Environmental Exposures:
Water Contamination
Bosnia and Herzegovina's most serious environmental problem is surface and ground water contamination. Raw sewage and industrial wastes contaminate most surface water sources. Bosnia and Herzegovina was the site of most of the heavily polluting defense industry plants in the former Yugoslavia. Industries still operating do not employ water treatment technologies, and uncontrolled discharges of effluent occur.
It is common practice to dump vehicles and household waste, to include stoves, refrigerators, and clothing, into rivers. Prewar water treatment and supply systems were old and in poor repair. During the conflict, these systems were extensively damaged, and lack of materials and qualified technicians prevent their repair.
Depending on the location and magnitude of infrastructure damage, water is available only 6 to 8 hours a day compared to 12 to 18 hours a day before the war. Power outages are common and can last for days. Water pumping stations, water treatment plants, and industry devices for waste management and pollution control are affected by the intermittent and sporadic supply of power. Severe water pressure loss and interruptions in the supply of water by power disturbances contribute to the contamination of water by wastewater and industrial or agricultural run-off. Surface waters and underground aquifers are contaminated by raw sewage in areas along the Drinjaca and Una Rivers. Many wastewater treatment plants were destroyed during the war. In 1998, only three were operating.
According to a 1996 report from the World Bank, the Sava River is considered a class 3 (suitable for irrigation and industrial use only) and in several places Class 4 (requiring special treatment prior to any use). The Bosna River is "polluted" downstream of the cities Kakanj and Zenica due to industrial and municipal waste discharges.
Preliminary geologic surveys by US researchers suggest that a fatal kidney disease known as Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) has been linked to the long-term consumption of ground water containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (see ToxFAQs) including fluorene, napthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene.
Leaching of nearby Pliocene lignites (brown coal) results in contamination of ground water with these compounds. BEN has been reported in geographic clusters of villages in alluvial valleys of tributaries of the Danube River in regions of the former Yugoslavia, in particular Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia.
