Bele Vode
Encyclopedia
Bele Vode is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, the capital of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica
Cukarica
Čukarica is an urban neighborhood and one of the 17 municipalities than constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.- Neighbourhoods :...

.

Bele Vode

Bele Vode is located in the southwestern part of Belgrade, as a western sub-neighborhood of Žarkovo
Žarkovo
Žarkovo is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica.- Location and Divisions :...

. It is located west of the Ibarska magistrala (Highway of Ibar
Ibar River
The Ibar is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro and Serbia, with a total length of . The river begins in the Hajla mountain, eastern Montenegro, passes through Kosovo and flows into the West Morava river, Central Serbia, near Kraljevo....

), bounded by Žarkovo from the north, Cerak
Cerak
Cerak is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica.- Characteristics :The name of the neighborhood, Cerak, in Serbian means bitter oak forest...

 from the east, Rupčine
Rupcine
Rupčine is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica....

 from the south and Makiš
Makiš
Makiš is a forest and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica....

 from the west.

Bele Vode is known for the central Belgrade waterworks plant located there, including the 'water factory'. Name of the neighborhood in Serbian means white waters. The local community (mesna zajednica) of Bele Vode within the municipality of Čukarica
Cukarica
Čukarica is an urban neighborhood and one of the 17 municipalities than constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.- Neighbourhoods :...

 had a population of 11,920 in 1981 and 14,255 in 2002.

There is an elementary school within Bele Vode local community early called "Bele Vode", then the name was changed to "Milentije Popović". Now the name of this school is "Miroslav Antić".

Azbestno Naselje

A block of 28 buildings in the central part of Bele Vode was built in 1966 as an experimental complex and a temporary settlement for the next 10 years. However, inhabitants were not resettled after 1976, and in the mid 1990s it was discovered that the buildings were built with the use of cancerous asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...

 instead of concrete, thus they were supposed to be emptied after 10 years. Tenants began a campaign for the demolition of the settlement (which became known as Azbestno Naselje, Serbian for asbestos settlement) claiming deteriorating health and above average cancer occurrence rate (including deaths), as a result of the poisonous asbestos. City government promised help but refused to accept that asbestos is responsible for the health problems of the tenants. However, after over 10 years of protest and campaigning, the demolition of 14 buildings began in June 2006 and it is supposed to end by 2011. As the neighborhood is de-facto being rebuilt, new streets, parking places and traffic infrastructure will be reconstructed or build. Problem is that buildings with asbestos are a threat for the environment so they can't just be demolished, instead they have to be deconstructed, so the process is very slow. Removing asbestos pannels (roof and façade) from one building takes 40 days. City Institute for public health oversees the demolition and measures the concentration of asbestos dust in the air. Pannels are removed by hand and constantly watered to prevent the dispersion of dust. They are then packed in a special wrapping material, send to the temporary storehouse in the town of Ruma
Ruma
Ruma is a town and municipality located in Vojvodina, Serbia at . In 2002 the town had a total population of 34,229, while Ruma municipality had a population of 60,006.-History:...

 in the province of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...

, and then sent to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

for recycling. Also, when the building is completely demolished, a 5 centimeters thick layer of earth beneath is being removed also.
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