Lawyer Dimitar Ploshtakov from the environmental NGO "For the Earth" said at a press conference at the BTA National Press Club in Sofia Tuesday that the national air quality control system is compromised. According to data collected by him, air quality measurement stations are placed far from the places where there is a high concentration of fine particulate matter.
He explained that the environmental legislation, both at the EU and national level, stipulates strict rules for the location of these monitoring stations, which guarantee the objectivity and veracity of the data, Ploshtakov said. Compromising the system is done by placing the automatic measuring stations in places that are not regulated by law. This was done because of criminal procedures that the European Commission has conducted against Bulgaria. Following them, this country reported that it had taken measures which had resulted in a reduction in the concentrations of the main pollutants.
Ploshtakov said that a total of five procedures had been initiated by the Commission against Bulgaria in connection with the introduction and implementation of the directive. Of these, two have been closed, two have been ruled on by the Court of Justice of the EU and one procedure is in the pre-trial phase, he said.
In Plovdiv and other cities in the country, automatic measuring stations have been moved from busy locations to peripheral areas and covered with tree vegetation. The stations thus report low pollution levels in the respective cities.
Among the examples he cited was the measuring station from one of Sofia’s busiest junctions, Eagles Bridge, which has been relocated to the yard of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH). According to Directive 2008/50 of the European Parliament and of the Council on ambient air quality, stations must be placed in areas where the highest levels of pollution are possible and where the population may be exposed to pollutants.
In this country, the Environmental Protection Act mandates the Minister of the Environment to organize and manage the national automated air quality control system.
The system and the data collected are State property. The condition of the air in our country is monitored by 30 automatic measuring stations located in 22 cities. The system monitors the concentration of fine particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrous oxide, etc. daily. All 30 automatic stations operate around the clock, he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2019 there were more than 10,863 cases of premature death due to poor-quality ambient air in Bulgaria, the legal advisor pointed out. The European Environment Agency said that in 2014, fine particulate matter alone caused about 400,000 premature deaths of European Union citizens, he added. “Comparing this data with the data that Bulgaria is the first in the EU in cases of premature death from cardiovascular diseases, we understand what the reason is for this unenviable first place. Obviously, it is not only poor diet and lack of physical activity that are the main culprits for this ranking,” the lawyer commented.
He reminded that Plovdiv, where the idea of a private investigation on air quality was born, in 2008 was declared the most polluted city of all European cities.
"My interest in this topic was sparked by the infamous relocation of one of Plovdiv's two air quality monitoring stations. This happened in 2015. I connected it with the environmental lawsuit, a class action of Plovdiv residents against the Plovdiv Municipality and the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water in Plovdiv," said Ploshtakov, who lives in Plovdiv, and is also a member of the Plovdiv Municipal Council, said. About 15 years ago, Plovdiv residents filed an environmental lawsuit against the municipality and the local Regional Inspectorate of Environmental Protection. The lawsuit lasted for nearly 10 years and ended with a judgment against the municipality and the agency, which had to bring the levels of pollutants and fine particulate matter in Plovdiv within the limit values by July 2022, he added. He said the Plovdiv municipality had not taken any measures.
He also pointed out that there was an alternative system to the state system of air quality control and monitoring. "It is a private system. It consists of a network of sensors that anyone can install in their home. There are 40 such sensors installed in Plovdiv. They are part of a global network that covers nearly 12,000 sensors in 80 countries around the world," said Ploshtakov.
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