Former PS "Vitezit" Works
Above remediation valueMedia tested
Summary
The site is part of the former "Vitezit" industrial complex in the Vitez industrial zone, spanning about a million square metres. The plant was founded in the 1950s and for decades produced mainly military-purpose materials — rocket fuels, industrial explosives and detonating cord — with a later PVC-processing line. After bankruptcy the land was parcelled and privatised; the surveyed part is today owned by the company Bioenergy and is used for material storage and pellet production. The Prala stream runs through the middle of the site, flowing downstream toward farmland and housing and into the river Lašva. Testing found selenium in the soil and in the stream sediment at a level indicating that cleanup is needed, and cadmium above the permitted limit in the stream water and in the on-site well. Several metals were also above the level at which land is no longer considered clean, while pollution linked to oil, solvents and explosives was not found above limits.
Assessment findings
Findings of concern
- In the surface and deeper soil, and in the sediment of the Prala stream, selenium reached a level indicating that cleanup is needed — the most serious finding at the site.
- Cadmium was above the permitted limit in the water of the Prala stream and in the on-site well used for technical purposes.
- Cadmium, nickel, copper, zinc, cobalt and lead were above the level at which land is no longer considered clean, mainly in the surface soil and in the stream sediment.
Positive findings
- Apart from selenium, all the other tested metals stayed within remediation limits in the soil and sediment — the most severe category of contamination was not confirmed for any other metal.
- Despite the long history of chemical and explosives production, chlorinated solvents, volatile aromatic compounds and oil-related pollutants were within limits in the soil, sediment and water.
- In the stream and the well, the tested substances other than cadmium met the water-quality limits.
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
- Decision on the characterization of surface and groundwater, reference conditions and parameters for water status assessment and water monitoring (Official Gazette of FBiH No. 01/14)
- 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.
