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Lawyer Dimitar Ploshtakov: Air quality data is not objective

Lawyer Dimitar Ploshtakov
Photo: still frame- Evrokom

The points at which the air quality measurement stations are placed are away from areas with high concentrations of fine particulate matter. This conclusion was reached by lawyer Dimitar Ploshtakov after an in-depth study on air quality control.

"This can be likened to genocide, carried out by a state against its own people", Dimitar Ploshtakov said in an interview with BNR. He referred to the measuring station on the Eagle’s Bridge in Sofia, where two major boulevards intersect. The station was relocated in 2012 with the explanation that there was a parking lot next to it and a metro station was being built. "The construction of the metro station has long been completed, the parking lot is not in use, but the measuring station has not been returned to the Eagle's Bridge. It was relocated to the yard of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, which is like a small park in the Mladost district", lawyer Ploshtakov explained.

The lawyer is adamant that the data collected is unreliable and does not reflect the true state of air quality in the country. "The system has been compromised as a result of deliberate actions by authorities from the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Executive Environment Agency. As a result, around 11,000 Bulgarians die every year", said Dimitar Ploshtakov.

Dimitar Ploshtakov cited data from the World Health Organization, according to which in 2019 there were 10,863 cases of premature death due to poor-quality ambient air in Bulgaria. He recalled data that Bulgaria ranks first in the European Union in terms of deaths caused by air pollution. 




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