Venue:
Captain Hall of Hotel Bulgaria Burgas, Bulgaria
Date:
20 – 21 November 2014
Overview:
The Scientific Workshop under the project Joint study of anthropogenic air pollution in the Burgas
- Kirklareli cross-border area as a step towards future assessments on its impact on the population
and the environment (SAAP4FUTURE) co-funded by European Union through Bulgaria – Turkey IPA Cross –
border was held on November 20-21 2014 in the Captain Hall of Hotel Bulgaria in Burgas.
The meeting gathered about 40 participants: representatives from both Project partners – the National
Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NIMH – BAS) and the Kirklareli
Chamber of Agriculture, experts from the University “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov” - Burgas, experts from
the University and the Atatürk Soil Water and Agricultural Meteorology Research Station in Kirklareli,
representatives of local authorities in Burgas district. Special guest of the event was the honorary
Vice-consul of the Consulate General of Turkey in Burgas, Mr. MustafaYoldash.
The project includes two main groups of activities:
- field activities on collecting samples of precipitation and dry deposition of atmospheric pollutants
at four sites in the Turkish-Bulgaria border area - Burgas, Ahtopol, Kirklareli and Kainarca, and
- research tasks related to numerical modeling of the transport of atmospheric pollutants, and to analysis
of the chemical composition of the collected samples (major anions and cations, concentrations of heavy
metals, acidity and electroconductivity).
For the period from June to October 2014, 135 samples of different types have been collected.
The preliminary analysis of the samples reveals that there are no deviations from the norms in the content
of heavy metals, for all sampling sites. In Ahtopol their concentration are below the detection limit of
the measuring devices. The major anions and cations also show no deviations from the typical for the region
values. Differences in the values of the acidity of the precipitation are observed in the border area, as
well as in the values of sulfate anions in Burgas, interpretation of which requires further joint analysis.
A round table discussion on the major environmental problems in the cross-border region was organized during
the Workshop. Representatives of the Municipality of Burgas, the Regional Environmental Agency and the Regional
Health Inspectorate of Burgas, and of the NGO “The Greener Burgas Foundation”, as well as of other business
organizations participated in the discussions.
The major air quality issues, reported from the participants of both Project partners are the high level
of particulate matter (PM), often exceeding the EU daily mean thresholds.
Despite of the tendency of decreasing PM10 concentrations in the last years, their mean values are still
high. The main reason for this situation in Burgas is the use of solid fuels for domestic heating, as well
as the road transport. In Kirklareli, after the gasification made two years ago, the major source of
PM is the transport and the increased number of motor vehicles.
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