Western Waste Dump – ArcelorMittal Omarska
Above remediation valueMedia tested
Summary
The site is the western dump of solid waste rock from the ArcelorMittal iron-ore surface mine in Prijedor, covering about 64 hectares. It is a large filled platform with no residential or business buildings and minimal vegetation, part of the wider mining complex. The river Slatina and a red-mud lake lie nearby. Testing found selenium in part of the soil by the river at a level indicating that cleanup is needed, and the water and groundwater around the dump were contaminated: selenium was extremely high in the red-mud lake, while cadmium, lead, copper, iron and other metals were elevated in the rivers and groundwater. In the soil, along with selenium, some other metals were above the level at which land is no longer considered clean, while pollution linked to oil stayed within limits.
Assessment findings
Findings of concern
- In part of the dump soil by the river Slatina, selenium reached a level indicating that cleanup is needed — the most serious soil finding.
- Selenium was extremely high in the red-mud lake beside the dump, while in the rivers by the site cadmium, lead, copper and cobalt were above water-quality limits; combustion-related compounds were also elevated in the river Slatina.
- In the groundwater beneath the site, iron, zinc, manganese, copper and lead were strongly elevated, and cadmium was above the permitted limit.
Positive findings
- Apart from selenium, all the other tested metals stayed within remediation limits in the dump soil.
- Oil-related pollutants were within limits in the soil and in every water sample, and combustion-related compounds were within limits in the soil.
- Selenium stayed within limits in the rivers and in the groundwater — the extremely elevated values were confined to the red-mud lake.
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)
- Decree on water classification and watercourse categorization (Official Gazette of RS No. 42/01)
- Rulebook on the conditions for discharging wastewater into surface waters (Official Gazette of RS No. 44/01)
