The NATO bombings of 1999 caused lasting damage to the environment of Serbia, with several thousand tons of toxic chemicals stored in targeted factories being released into the soil, atmosphere and water basins affecting humans and the local wildlife.[1]
In 2001, doctors at the Serb-run hospital in Kosovska Mitrovica say the number of patients suffering from malignant diseases has increased by 200% since 1998.[2] In the same year, the World Health Organization reported that data from Kosovo was inconclusive and called for further studies.[3]
A 2003 study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina stated that low levels of contaminate were found in drinking water and air particulate at DU penetrator impact points. The levels were stated as not a cause for alarm. Yet, Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the UNEP DU projects stated, "The findings of this study stress again the importance of appropriate clean-up and civil protection measures in a post-conflict situation."[4]
According to a WHO report, Serbia has higher estimates of premature death due to air pollution than most countries in the European Union[5]. Assessments of air quality based on data from monitoring stations managed by national authorities indicate that the concentrations of air pollutants, especially particular matter, regularly exceed the levels that protect human health. The report states that the main sources of outdoor air pollution in Serbia include the energy sector (thermal power plants, district heating plants and individual household heating), the transport sector, waste dump sites and industrial activities, such as the petrochemical industry complex in Pančevo and Novi Sad; cement factories in Popovac, Kosjerić and Beočin; chemical plants and metallurgical complexes in Smederevo, Sevojno and Bor; thermal power plants in Obrenovac, Lazarevac and Kostolac. Other documented sources of air pollution include fossil fuel-based individual household heating in periurban and rural towns and increasing road traffic, especially in large cities such as Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš[5].
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