Air quality in Baia Mare

What is the current level of air pollution in Baia Mare?

Baia Mare is a municipality along the Săsar River, in north western Romania. It is situated about 600 kilometres from Bucharest, 70 kilometres from the border with Hungary, and 50 kilometres from the border with Ukraine. According to a census conducted in 2011, Baia Mare had an estimated population of approximately 124,000 people. This figure swells to 231,00 when the whole metropolitan area is considered as well.

At the beginning of 2022, Baia Mare was experiencing a period of air quality that was classed as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” with a US AQI reading of 103. This United States Air Quality Index number is calculated using the levels of six of the most prolific air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and both sizes of particulate matter, which are PM2.5 and PM10. It can then be used as the metric when comparing air quality in other cities around the world. If data is unavailable for all 6 pollutants, a figure can still be calculated by using what figures there are. There were four of these pollutants recorded here. These were; PM2.5 - 36.5 µg/m³, PM10 - 48.4 µg/m³, ozone (O₃) - 8.2 µg/m³ and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) - 46.8 µg/m³. This level of PM2.5 is in excess of three and a half times over the recommended safe level of 10 µg/m³ as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as being an acceptable level. Although no amount of air pollution is considered to be safe.

When air pollution is “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” the given advice would be to remain indoors as much as possible, closing doors and windows to prevent the ingress of more polluted air. It would be advantageous to operate an air purifier if there is one available, but ensure it is set to recirculate the existing air and not import more dirty air from outside. Those who are more sensitive to poor quality air should avoid venturing outside until it improves. If this is unavoidable, then a good quality face mask should be worn at all times. All types of outdoor exercise should be avoided until the air quality improves. There is a downloadable app from AirVisual.com which is suitable for all operating systems and gives the latest information regarding air quality in real-time.

Does the level of air pollution change much throughout the year in Baia Mare?

Air quality can be affected by many variables and therefore can change rapidly. Looking back at the figures for 2020, published by IQAir.com, it can be seen that Baia Mare achieved the WHO target figure of being 10 µg/m³ or less from May until the end of September. The cleanest month was September with a figure of 7.7 µg/m³. The month of October recorded “Good” air quality with a reading of 10.4 µg/m³. The remaining six months of the year saw air quality from the “Moderate” category. To be in this category, figures must fall between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. Out of these six months, January was the dirtiest with a figure of 34.2 µg/m³.

Historically, records were first kept in 2019 when a figure of 11.9 µg/m³ was recorded. This worsened in 2020 when that figure was 12.5 µg/m³. This figure may have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as many vehicles were no longer in daily use because the offices were closed, in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus. Many factories and non-essential production units were also required to close which removed their emissions from the atmosphere, albeit on a temporary basis. Worldwide, cities reported a much better quality of air due to the general lack of traffic pollution in city centres due to the pandemic.

Is there a main source of air pollution in Baia Mare?

In winter, between 50 and 70 per cent of the mass of aerosols, both at ground level and at high altitude, comes from the combustion of biomass (by stove fire, agricultural fire or garden fire).

Motor vehicles pollute by releasing the following substances:

• carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is non-toxic but known to be one of the causes of the greenhouse effect;
• gas with toxic properties;
• suspended particles (PM10 and PM2.5) - one third of them originate from road traffic;
• volatile organic compounds, released by evaporation and exhaust fumes.

Because road traffic has increased considerably over the last few decades, motor vehicle pollution has become a public health hazard.

Can anything be done to improve air quality in Baia Mare?

The most effective way to limit pollution at the continental level, especially in winter, is to tackle the problem of biomass combustion through technological developments and strict regulation of how it is used.

Those engaged in activities with fixed sources of air pollution must participate in emission reduction programs and air quality improvement plans and must be subject to control by the competent authorities or carry out their own monitoring of environmental factors.

For mobile sources of pollution, the emission limit specific to each type of source must be observed.

What are the detrimental effects of breathing in polluted air?

Heart disease and stroke are the most common causes of premature death due to air pollution, followed by lung disease and lung cancer.

From the smog felt in the cities to the polluted air inside the house (from cooking, electric heating, lighting), air pollution is a major threat to health and climate. Combined, air pollution (outdoor) and indoor air pollution kill about 7 million people worldwide each year. Data provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that 9 out of 10 people breathe air that contains high levels of pollutants.

Over 80 per cent of people living in urban areas where air pollution is monitored are exposed to pollution levels that exceed the WHO guidelines, which are set for each type of pollutant.

The health effects of air pollution depend not only on exposure but also on human vulnerability. Vulnerability to the impact of air pollution may increase as a result of the age, pre-existing health conditions or particular behaviours of each person. A large body of evidence suggests that people with lower socioeconomic status tend to live in lower air quality environments.