Town Of Bor Research Articles

10.5937/mmeb1403001m = Technogenic deposit in the area of the Old Flotation Tailing Dump in Bor (field 1 and field 2)

The copper ore mining in Bor was started at the beginning of the twentieth century. Parallel to this, the ore smelting was carried out in the first period. After construction of the Flotation Plant (1934), the ore dressing was performed and obtaining the concentrate of copper and precious metals. Until the 60's of the last century, the ore processing, obtained from exploitation from the copper deposits Bor (the Old Open Pit and underground mine Jama Bor), was carried out. After this period of ore obtained from the Bor mine, the ore from the deposit Lipa, Cerovo (Mali Krivelj) was also processed. Technogenic waste of flotation was obtained as by-product of this process by flotation that was disposed from 1934 to 1980 in the area of the Old Flotation Tailing Dump in Bor (Field 1 and Field 2). Based on the previous geological explorations in the mentioned zone, the increased copper contents were indicated in the subject area. The implementation of detailed geological explorations would evaluate the potentiality of the area, in order to review the possibilities of raw material leaching, as well as solving a serious environmental problem in the center of the town of Bor.

PM LEVELS IN SELECTED URBAN MICROENVIRONMENTS NEAR THE COPER SMELTER COMPLEX, BOR, SERBIA

Background: Numerous epidemiological studies have associated exposure to PM in the outdoor environment to adverse health effects. Nowadays, the attention is paid to indoor air pollution, since people spend most of time in the indoor for which there is gap of PM data. Aims: The Municipality of Bor has been the major centre for mining and processing of copper and other precious metals, assumed as hot spot with the main source of air pollution of SO2 and toxic metals and metalloids in PM. However, annual values of outdoor PM in Bor town have been reported for several years as one of the lowest in Serbia. Our study is aimed to determine the level PM in selected indoor microenvironments as hospital, kindergarten, etc. Methods: In the real-time PM10 and PM2.5 were monitored in the outdoor air with the GRIMM EDM180 while in the indoor with Turnkey OSIRIS Model 2315. For calculation calibration factors at each location during the first week of campaign a 24-h samples were collected concurrently with reference gravimetric samplers for both PM fractions. Campaigns for microenvironments were conducted in duration of 240 days covering heating and non-heating period during work-shifts days in period of 2009-2012. Results:Mean PM10 levels at Hospital and Kindergarten surpassing the EU yearly air quality standard of 40 µg/m3. The number of days that exceed the daily limit value for ambient PM10 level was calculated equal to 52% and 63% respectively. Furthermore, the measured indoor PM10 concentrations were higher than the outdoor ones at both sites. At the both microenvironment during heating period, mean daily concentrations of PM2.5 were greater than 25 µg/m3. Conclusions: Correlation coefficient between 0.33 and 0.62 show influence of outdoor to indoor PM. Mean I/O ratios were found to vary depending on the indoor activities and the outdoor concentration levels. Further research should be carried out in order to fully confirm these findings and identify sources of indoor PM.

Investigating the Impacts of Winds on SO2 Concentrations in Bor, Serbia

Air pollution is one of the most important environmental problems in the town of Bor, situated in the eastern of Serbia. The main source of air pollution with sulphur dioxide, heavy metals and other toxic and carcinogenic elements present in particulate matter (PM) and aero sediments is the Copper Mining and Smelting Complex Bor. The distribution of air pollutants is mainly determined by the copper smelter operation mode, as well as by meteorological parameters such as wind speed and direction. While information on air pollution with heavy metals and carcinogenic elements in the form of PM has been monitored and reported for longer period, availability of data related to the relationship between air pollutants and meteorological parameters in the Republic of Serbia is still limited. In the present study, the relationships between daily mean concentrations of SO2 and the speed and wind direction were analysed. The analysis includes data collected in 2011 from the four monitoring stations (Park, Jugopetrol, Institute, and Brezonik) situated in a wider town area. Pearson correlation coefficients between daily average SO2 and daily average speed and direction of winds are calculated. High wind speed reduces SO2 concentration due to the dilution effect. Hence, correlations between SO2 and the speed and direction of winds at almost all monitoring stations were negative, with one exception (Jugopetrol). This could be explained by the fact that winds, blowing from the north-west (NW) direction, carry polluted air towards this station. Moderate negative correlation found between SO2 and wind direction at monitoring station Park. Generally, the observed correlations between SO2 and wind speed and direction are weak, due to frequent changes in SO2 emissions, wind speed and direction during the day.

Comparative assessment of a real-time particle monitor against the reference gravimetric method for PM10 and PM2.5 in indoor air

Accurate monitoring of indoor mass concentrations of particulate matter is very important for health risk assessment as people in developed countries spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. The direct reading, aerosol monitoring device, Turnkey, OSIRIS Particle Monitor (Model 2315) and the European reference low volume sampler, LVS3 (Sven/Leckel LVS3) with size-selective inlets for PM10 and PM2.5 fractions were used to assess the comparability of available optical and gravimetric methods for particulate matter characterization in indoor air. Simultaneous 24-hour samples were collected in an indoor environment for 60 sampling periods in the town of Bor, Serbia. The 24-hour mean PM10 levels from the OSIRIS monitor were well correlated with the LVS3 levels (R2=0.87) and did not show statistically significant bias. The 24-hour mean PM2.5 levels from the OSIRIS monitor were moderately correlated with the LVS3 levels (R2=0.71), but show statistically significant bias. The results suggest that the OSIRIS monitor provides sufficiently accurate measurements for PM10. The OSIRIS monitor underestimated the indoor PM10 concentrations by approximately 12%, relative to the reference LVS3 sampler. The accuracy of PM10 measurements could be further improved through empirical adjustment. For the fine fraction of particulate matter, PM2.5, it was found that the OSIRIS monitor underestimated indoor concentrations by approximately 63%, relative to the reference LVS3 sampler. This could lead to exposure misclassification in health effects studies relying on PM2.5 measurements collected with this instrument in indoor environments.

Application of software packages Gemcom and Whittle for design in mining aimed to rational and cost effective utilization the copper deposit Veliki Krivelj near Bor, Serbia

The copper deposit Veliki Krivelj is located about 3 km by the air, north of the town of Bor and belongs to the porphyritic large-scale deposits. Total geological reserves of copper, in a contour of limit content 0.15% amount to 621 921 288 t. For its importance, this deposit has a leading role in the production of copper in the company RTB Bor, as it has 75% of total production. The World mining companies in assessment the financial viability and defining the optimum strategy for development the mine and rational and economical utilization of mineral deposits, use some software for optimization and design, and among the leading ones are Whittle and Gemcom, which the Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor also owns. This work presents a method of defining the optimum contour of the copper deposit Veliki Krivelj using the software Whittle and Gemcom, which ensure the optimum utilization of deposit, which is a necessary prerequisite for responsible management of mineral resources.

Indicative levels of PM in the ambient air in the surrounding villages of the copper smelter complex Bor, Serbia

While information on air pollution in the form of particulate matter (PM) has been monitored for longer period for EU countries, availability of PM data sets in the Western Balkan countries including the Republic of Serbia are still limited. Studies, related to the particulate pollution research, have been only carried out in the past several years. The main objective of this paper is to present PM levels measured in the ambient air in the surrounding settlements of the Copper Smelter Complex Bor. Also, one of the goals is a comparison of PM levels in the surrounding settlements with those measured in Bor town. The ambient levels of PM particles (PM10, PM2.5) were measured by automatic PM monitors at 4 nearby settlements: Slatina, Ostrelj, Krivelj and Brezonik in the time interval from 2005 to 2010. According to the measurement results, PM10 and PM2.5 levels in the ambient air were higher in the cold, heating, (October-March) than in the warm no heating period (April-September). The exceeding of the daily limit of PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentration levels was observed at all measuring points. A higher number of exceedances were detected in the cold period. The results indicate that there is a significant seasonal change in the level of fine particles at all measuring places in surroundings. In addition, the PM levels in Bor town are more influenced by the air pollution from the Copper Smelter Complex than settlements in the vicinity, where the PM concentrations were greatly influenced by the presence of domestic heating in the cold period.

Episodes of extremely high concentrations of tropospheric ozone in the urban environment in Bor - Serbia

Abstract This paper presents results of measuring episodes of extremely high ozone concentrations in urban area of the town of Bor in Serbia. The measured ozone concentration of 3000 μgm −3 in two episodes, which lasted 3–5 days in November 2010, has not been recorded in the literature in this field. Sensitivity of generated ozone to the NOx was determined, since the concentrations of NOx in the same period were also high. In the morning when working hours start, episodes of increased NOx concentrations appear after several hours, leading to episodes of increased ozone concentrations reaching up to twenty times more than the threshold value, defined as harmful to vegetation and human health.

Optimization of heavy metals total emission, case study: Bor (Serbia)

The town of Bor (Serbia) is one of the most polluted towns in southeastern Europe. The copper smelter which is situated in the centre of the town is the main pollutant, mostly because of its old technology, which leads to environmental pollution caused by higher concentrations of SO 2 and PM 10. These facts show that the word is about a very polluted region in Europe which, apart from harming human health in the region itself, poses a particular danger for wider area of southeastern Europe. Optimization of heavy metal's total emission was undertaken because years of long contamination of the soil with heavy metals of anthropogenic origin created a danger that those heavy metals may enter the food chains of animals and people, which can lead to disastrous consequences. This work represents the usage of Geographic Information System (GIS) for establishing a multifactor assessment model to quantitatively divide polluted zones and for selecting control sites in a linear programming model, combined with PROMETHEE/GAIA method, Screen View modeling system, and linear programming model. The results show that emissions at some control sites need to be cut for about 40%. In order to control the background of heavy metal pollution in Bor, the ecological environment must be improved.

Investigation of the correlation dependence between SO2 emission concentration and meteorological parameters: Case study—Bor (Serbia)

This paper presents the investigation of the air-pollution management possibility in Bor (Serbia) using statistical analyses of the correlation dependence of SO2 pollution concentration and meteorological parameters. This kind of approach allows data to determine the shape of time trends; models serial correlation and dependence on covariance; and provides statistical analyses of data. Air quality control in the area of Bor is measured at four monitoring stations: City park; Institute of Mining and Metallurgy; Jugopetrol oil logistic centre and Brezonik suburb. There is also a meteorological station near the aforementioned institute that measures temperature; air humidity; atmosphere pressure; wind speed and direction. The results received from all monitoring stations are processed by the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in Bor. The data from the reported documents were used for statistical analyses, for determining the correlation between SO2 emission concentration and meteorological parameters. The source of SO2 emissions is the local copper smelter, built within the town of Bor from 1961–1963. However, the disposition of the pollutant concentration is influenced by meteorological parameters (air humidity, atmosphere pressure, speed and wind direction). The successful application of these statistical analyses in this paper points to a possibility of its usage in air pollution studies.

Analysis of air pollution caused by particle matter emission from the copper smelter complex Bor (Serbia)

The main aim of this paper is to present analyses of temporal variations of particulate matter in Bor (Serbia) influenced by copper production at the Copper Smelter Complex Bor. Particulate emissions are of concern because the presence of fine particles (PM2.5 - particles with diametar less than 2.5 ?m) and ultrafine particles (PM0.1 - particles with diametar less than 0.1 ?m) assume higher risk for human health. Such particles can penetrate deeper into respiratory organs and, at the same time, a probability for such penetration and deposition in the respiratory system is greater. The analysis is based on comparison of SO2 and PM measurements at several locations in the area of Bor town in the close vicinity of Copper Smelter. PM concentrations were highly correlated with sulfur dioxide and inversely correlated with local wind speed during pollution episodes. Presented results indicate that the dominant source of coarse and fine particles in Bor town is the Copper Smelting Complex Bor. The most significant factors for particulate matter distribution are meteorological parameters of wind speed and direction. It was found that exceeding of daily limit values of concentrations of PM10 (50 ?g/m3) usually occurs due to very high concentrations in a period of several hours during the day.

Preliminary analysis of arsenic and other metallic elements in PM10 sampled near a copper smelter Bor (Serbia)

In this paper, there are presented levels of twenty one elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, S, Se, Sr, and Zn) in PM10 and SO2 concentration measured at the sampling site in an urban area of the town of Bor (40000 inhabitants) in eastern Serbia. Sampling site was located in densely populated city center about 0.65 km far from one of the largest copper mine and cooper smelter in Europe. For the first time PM10 was collected using Europen standard sampler, during preliminar campaing in duration of 7 days in early spring 2009. PM10 were sampled on PTFE memebrane filters and element concentrations quantified by GF AAS and ICP AES. A concentration level and correlations within trace elements, PM10 and SO2 indicated that industrial activates underpinned with metrological conditions of slow wind speed (calm), are the main factors that influence air pollution in densely populated area. It was evident that both, PM10 mass concentration and SO2 concentration once exceeded daily limit values during measuring period of seven days. Strong relationship was found between PM10 and Mn, Mg, Ca and B daily average concentrations. On the other side, SO2 correlated strongly with As, Pb, Cd, Cu and S daily average concentrations. These results confirm relationship between emissions of SO2 from the Copper Smelter Bor, calm meteorological conditions (wind speed less than 0.5 m/sec) with concentration level of carcinogenic substances of arsenic, lead and cadmium in ambient air.

Investigation of the possibility of copper recovery from the flotation tailings by acid leaching

The flotation tailings pond of the Bor Copper Mine poses a great ecological problem not only for the town of Bor but also for the surrounding soils and watercourses. Since the old flotation tailings contain about 0.2% of copper on the average, we investigated their leaching with sulphuric acid in the absence and presence of an oxidant. The aim was to determine the leaching kinetics of copper and iron as affected by various factors such as: the pH value of the leach solution, stirring speed, pulp density, particle size, concentration of ferric ions, temperature and time for leaching. The average copper and iron recovery obtained was from 60% to 70% and from 2% to 3%, respectively. These results indicate that the old flotation tailings pond represents an important source of secondary raw material for the extraction of copper and that it should be valorized rather than land reclamation. At the end of the paper, a mechanism of dissolution of copper and iron minerals from the tailings was described.

Quantifying geological structures of the Nigde province in central Anatolia, Turkey using SRTM DEM data

A digital terrain model and a 3D fly-through model of the Nigde province in central Anatolia, Turkey were generated and quantitatively analyzed employing the shuttle radar topographic mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM). Besides, stream drainage patterns, lineaments and structural–geological features were extracted and analyzed. In the process of analyzing and interpreting the DEM for landforms, criteria such as color and color tones (attributes of heights), topography (shaded DEM and 3D fly-through model) and stream drainage patterns were employed to acquire geo-information about the land, such as hydrologic, geomorphologic, topographic and tectonic structures. In this study, the SRTM DEM data of the study region were experimentally used for both DEM classification and quantitative analysis of the digital terrain model. The results of the DEM classification are: (1) low plain including the plains of Bor and Altunhisar (20.7%); (2) high plain including the Misli (Konakli) plain (28.8%); (3) plateau plain including the Melendiz (Ciftlik) plateau plain (1.0%); (4) mountain including the Nigde massif (33.3%); and (5) high mountain (16.2%). High mountain areas include a caldera complex of Mt Melendiz, Mt Hasan and Mt Pozanti apart from the Ala mountains called Aladaglar and the Bolkar mountains called Bolkarlar in the study region (7,312km2). Analysis of both the stream drainage patterns and the lineaments revealed that the Nigde province has a valley zone called Karasu valley zone (KVZ) or Nigde valley zone (NVZ), where settlements and agricultural plains, particularly the Bor plain in addition to settlements of the Bor town and the central city of Nigde have the most flooding risk when a heavy raining occurs. The study revealed that the NVZ diagonally divides the study region roughly into two equal parts, heading from northeast to southwest. According to the map created in this study, the right side of the NVZ has more mountainous area, where the Aladaglar is a wildlife national park consisting of many species of fauna and flora whereas the left side of the NVZ has more agricultural plain, with exception of a caldera complex of Mt Melendiz and volcanic Mt Hasan. The south of the study region includes the Bolkarlar. In addition, the Ecemis fault zone (EFZ) lying along the Ecemis rivulet, running from north to south at the west side of the Aladaglar, forms the most important and sensitive location in the region in terms of the tectonics.

Bioindication of the anthropogenic effects on micropopulations of Pinus sylvestris, L. in the vicinity of a plant for the storage and processing of radioactive waste and in the Chernobyl NPP zone

Results of a comparative analysis of the frequency and spectrum of cytogenetic anomalies are presented for reproductive (seeds) and vegetative (needles) samples taken from Scotch pine ( Pinus sylvestris, L.) micropopulations growing at sites with differing levels of radioactive contamination in the Chernobyl NPP 30 km zone, and at the location of a facility for the processing and storage of radioactive wastes (the ‘Radon’ LWPE, near the town of Sosnovy Bor in the Leningrad Region). The data obtained indicate the presence of genotoxic contaminants in the environment of the tree micropopulations. Chemical toxins make the main contribution to the environmental contamination in the Sosnovy Bor area as compared with the influence of ionising radiation in the Chernobyl 30 km zone. The higher radioresistance of seeds of Scotch pine growing on the area of the ‘Radon’ LWPE and in the centre of Sosnovy Bor town was revealed with acute γ-radiation.

Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and polyaromatic hydrocarbons in frog liver

The aim of this work was to determine the content of the residues of the most commonly detected organohalogens and polychlorinated biphenyls in biomaterial. It is also the introduction of frogs as a new fine indicator of pollution in aquatic and terrestrial systems, due to their abundance all over Europe and their habitats in still and running waters. The residues of organohalogens and polyaromatic hydrocarbons in frog liver samples were taken from four sites - the river Danube and canal DTD in Vojvodina (northern part of Serbia), from the river Dubasnica near the town of Bor and in the Zlot canyon, Serbia, Yugoslavia. They were determined using gas chromatography with mass detector (GC/MS) and they indicate the high level of contamination of the chosen aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems by HCH, PCB, PAH and herbicides.

Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and polyaromatic hydrocarbons in frog liver

The aim of this work was to detennine the content of the residues of the most commonly detected organohalogens and polychlorinated biphenyls in biomaterial. It is also the introduction of frogs as a new fine indicator of pollution in aquatic and terrestrial systems, due to their abundance all over Europe and their habitats in still and running waters. The residues of organohalogens and polyaromatic hydrocarbons in frog liver samples were taken from four sites - the river Danube and canal DID in Vojvodina (northern part of Serbia), from the river Dubasnica near the town of Bor and in the Zlot canyon, Serbia,Yugoslavia. They were detennined using gas chromatography with mass detector (GCIMS) and they indicate the high level of contamination of the chosen aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems by HCH, PCB, PAH and herbicides.