site.bta"No Pollution Risk" off Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

In an interview for Nova TV on Sunday, Health Minister Hristo Hinkov discussed the risk of pollution off the Bulgarian Black Sea coast in the aftermath of the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine and the ongoing battle with torrential rains and floods in Bulgaria.

Hinkov said there is no risk for the Bulgarian coast after the Kakhovka Dam disaster. The authorities are taking samples periodically, and there are no data about any increase in pollution levels, he explained. Health Ministry experts have told Hinkov that Bulgarian beaches will hardly have to be closed this summer due to possible pollution from Ukraine. The microorganisms from Kakhovka cannot survive in saline water, specialists say.

The real pollution problem along the Bulgarian coast is due to waste water flowing into the sea, Hinkov went on to say.

As a minister in the new Bulgarian government, he is putting together a team to work with. He expects the team to be complete in two or three days, after which they will start probes at various hotspots. One of these places is the Maichin Dom maternity hospital in Sofia. Each hospital partly or fully owned by the state will be inspected.

Although Hinkov is not planning a purge at the Health Ministry, he will make some personnel changes.

Discussing the effects of torrential rains in various parts of Bulgaria, Hinkov said the Health Ministry has issued instructions to the regional health inspectorates, mainly in Montana, Botevgrad and Sofia, all in Western Bulgaria. The situation at the Ogosta Dam is under control and there is no risk of overflowing in the area. The weather is expected to improve, he noted.