The southern city of Niš is the most polluted urban area in Serbia with average values of heavy metals in the air standing at 223 micrograms per cubic metre over a 24 hour period – the Vecernje Novosti daily reported citing data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The residents of Niš have been using social media to warn of the pollution, saying that people should not venture out of their homes without face masks. However, pulmonologists warn that the masks, which can be bought at any pharmacy, offer no protection from the suspended particles in smoke, dust and other sources of pollution.
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Experts quoted by the daily said that the suspended particles and heavy metals (lead, cadmium and nickel) should not cross the threshold of 50 micrograms per cubic metre. They also say that the high pollution levels in Niš this winter have been caused by the use of coal and wood for heating in about two thirds of the households in the city.
The latest data shows that the air in Niš is more polluted than in the town of Valjevo where high concentrations of suspended particles were registered this winter, with 142 micrograms per square metre recorded. Kosjerić is the third most polluted with 98.2 micrograms.
The Environmental Protection Agency has also released the data for other Serbian cities – Belgrade 54.6 micrograms, Novi Sad 25, Pančevo 65.3, Popovac 50.1, and Bor 19.3. In other towns, the recorded values of the so-called PM10 particles are much lower.
(Kurir, 18.01.2019)
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