Velagići Camp
Above remediation valueMedia tested
Summary
Velagića kamp is today a recreational site along the river Sana near Ključ, about 4,800 m² in size, with a Youth Centre building; within roughly 200 metres are a residential area, a school and a hospital. The ground has had many uses over time — an agricultural cooperative before the war, a military ammunition store during the war, and afterwards a storage-and-service yard for farm machinery; illegal waste dumps also appeared from time to time and were later removed. Only soil was tested. In one part of the surface soil, selenium was far above the level indicating that cleanup is needed — the most serious finding. Nickel across all the tested soil, and cadmium and cobalt in most samples, were above the level at which land is no longer considered clean.
Assessment findings
Findings of concern
- In one part of the surface soil, selenium was far above the level indicating that cleanup is needed — the most serious finding at the site.
- Nickel was above the level at which land is no longer considered clean throughout the tested soil.
- Cadmium and cobalt were above that level in most of the tested soil samples.
- Zinc was above that level in the same area of surface soil where the elevated selenium was found.
Positive findings
- Away from that single spot, selenium was within limits across the rest of the tested soil.
- Petroleum-related and tar-and-combustion pollutants were within limits in all the soil samples.
- Copper, lead and chromium were within limits across all the tested soil.
- Apart from selenium, no other parameter reached the level requiring cleanup — the remaining enrichment was at the milder level.
Photo gallery
The project results have been submitted to the competent institutions as a basis for improving regulation and for strategic planning of further activities.
Legal basis
- Rulebook on limit and remediation values of polluting, harmful and hazardous substances in soil (Official Gazette of RS No. 82/21)
Due to the absence of reference values for soil and sediment in the Federation of BiH, the Republika Srpska rulebook is applied as a reference framework to ensure methodological consistency between the entities.
