Ecological impact on the Danube after NATO air strikes

Abstract

After the destruction of the Novi Sad and Pancevo oil refineries, numerous toxic substances from the petrochemical complex and fertilizer plant poured into the Danube and endangered its flora and fauna. The consequences of war destruction have been studied within the narrow and broader zone of influence of the above industrial complexes. These studies included ecological, ecotoxicological, and genotoxicological investigations of the Danube water, sediment and biota. The results of these investigations together with the literature data collected through the long-term studies performed in the same area prior to the NATO bombing were used to estimate the endangerment of the river from the biological point of view. Such estimation represented a basis for undertaking measures to recover and protect the river after the war had ceased. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.