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.‎

‎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)