A visit to the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute of the Republic of Srpska was organized for students of the second year of the Chemistry Department. As part of the visit, the students visited the air quality monitoring station at the Budžak location. M.Sc. Ranka Radić, head of the Department for Environmental Protection, introduced the students to the work that this department does and the challenges they face in their work. The way in which the station samples and measures certain parameters, as indicators of air quality, was explained to them. The other locations where the measuring stations are located, as well as the frequency of sampling, are also listed. They also had the opportunity to hear something about the way data is processed and the methodology used to assess air quality at the national level.

After that, the students visited the laboratory where they could see how the air samples collected on the filter are prepared for chemical analysis. The chemists responsible for this part of the work presented the microwave extraction method, which prepares the samples for further analysis using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

The visit was very useful, as it proved to be an excellent link between theory and practice.

Author of the text: Dr. Dragana Blagojević, Assistant Professor