As a Result of Air Pollution Between 14 and 18 Thousand People Annually Die in Bulgaria

The masks that people put before their mouths are utopian, ineffective measures. This is what Dr. Kosta Kostov, a national consultant for pulmonary diseases, told BNR. He suggested that the Sofia Municipality set up an expert council to set up rules and to have a spokesman to provide competent information if needed. "The measures are entirely in the hands of the institutions, they are not in the hands of the individual citizen," he added.

"Sofia is one of Europe's most polluted cities, with air quality indexes of over 100, such as late-day levels, and often occurring between 100 and 150, threaten groups at risk, mostly those with chronic pulmonary diseases. over 150 levels threaten everyone, and over 200 are particularly dangerous, "Kostov explained.

For dust particle levels, Dr. Kostov stressed that "anything less than 10 microns goes deep into the lungs." Outside the gases, dust particles are one of the great risk parameters that can lead to chronic exacerbation of some diseases. all chronically ill with lung disease are at risk ".

In Bulgaria, according to official data, about 14 to 18 thousand people die annually from air pollution. For comparison, about 1000 people die from crashes in Bulgaria, Dr. Kostov pointed out.

Denitsa Ivanova, Deputy Chair of the Type 2 Diabetes Association, said: "The relationship between diabetes and the air shows how large the health consequences can be when we live in an environment of heavily polluted air." The Association calls for the fight against air pollution to follow a clear strategy, to have adequate and consistent measures covering all types of pollutants. According to Ivanova, the actions of the Municipality are only a simulation of activity.