In the new Annual Report on the State of Air Quality in the Republic of Serbia for 2022 published by SEPA, it is written that indicative measurements of PM10 particles were made in Leskovac.
According to the displayed average annual value for PM10 particles, Leskovac is the most polluted city in Serbia and Europe.
"This contradiction was explained to us by Dejan Lekić, one of the members of the National Ecological Association (NEA) and the founder of the portal Extreme Ecology (xEco - Extreme Ecology), creator of the desktop and mobile application xEco Vazduh". it is written in the press release of the Team 42 Association from Leskovac.
According to Lekić, this is because indicative measurements according to the existing legislation are not included in the assessment.
"Timely informing citizens about air quality through an automatic measuring station does not yet exist. The local register of polluters is not in operation, data on polluters remain unavailable to the public. The operation of several stationary sources on the territory of the city was prohibited due to exceeding the emission of polluting substances at the same time when the authorities were assuring the public that the air was good", the statement added.
Alarming for a year now
Belgrade Open School (BOŠ) was last year in June pointed out this problem when, on the occasion of World Environment Day, she prepared an analysis of air quality data.
From January to May 2022, the annual limit in Leskovac was exceeded in several places, so residents of Gota Delčeva Street breathed polluted air for 92 days, 89 days of excessive pollution were recorded in Stanoja Glavaša Street, 82 in Starine Novaka Street.
Residents of Đorđa Andrejevića Kun and Kapetana Koča streets breathed unhealthy air for about 50 days, only until the middle of 2022.
In Serbia, 11.000 people die prematurely due to polluted air
"According to estimates from the Air Protection Program in RS, polluted air annually leads to around 11.000 premature deaths in Serbia, while around 14.000 residents end up in hospitals due to respiratory and cardiovascular problems," Team 42 reminds.
Because of all this, Team 42 asks the authorities to improve the system of informing the citizens of Leskovac about air quality, as well as the measures they can take to protect their health. The report on the implementation of the Short-Term Action Plan is requested on an annual basis, so that the public is aware of the measures taken to improve air quality. Team 42 emphasizes that it is most important that city authorities prioritize activities to improve air quality in order to protect people's health and lives.
Without official monitoring, there are no legal measures for clean air
The causes of pollution are similar throughout the country, analysis of measurements shows. In the winter months, these are local furnaces and heating plants that use fuel oil and coal, and with traffic and the influence of industry, the result is an uncontrolled and health-threatening increase in the level of pollutants in the air.
However, the problem is that the official air control system is not widespread in all places, and in the absence of measurements, there is no legal basis for the implementation of legally prescribed measures to reduce air pollution.
In the absence of official data, citizens are left to get informed, at least in the short term, about the state of the quality of the air they breathe.
That's why the people of Leskov set up the measuring stations themselves.
ZS/Nova Ekonomija/Mašina/Juže vesti
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