At the session of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Information from the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism on the environmental situation in the municipality of Vareš was adopted. Simultaneously, the federal ministries of environment and tourism, energy, mining and industry, agriculture, water management and forestry, health, as well as the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs were tasked to, each within their competencies, appoint representatives for the formation of a joint, multidisciplinary expert team within 15 days from the date of the conclusion's adoption, including the participation of professional and reference institutes and agencies.
The proposals for appointed representatives should be submitted to the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism for further coordination.
The Information stated that the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs, based on the Ministry's request, conducted an inspection supervision at the end of last year, which determined a long-term exceedance of certain air quality parameters at multiple measurement locations, including residential areas and a school, indicating that the impact is not solely linked to the industrial zone.
Increased presence of heavy metals, particularly lead, cadmium, arsenic, and zinc, was found in sediment and deposited materials, and soil analyses showed exceedances of limit values for heavy metals, with soil samples from multiple locations failing to meet prescribed standards.
It was particularly emphasized that, as determined in the inspection supervision, no baseline soil quality report had been prepared and that increased heavy metal values were recorded even outside the operational field. This information was publicly available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
Additionally, it was noted that in February 2026, a repeated inspection supervision was carried out, confirming that the operator is implementing measures prescribed by the valid environmental permit, but significant deficiencies in the monitoring system and the availability of comparable data were identified.
The document highlighted that, due to the absence of a clearly defined environmental quality baseline, as well as inconsistent methodologies and measurement approaches, it is not possible to definitively establish a causal link between the plant's operations and the measured pollutant values in the environment.
In this regard, it was decided to form an expert body to coordinate and systematically approach the monitoring and improvement of the situation in the municipality of Vareš.
It is also important to highlight what the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not mention in the announcement about the expert team, which is that the presence of lead was found in the blood of the population in Vareš. The Municipality of Vareš and the Health Center attempted to deny this, but the relevant ministry, inspection, and the Public Health Institute of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina later addressed this poisoning problem.