Slovenia is one of the few countries where the species Proteus anguinus lives. This species' habitat is mainly in the Natura 2000 area of Slovenia. The agricultural industry developed in this area, including local farms and dairies. One of them is the Krepko dairy, strategically located directly in the habitat of the Proteus anguinus. According to current Slovenian legislation, directly releasing wastewater from the dairy industry into the environment is prohibited. For this reason, the dairy is obliged to clean wastewater before releasing into the environment. The Proteus anguinus has a very narrow ecological tolerance regarding its habitat. Because of that, the Krepko dairy wastewater treatment plant has three phases: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The primary phase involves chemical treatment, a process that this paper thoroughly investigates. The process of neutralization, coagulation, and flocculation will be examined, and the impact of this chemical phase on the cleaning process will be analyzed using on-site jar tests and pH measuring instruments. The quality of the chemical treatment will be evaluated based on visual and time data for neutralization, coagulation, and flocculation. The data for chemical oxygen demand will be taken in laboratory analysis as control data for the effectiveness of new chemicals. The primary data of the research will relate to the secondary literature on Proteus anguinus habitat protection ecology. The discussion will link primary and secondary data, highlighting the potential impact on the habitat of Proteus anguinus. The conclusions will outline the main challenges and provide recommendations for better environmental protection of Proteus anguinus, emphasizing the need for immediate action to prevent potential harm.

This study comparatively evaluated the performance of three industrial broiler carcass chilling methods—air chilling, combination chilling (air and water spraying), and the Thor Ice ice-slurry system—under commercial processing conditions. A total of 90 Ross 308 carcasses were analyzed (30 per method, in three repetitions). Air chilling and Thor Ice chilling were conducted for 1 h 45 min at 4000 birds/h, whereas combination chilling lasted 3 h at 7200 birds/h. For each carcass, initial and final temperature and weight were recorded to determine chilling loss. Significant differences were observed among the methods (p < 0.05). Combination chilling achieved the lowest final temperature (1.4 °C), while Thor Ice chilling resulted in the smallest chilling loss (−0.47%). The analysis of energy consumption revealed that air chilling had the highest electrical energy use (15,491.6 kWh/h), whereas the Thor Ice system had a lower energy demand (13,511.2 kWh/h). Combination chilling exhibited the highest water consumption (413.7 m³), reflecting the use of water spraying. Based on these findings, combination chilling was the most effective in reducing carcass temperature, while the Thor Ice system provided a technologically efficient alternative with minimal mass loss and reduced energy demand.

Slovenia is among the few countries where the olm, Proteus anguinus, is found, with its habitat largely coinciding with Natura 2000 sites. In these regions, various agricultural and food-processing activities, including the dairy industry, have developed. Krepko, a dairy facility, is situated directly within the olm’s habitat. Current legislation prohibits the direct discharge of dairy wastewater into the environment and mandates prior treatment. This study examined the primary treatment phase, specifically the chemical processing steps of neutralisation, coagulation, and flocculation. Field jar tests, pH measurements, and laboratory analyses of chemical oxygen demand (COD) were employed to assess the effectiveness of various chemicals. The findings indicate that sodium hydroxide with higher molarity enables faster and more stable neutralization, while polyaluminum coagulants and acidic flocculants are more effective than traditional reagents in reducing COD. The optimised chemical treatment process substantially reduced the organic load of wastewater and, consequently, the potential impacts on karst habitats. The improved treatment system represents a significant advancement in reducing pressure on karst water resources and protecting the habitat of the olm, thereby contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Site-specific ecotoxicological monitoring data on dairy final effluents in karst groundwater environments remain scarce. This preliminary site-specific case study combined physicochemical characterisation with a 24 h Daphnia magna immobilisation assay of three final-effluent samples collected after the complete treatment train in winter, spring and summer. The three sampling occasions were used as independent screening snapshots to test for an acute response at high effluent concentrations, not to estimate the seasonal variability or treatment-stage efficiency. Six effluent exposure groups (three samples × two concentrations) were tested at 80% and 100% (v/v), each in four vessels containing five organisms, together with three negative controls. Across samples, the pH was 8.1–8.4, the temperature was 11.5–26.4 °C, the dissolved oxygen was 7.89–9.75 mg/L, the TSS was 3–9 mg/L, the COD was 16.4–40.4 mg/L and the BOD₅ was 3.3–4.0 mg/L. No immobilisation occurred, and the 24 h EC₅₀ was reported as >100% (v/v); the potassium dichromate EC₅₀ values were 1.07–1.18 mg/L. No detectable 24 h acute immobilisation was observed in any of the three tested final-effluent samples. These findings provide a quantified site-specific final-effluent profile linked to a standardised whole-effluent effect endpoint and indicate the absence of acute immobilisation under the tested conditions.

Background: This study was conducted to analyse the effect of different enzymes and selenium on production performance and slaughter parameters of Ross (308) broilers production. Methods: There were four groups in this experiment, two of them were control and the two test groups. All groups had the same number of one-day-old chickens (20250), moved in the same day. 100 chickens were selected randomly for future analyses. The chickens in the control group were fed with the standard commercial diet which contained crude protein (22.04%, 18.55%, 17.89%) and metabolic energy including selenium (11.99 MJ/kg, 12.64 MJ/kg, 12.79 MJ/kg) for starter, grower and finisher phases respectively. The basal diet was supplemented with: HiPhos - 6 phytase, WX - endo-1,4- betaxylanase, VP-endo-1,3(4)- beta-glucanase and ProAct - serine protease. The experimental group also used organic selenium. Result: Production performance and carcass parameters were not statistically different among treatment groups. Only mortality was decreased in one of the experimental groups (p less than 0.004). Whereas, the use of enzymes and selenium did no effect on the production performance and carcass parameters. The results indicate reduced feed cost of broilers diet with the use of enzymes as feed components. Result from presented work can be considered as complementary contribution in in broiler production.

Festive fireworks can substantially affect air quality by causing short-term increases in particulate matter (PM) concentrations. This study analysed spatial and temporal PM pollution patterns in three Slovenian municipalities—Novo mesto, Hrastnik, and Jesenice—during the 2025/2026 Christmas–New Year holiday period. Using descriptive statistics, threshold-based peak detection, temporal segmentation, Pearson correlation analysis, and normalized descriptive indicators, the study evaluated PM_2.5, PM₁₀, relative humidity, and CO₂ levels from late December to mid-January. Results revealed pronounced short-term pollution episodes, with PM_2.5 peaking at 109 µg/m³ in Novo mesto, 128 µg/m³ in Hrastnik, and 133 µg/m³ in Jesenice. Most peaks occurred during late-night and early-morning hours, although Jesenice showed a more dispersed peak pattern. Fine particles represented the dominant PM fraction, with mean PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratios ranging from 0.91 to 0.93. Normalized indicators showed that Jesenice had the highest relative variability and peak-to-mean ratios despite the lowest average PM concentrations. These findings show that holiday-period air-quality assessment should consider not only average concentrations, but also short-term peak intensity, timing, and local pollution profiles.