No data of pollution of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast ‎following Kakhovka dam collapse

Environment Minister: There are no concerns about the summer tourist season

published on 6/16/23 1:55 PM

Photo: BGNES

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine has caused an ‎ecological catastrophe, the scale of which goes beyond the borders of the ‎country and will have an impact on neighboring countries to varying ‎degrees.

So far, there are no data on pollution in the Bulgarian waters of ‎the Black Sea, according to the data in the daily bulletin of the Bulgarian ‎environmental ministry. However, the ministry has increased its ‎vigilance, deploying three new monitoring points in the coastal zone in ‎addition to the existing ones in Durankulak, Shabla and Kaliakra.‎

The waters that have flown into the Gulf of Odessa and entered the ‎northwestern shelf of the Black Sea have not yet moved south enough ‎to cause pollution, marine ecologist from the Bulgarian Academy of ‎Sciences Dr. Dimitar Berov told the BNR. Thanks to forecasts of ocean ‎and sea currents and winds, scientists will know exactly when these ‎water masses will eventually reach the Bulgarian coast. If this does ‎happen, the concentrations of chemicals and other pollutants will be ‎much lower than those that would create a serious health risk or have a ‎toxic effect, according to the specialist.‎

‎"There is another element of pollution and that is the floating ‎waste”, adds Dimitar Berov.

“Floating waste sometimes moves faster, ‎including because of the wind, so we can assume that we will see this ‎waste first. It is composed of plastics from households, from agriculture, ‎as well as other construction materials, because many facilities were ‎destroyed in the area of the Dnieper River. ‎Possibly within a few weeks, ‎such floating debris ‎can reach the Bulgarian coast.”‎

And does this apply to the salmonella and pathogens found in the ‎seawater near Odessa that cause an intestinal infection?‎

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"I don't know if we can at all expect such pathogens in the water to ‎reach all the way to the Bulgarian coast - after all, we are talking about a ‎distance of over 400 km”, the scientist answers. “The good thing, if ‎there is anything good at all in this situation, is that the pathogens and ‎organic matter thrown out of the Dnieper River get decomposed by ‎marine microorganisms. In addition, there are phytoplankton that ‎consume the pollutants. I predict that these pathogens will remain a local ‎problem in the Gulf of Odessa region.”‎

In addition to relying on the natural self-cleaning functions of marine ‎ecosystems to detect, capture and degrade these harmful substances, it is ‎also important that scientists and responsible institutions constantly ‎monitor pollutants in their various aspects. It is necessary to continue the ‎monitoring program along the coast, as well as to follow what is ‎happening in the open sea, Dimitar Berov believes.‎

The Bulgarian Ministry of the Environment and Waters already has set up a Coordination Centre specially created because of the Nova Kakhovka disaster, the Bulgarian Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov in an interview for Assia Chaneva from BNR's Hristo Botev channel:

"All related institutions and departments of the ministry are working. Control has been strengthened. The area is monitored constantly. I am in constant contact with the governments of Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, but not with Turkey at the moment, because any possible contamination in the future or any problem in Ukraine will first pass through Romanian territory. Possibly then it could come to us. There are special models that we use not just to keep track of what is there in the water now, but what is likely to happen in 2, 3, or 5 days.

Water samples from the Black Sea are taken regularly in Bulgaria, but they are not enough. There are satellite observations that are processed, there are models that show what the currents are, and where they are going. In addition, the ministry Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Bulgarian military authorities are involved in this.

For the moment, there is no concern about the Bulgarian coast and the summer tourist season but the situation is constantly monitored and we are in contact with the relevant authorities in Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania".

‎Regarding reports that appeared about inquiries from foreign tour ‎operators regarding the quality of water in the Bulgarian Black Sea ‎coast, also environmental activists' concerns that pollution could lead to ‎excessive algal blooms and the sea could become unattractive for ‎swimming, also regarding concessionaires who are creating panic in ‎order to request a reduction of fees, Dimitar Berov advises:‎

‎"The most important thing is to make decisions based on scientific ‎research and verified facts." According to him, rumors and fake news ‎are constantly circulating on the Internet, so it is good for vacationers ‎and those employed in the tourism sector to get information from ‎reliable sources - the institutions dealing with the research of the Black ‎Sea.‎

Text: Diana Tsankova (based on interviews of Vesselina Milanova from BNR-Horizon and Assia Chaneva from BNR's Hristo Botev channel)

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