The war in Kosovo: Evidence of pollution transport in the Balkans during operation Allied Force
Melas D., Zerefos C., Rapsomanikis S., Tsangas N. and Alexandropoulou A.
[abstract] During the operation "Allied Force", in the spring of 1999, the burning or damaging of industrial and military targets in Former Republic of Yugoslavia resulted to the release of a large number of chemicals into the atmosphere. The releases contained not only conventional air pollutants but also Semi-Volatile Organic compounds (SVOs) which are known to be hazardous to health. Under suitable meteorological conditions, these chemicals can be transported across borders to large distances. In the present work, an analysis of measurements and dispersion calculations is presented which provides evidence of pollutant transport from the conflict area, to Greece. The measuring program, that was carried out in Xanthi, Greece, included aerosol sampling and subsequent analysis for the determination of the concentration of SVOs including dioxins, furans, PCBs (PolyChlorinated Biphenyls), PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) and organic phthalates. The present paper focuses on two episodes of organic phthalates that were observed during the conflict period. Pollution measurements are interpreted by means of air trajectories and dispersion calculations. For this purpose, the HYSPLIT_4 (Hybrid Single -Particle Langrangian Integrated Trajectory) modeling system is used to calculate dispersion of toxic substances.
[keywords] Air pollution; Dioxins; Environmental impacts of the war in Kosovo; Furans; Hybrid Single Particle Langrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT 4); HYSPLIT 4; Kosovo, war; Organic phthalates; PAHs; PCBs; Pollutants; Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB
Environmental Science and Pollution Research 7 (2), 97-104, 2000
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