Ombudsman on pollution in the capital
By Tea Mariamidze
Wednesday, February 27
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria says that despite the renewal of the buses in the capital, the air pollution level is still high.
The statement was made on February 26, when the Ombudsman presented the results of her study regarding the level of atmospheric air pollution in Georgia.
The Ombudsman spoke about the importance of clean air, the challenges existing in the country and about the ways of solving them.
In order to prepare the document, the Public Defender's Office examined the national legislation, its effectiveness and compliance with international standards, highlighted air polluting major harmful substances and their sources, evaluating atmospheric air pollution monitoring system and response mechanisms.
The report has revealed that it is problematic to assess the exact impact of air pollution on the health of the population, adding it is the fault of the existing air quality monitoring system.
“Air pollution is being studied by 10 observation stations in 6 cities, which do not give us a full picture of the problem. There is no integrated modeling system. The concentration of all kinds of harmful substances in the air is not measured,” the report reads.
Moreover, the study revealed that along with sulfur dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO), dust particles (PM10, PM2.5) are especially harmful to human health.
“These substances increase the risk of stroke, tumors, respiratory, cardiovascular, liver, kidneys and lung diseases,” said Lomjaria.
The report reads that despite the fact that mandatory technical inspection was fully activated for all kind of vehicles from 2019, it does not include monitoring of car exhaust, which was assessed as the flaw of the reform.
The Ombudsman also said that around 45% of cars in the country are at least 20 years old.
“Interior Ministry has no mechanisms to monitor such cars which have undergone mandatory technical inspection but they spread harmful substances,” the report reads.
As for the monitoring of the fuel, Public Defender believes that it was quite effective last year when the samples were taken from 136 facilities and 143 petrol stations were examined.
The report also focuses on air pollution from construction works. Lomjaria says this field needs strict monitoring to protect the society from the harmful particle that spread in the air during the construction or dismantling processes.
The special report states that the legal framework in the field of air protection in the country does not fully reflect the obligations taken under the Association Agreement with the European Union.
“Atmospheric air pollutant main sources (industry, energy, construction, agriculture) are not subject to viable environmental regulations, and specific sanctions in the field of air protection are unable to ensure fulfillment of regulations,” the report stressed.
