Air pollution - Drivers and pressures (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Drivers and Pressure

The sources (causes) of air pollution in BiH are:

• Combustion of fuels used in BiH;
• Industrial processes (metallurgy, refineries);
• Traffic;
• Other sources (incineration, self-ignition of wastes…).

Excessive air pollution from combustion processes is the result of the nature of industry (large energy and metallurgy capacities, built for the needs of much of former Yugoslavia), and irrational use of energy in the total life cycle of products. Other causes are inappropriately constructed furnaces and boilers that were not designed for the specific types of coals that are used, non-existence of technologies for improvement of coals intended for small fireboxes and poor maintenance of power and industrial plants.

In the period up to 1992, the most important industrial sources of pollution were processes connected with the production of coke, iron and steel, aluminum and cement. Considering the air pollution, most of these industrial objects are not properly located. The largest number of plants, i.e. pollution sources, is located in the northeastern quadrant of BiH. The city of Zenica was developed adjacent to a steel complex. Cement factories in Kakanj and Lukavac are also located next to settlements. In these, and in many other cases, provision of protective distance from industrial objects was not taken into consideration.

Traffic, especially in urban areas, is a significant source of air pollution. In the urban centres the traffic (inadequate regulation, low speeds, frequent stop-and-go) endangers the health of the population, as it causes high emissions of pollutants. 

Emissions of SO₂ and CO₂ In spite of a low degree of industrialisation and urbanisation in BiH, emissions of SO₂ in the atmosphere are very high. According to latest data from 1990, taking into account the quantity of emissions per capita. With regard to emissions of CO₂, in spite of the high share of fossil fuels in energy production, specific emissions of CO₂ in BiH are not high. This is a result of low overall energy consumption per capita.

Emissions of CO₂ as compared to other countries

Quality of fuels used BiH coals have low heat content (on average, two times lower than coals in Poland and the UK). Thermo-electric power plants use fractions of some of these coals with even lower heat content. Fuels used have a wide range of sulphur content which ranges from 0.23 % (Stanari) up to 5.30 % (Ugljevik and Čelebići). On the other hand, these coals have a high content of ash, while many have a high content of alkali components.

Energy-intensive economy The major cause of pollution in BiH lies in the sphere of energy and industry. At the same time, a specific characteristic is the energy intensive economy (in 1992 BiH was consuming almost 2.5 times more energy per unit of income than Croatia or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). One of the reasons is lack of industrial co-generation facilities, especially in urban zones where clean fuels are used (natural gas). These facilities are economically feasible. The new law on Electrical energy enables and stimulates this type of energy production.