Air quality in Samara

What is the air quality index of Samara?

The city of Samara was known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev and is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. It has a population of just over 1.1 million residents and is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Samara rivers. The population is expected to be much higher now as this figure was from the 2010 census.

At the start of 2021, Samara was experiencing “Good” quality air with a US AQI figure of 46. This classification is based on recommendations by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The recorded level of PM2.5 was 11.1 µg/m³.

What is the main source of air pollution in Samara?

Many complaints have recently been received from residents of the Kuibyshevsky district. The new development of apartments was built near a river, a lake and a forest and residents thought it would be ideal. However, they soon began to experience the emissions from nearby factories. The stationary monitoring post near to the factories takes air samples every seven hours. The residents are convinced that this is known by the factory operators who discharge their exhausts when the monitoring stations are not recording.

According to the Department of Municipal Economy and Ecology, "the likely sources of odour are the Kuibyshev Refinery and Samara Communal Systems (SCS). However, the city administration says that, according to the supervisory authorities," exceeding the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of substances in the air were recorded only a few times " and just at the borders of the sanitary protection zones of the two enterprises.

What is the pollution level in Samara?

The Samara Region became the country's record holder for air pollution in 2020. The number of air pollution cases in the Russian Federation in 2020 was already three times higher than the indicator of 2019.

Three regions are leading in terms of the number of air pollution cases: Samara and Orenburg regions, as well as Buryatia. The main pollutants are benzo (a) pyrene, hydrogen sulphide, formaldehyde, ethylbenzene, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.

In just three quarters of 2020, 171 cases of atmospheric pollution were recorded in the Russian Federation, 112 were in the Samara region. This is followed by Buryatia with 22 cases and the Orenburg region had 9.

In 2020, more than 1,000 emissions of harmful substances into the air were recorded in Samara.

Is air pollution in Samara getting better or worse?

The area of Volga seems to have an unrealistic level of hydrogen sulphide around the railway terminal. According to local residents, dangerous excess of the content of harmful substances is regularly recorded there. Moreover, citizens have already repeatedly sent complaints about the current situation to the authorities and supervisory authorities.

From 1^st September to 23^rd October, the post recorded 535 cases of exceeding the MPC for hydrogen sulphide. Of these, 98 cases of high pollution and 6 cases of extremely high pollution. Such indicators are the reason for the introduction of emergency situations in the region, but the authorities do not advertise this problem. For 4 years, meetings have been held with the heads of almost all departments and politicians, say residents of the micro district.

During the month of September, 17 samples of atmospheric air and 6 air samples of the working area were taken and analysed several times in the daytime and again at night without preliminary warnings. The content of hydrogen sulphide, methanol and ammonia was checked. The conclusion stated that the content of the determined ingredients did not exceed the established norm. During the inspection, no violations were discovered.

From January to August 2020, at least 120 residents of the Volgar district turned to doctors with health complaints. According to the test results, they confirmed "allergic reactions of unknown origin," said the initiative group.

In addition, 600 people experience an exacerbation of bronchial asthma, and 15 of them have not suffered from this disease before. Also in the Kuibyshevsky district of Samara, more than 6,500 minors turned to doctors because of respiratory diseases. This is information from the initiative group, and not official data.

In April 2019, the residents lobbied the governor asking for help to resolve this situation. As a result, on the instructions of the governor, 20 million roubles were allocated from the regional budget for the purchase of a stationary monitoring post for air pollution. Before that, a temporary observation point of the Privolzhsky UGMS worked in the Kuibyshevsky district. Now the monitoring will be carried out in automatic mode, and the measurement of mass concentrations of air pollutants will be provided continuously. The new post was equipped with a validation system to ensure that the equipment is working correctly.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Samara?

The three most disadvantaged regions in terms of air pollution included the Samara region, the Orenburg region and Buryatia. The Samara Region, where the Volzhsky Automobile Plant (AvtoVAZ) and several other significant enterprises for the Russian industry are located, account for more than half of all cases of pollution per year, approximately 112.

A sharp increase in cases of high and extreme pollution occurred in the third quarter of this year: there were 125 such cases in Russia during this period. For comparison: for the full year of 2010, Roshydromet recorded 126 cases.

What are the effects of breathing Samara’s poor quality air?

Hydrogen sulphide is a highly toxic colourless gas that has a very strong smell. Some say it smells like rotten eggs. It is produced naturally by decaying organic matter and is released from sewage sludge, liquid manure, sulphur hot springs, and natural gas it is used in many industries and is a by-product of many more, such as in oil refining, mining and in the production of rayon, amongst others.

At low levels, hydrogen sulphide causes irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat. Moderate levels may cause headache, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting, as well as coughing and difficulty in breathing. Higher levels can cause shock, convulsions, coma, and even death. Generally, the more serious the exposure, the more severe the symptoms.

A short exposure from which a person recovers quickly is not likely to cause delayed or long-term effects. Moderate exposure can cause residual damage and a serious exposure that causes coma or convulsions may damage the brain and heart. To be exposed to this gas on a regular basis will cause health problems in the future.