Impact of Environmental Pollution on Human Health of the Population Which Lives Nearby Kosovo Thermopower Plants

Abstract

This study describes an investigation of effects of environmental pollution as a result of outflow from the coal processing industry. Coal is one the largest deposits of fossil inorganic material where metal accumulations have been observed. The trace elements in coal that could have an undesirable environmental impact include: Hg, Pb, Be, Se, As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr, Ge, Mn, V and Co. Dust consisting of fly ash and bottom ash is one the main components of the environmental pollution that is released from the industrial area of thermopower plants of ‘‘Kosova’’. Analysis of the emission of the fly ash from thermopower plants of ‘‘Kosovo’’ during 2005 showed that contamination had exceeded EU standards by 400—500%. In a comparative study of biochemical parameters in blood of human population of two different environments in Kosovo, one done near by the Kosovo thermopower plants in Obiliç, a highly polluted environment investigated group and the other that is considered as a relatively clean rural environment in Dragash, control group. Based on the results achieved in this study, it can be concluded that the pollution emitted from Kosovo thermopower plants by releasing fly ash and bottom ash to the environment has a direct effect on human health of the population living in the industrial area of Obiliç.