Air pollution - State and impacts (Romania)

Airquality in Romania is constantly monitored at measuring stations, distributed across the entire territory of the country, which are part of the automatic air quality monitoring network. The concentrations of nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, benzene,ozone, particulate matter, lead, and heavy metals are measured.

Exceedances of air quality limit values in urban areas, 2006 – 2008.

         For nitrogendioxide, the limit value for the protection of human healthplus a margin of tolerance (LV+MT) was exceeded in 2006 at traffic stations and industrial stations in Bucharest. In 2007, exceedances were registered in Cluj’s urban background station and  at traffic stations and one industrial station in Bucharest. In 2008, exceedances were registered in Bucharest at traffic stations and one industrial station, in Braşov at one urban background station and in Constanţa at the traffic station.

            Figure1  presents the trends of the annualmean concentrations, in 2006-2008.

For sulphur dioxide, the hourly limit value for the protection of human health was exceededin 2008 in Baia Mare and Copşa Mică. The daily limit value for the protection of human health was exceeded in 2006 in Craiova, at one industrial station, and in 2008 in Drobeta Turnu Severin, Baia Mare and Copşa Mică.

            The trends of annual average sulphur dioxideconcentrations in the continually monitored agglomerations overthe last three years are presented in Figure 2.

Annualaverage PM₁₀ concentrations exceeded the annual limit value for the protection of human health in 2006 – 2008 in Bucharest, Craiova, Clujand Iaşi.The exceedances weremeasured at traffic, industrial, urban background and suburban background stations;the trends of the values arepresented in Figure 3.

The trends of annual average ozone concentrations registered in The National Air Quality Monitoring Networkare shown in Figure 4.

The trends of the concentrations of pollutants, in all stations with consistentand comparable measurements, for calendar years 2006, 2007 and 2008, indicate, in general, a slight improvement in air quality (Figure 5).