[Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the atmosphere in the town of Zenica]

The content of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in extracts of particulate matter collected in the city of Zenica in December 1987 was analysed. In addition to the presence of proven carcinogens like benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, chryzene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, the contents of naphthalene, fluorene, fenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene were also determined. Those substances were rightly assumed to be precursors of genotoxic products in reactions with atmospheric nitrogen oxides. The determined average concentration of benzo(a)pyrene was higher than those found in other places in Yugoslavia where similar studies were conducted. At the same time, the measured benzo(a)pyrene concentration exceeded the guidelines for inhabited places according to the standards of the Federal Republic Germany and the Netherlands. The observed high variations in naphthalene concentration of as much as two orders of magnitude in two days were likely due to unsolved technological problems.