Concentration of Lead, Cadmium, and Iron in Sediment Dust and Total Suspended Particles Before and After Initialisation of Integral Production in Iron and Steel Work Plant Zenica

Poor air quality is a common fact for all areas with base industry. The city of Zenica was once the metallurgical centre of Ex-Yugoslavia and is therefore highly polluted at present. Air pollution peaked in 1987 when average concentration of pollutants was extremely high (daily average concentration of SO₂ was 1800 μg m^-3). With the beginning of the war in 1992, integral production in the steel work plant was shut down, to be re-launched in 2008. Limit values for iron do not exist, but iron has been monitored in Zenica for the past 28 years because of the presence of steel works. Concentrations of cadmium and lead have also been measured because they are very much present in polluted areas with steel works. The concentration of mentioned elements in air deposit and total suspended particles before and after integral production in the steel work plant was re-launched is the subject of this paper. Total suspended particles were measured in two locations using German standard VDI 2463 Blatt 4. Sediment dust was measured in nine locations using Bergerhoff method. The concentration of iron, lead, and cadmium was performed in the chemical laboratory of the Metallurgical Institute "Kemal Kapetanović" Zenica using standard methods. Higher concentrations of these parameters during the period of integral production clearly point to the impact of steel works on Zenica valley.