Sofia, July 13 (BTA) - An analysis of the National Audit Office (NAO) highlights the inefficiency of measures and inadequacy of financing for dealing with air pollution. Air pollution is endemic in Bulgaria and the country faces EU infringement proceedings for failing to meet the EU standards for air quality. The NAO analysis is part of a collective audit by 15 audit offices and covers a period of three years from 2014.

The analysis shows that in 2014-16, all regions where air quality was monitored, had exceedances of fine particulate matter with diameter of up to 10 (PM10). Over 35 exceedances are reported in the three calendar years for Sofia, Plovdiv, Bourgas, Montana, Vidin and Lovech.

In 2014-15, the share of the population exposed to excessive PM10 levels reached 97 per cent. Close to 80 per cent live with excessive levels of PM2.5. Some 75 per cent of people live with excessive levels of benzopirene, which is one of the strongest carcinogens.

Air quality is monitored by a national network of 48 stationary air quality monitors positioned across the country. Most of them use outdated equipment and interruptions are frequent.

Despite the efforts and investments made so far, the national air quality monitoring system does not provide information about PM2.5 even though this is the pollutant which worst effects human health, say the auditors.

The key sources of air pollution in Bulgaria are road and other transport, household heating, coal-fuelled power plants and industrial production.

The causes of the worsening air quality in Bulgaria are of socioeconomic nature and are rooted in the high levels of energy poverty of the population as household heating remains the biggest polluter in the winter months.

At the same time, the ongoing policy of providing dedicated social assistance to low-income households for heating in winter does not encourage use of environment-friendly fuel. Overall, the measures on national and municipal level are not aimed against the key polluters: solid fuel for heating, the old car fleet and inadequate infrastructure.

The Environment Ministry is responsible for implementing the state policy for air quality but various other national and municipal bodies are involved in the process. The NAO analysis says that the actions of them all are poorly coordinated.

The analysis says that a requirement in the law for preparation, submission to and adoption by Parliament of a national environment strategy is not met. The Environment Minister has not imposed fines on mayors and officials for failing to fulfill their obligations for improving air quality (including the preparation of programmes).

Furthermore, there are no guarantees that the receipts from fines and other pecuniary sanctions in the municipal budgets are spent for improving air quality as required.

The analysis further says that the policies for improving air quality gets much less financing than other budget programmes of the Environment Ministry.

The budget investments for improving the air quality monitoring equipment has been negligible.

The national and municipal strategies, programmes and action plans for air quality do not go with cost schedules, and, the reality is that no specific outlays are planned for the implementation of the measures for improving air quality included in national and municipal strategic documents, the analysis says.

Municipalities do not have enough funding for adequate measures for improving air quality and fail to capitalize on the funding opportunities offered by sources outside the municipal budgets.

The NAO recommends that the Environment Ministry update the national strategy for environmental protection (or prepare a new one), to create an advisory board on air quality with the Environment Minister, to step up its control on the work of mayors and municipal officials.

Furthermore, the Ministry must undertake action to improve the awareness of the population of the health hazards caused by air pollution, and take measures specific to the season, atmospheric conditions, air polluters and others factors affecting air quality.

The NAO analysis is part of a cooperative audit by a working group for environmental audit of the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (Eurosai). Air quality audits were also performed by the national audit offices of Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Israel, Spain, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the European Court of Auditors.