Environmental issues in Pristina
Pristina is the capital and the most populated city of Kosovo. It is also considered as the most polluted city in Kosovo. Basic reason for Pristina’s air pollution is coal mining and energy emitted by the single producer of energy, Kosovo Energy Corporation J.S.C. KEK operates through two power plants, Kosovo A and B located 5 km near Pristina. Furthermore, the diesel-spitting car traffic highly contributes to the pollution of air, along with the wood and coal household heating system and central coal-heating company "Termokos" that operates in Pristina.
Main sources of air pollution in Pristina are:
Air in Pristina is polluted mainly from:
NOx
The main nitrogen oxide found in air in Pristina is nitrogen oxide NO2. NO affects the color of textile materials, causes corrosion in metallic materials, and at vegetation causes the drop of leaves; therefore, limit values are set. NO2 is 4 times more lethal than NO, and it is mostly concentrated in urban areas. NO2 in Pristina comes 52% from transport, 28% from fuel for power production, and 11% from industry. Pristina has a lower annual average of NO2 emission as compared to the annual average limit allowed.
Annual average of NO2 in Pristina
The annual average of NO2 emission in Pristina was 20.82 µg/m3 in 2010, which is lower than limit of 40 µg/m3. There are no available data for 2011, which would allow in turn comparing 2010 and 2011. However, this result comes from very low percentage of data collected, with only 68% of data being valid; this means that the emission of NO2, may not be accurate. In the other hand, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo study, the emission of NO2 is alarming; in only three months of, NO2 measurement have exceeded allowed emissions by 18 times. The emission of NO2 is higher in winter, where the heating process is accelerated, with February being as the peak month. The main contributor to the pollution of air with NO2 is Kosovo A and B power plants. Thus, NO2 emission is estimated to be higher in urban areas where traffic is enormous. The good side of the story is that in Pristina there is no exceed of the NO2 limit that would cause health problems in people’s life; however, this does not apply for other cities of Pristina.
SO2
Annual average values of SO2 in Pristina
The annual average of NO2 emission in Pristina was 20.82 µg/m3 in 2010, which is lower than limit of 40 µg/m3. There are no available data for 2011, which would allow in turn comparing 2010 and 2011. However, this result comes from very low percentage of data collected, with only 68% of data being valid; this means that the emission of NO2, may not be accurate. In the other hand, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo study, the emission of NO2 is alarming; in only three months of, NO2 measurement have exceeded allowed emissions by 18 times. The emission of NO2 is higher in winter, where the heating process is accelerated, with February being as the peak month. The main contributor to the pollution of air with NO2 is Kosovo A and B power plants. Thus, NO2 emission is estimated to be higher in urban areas where traffic is enormous. The good side of the story is that in Pristina there is no exceed of the NO2 limit that would cause health problems in people’s life; however, this does not apply for other cities of Pristina.
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Wikipedia