Air pollution in Ugljevik, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Briefing    |    27 March 2024

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Ugljevik lignite-fired power plant, located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is notorious Europe-wide for its extremely high emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) into the air. With an average of around 85,000 tonnes of SO₂ emissions during the last five years, most of the time it is in the top five polluters in Europe in this category. Despite the exceptionally high stack of the power plant, the town of Ugljevik is still suffering from serious air pollution.

During the long-term independent monitoring conducted in 2022, significant breaches of the legal limit values for SO₂ were recorded. Compared to the stricter WHO health protective standards, SO₂ concentrations were higher than the recommended limit on 80 per cent of the days, which can cause significant health risks. This briefing includes monitoring results, as well as recommendations for the lignite mine operator and local authorities.