Open AccessPollution with Cr6+ of groundwater and surface waters from the industrial dump Jugohrom - Jegunovce – Republic of North Macedonia
Author(s) -
Stojan Mihailovski,
Vojo Mirčovski,
Zlatko Ilijovski
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1849-0409
pISSN - 0353-4529
DOI - 10.17794/rgn.2021.5.11
Subject(s) - groundwater , surface water , pollution , aquifer , artesian aquifer , environmental science , hydrogeology , water pollution , groundwater pollution , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental chemistry , environmental engineering , geology , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , ecology , biology
In order to investigate the pollution with hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) of the groundwater and surface water around the industrial dump Jugohrom – Jegunovce, hydrogeological investigations were carried out during November 2019, where 16 samples of groundwater and 3 samples of surface water were taken. In most of the analyzed samples of groundwater and surface water, the concentration of Cr6+ exceeds the maximal allowed concentrations (MAC) of Cr6+ (0.01 mg/l) according to the Macedonian and European standards in drinking water. The highest contamination with Cr6+ which is in the range of 0.052 – 132.98 mg/l is registered near the dump in the shallow groundwater, i.e. in the unconfined aquifers. Cr6+ pollution ranging from 0.017 to 0.041 mg/l has also been registered in some of the samples at artesian aquifers with a sub-artesian level. Two tests were carried out on the surface water of the Vardar River, before and after the dump. A sevenfold increase in Cr6+ concentration of 0.069 was observed after the dump. Cr6+ content of 725 mg/l was found in the drainage of overflow water in the discharge. Pollution of the groundwater and surface water with Cr6+ is anthropogenic and is a result of the operation of the Metallurgical Plant Jugohrom in the period from 1955 to 1994.