Air in Romania's capital as polluted as in Sydney, authorities announce checks and sanctions

The air pollution levels will be checked weekly and the public authorities will be held accountable, environment minister Costel Alexe said amid growing concerns about the air quality in Bucharest and other large cities in the country.

The minister’s statement came after Octavian Berceanu, a member of the Bucharest General Council representing Save Romania Union (USR), likened the pollution levels in Bucharest to that in Sydney impacted by the recent bushfires. In a Facebook post, Berceanu said that the levels of PM10 / PM2.5 particulates, which negatively affect human health, are similar in the two cities. Using data from independent national and international air quality monitoring platforms such as Airly and Aerlive, he found that the PM10 levels reached 161 ug/m3 in Bucharest and 169 ug/m3 in Sydney during the night, over the weekend.

He pointed to several pollution sources in the capital, such as the traffic during the day or, at night, the illegal transport of demolition waste from construction sites, the illegal burning of waste and oil at warehouses, the thermal energy producers (CET plants), and the wind-carried pollution from the Rudeni and Iridex warehouses.

Minister Alexe also said that in the country’s large cities pollution levels are way above “what we should experience as residents of a European capital or city in 2020.”

He also advised Bucharest residents to use masks to protect themselves, Rfi.ro reported. “When it comes to the health of the population, I obviously recommend anything that could protect them, including, if possible, these masks […],” the minister said.

The minister said that, in 2018, air quality measurements, showed acceptable limits concerning air quality were exceeded in 70 cases. “Chances are high that the levels recorded in 2019 were higher than those in 2018. Many times, the environment minister is pointed to as the one who should solve the issue of pollution in Romania. This is not true. It is not the Environment Ministry that can control pollution in the capital,” the minister said.

Reacting to the debate, Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea said that, although measures have been taken to improve air quality, what has not been done “in tens of years” cannot be done in 36 months. She also argued that the environment minister, a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), should held accountable the PNL city councilors who blocked the projects aimed at fighting pollution.

The Bucharest City Hall stressed that the independent air monitoring networks are not authorized by the Environment Ministry and are not managed by the institution,