Abstract
In order to efficiently manage air quality at the location of Banja Luka city, a functional system for monitoring and controlling the degree of air pollution, that is to say air quality monitoring, has been established. Air quality monitoring is performed by the Mobile Ecological Laboratory (MEL) at three locations in the settlements of Paprikovac, Borik and the City Centre. The objectives of air quality monitoring can be divided into two groups: the first group consists of the objectives of the monitoring program for a medium-industrialised city with an existing or potential problem of air pollution. The second group consists of special air quality monitoring objectives, whose nature is such that their implementation is a matter of free choice, and usually more complex solutions are required. The basic air quality monitoring program should provide the essential data needed to develop air quality standards and enable the development of an acceptable air quality protection program. The goal of the basic air quality monitoring program is: to monitor long-term trends in air pollution in order to determine the degree of improvement or deterioration of air quality in urban and industrial environments. Measurements are usually performed at multiple measurement sites by collecting and analysing a 24-hour sample. Measurement data for at least five consecutive years are required to determine air pollution trends. Air quality is assessed based on the obtained data and on the basis of comparison with standards. In accordance with the above, this paper presents the air quality through the values of the following pollutants: SO2, O3, CO, NO2, PM10 and Soot. The air quality of Banja Luka (from the aspect of the presence of sulphur dioxide and soot) was analysed, before and after the war, based on the available literature.