Pollution with Cr6+ of Groundwater and Surface Water from the Industrial Dump Jugohrom - Jegunovce – the Republic of North Macedonia

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