless black mine. [Anna Pantelia/Al Jazeera]


  • About

    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Work for us
  • Connect

    • Contact Us
    • User Accounts Help
    • Advertise with us
    • Stay Connected
    • Newsletters
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
  • Our Channels

    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
  • Our Network

    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network