site.btaNo Pollution in Bulgaria's Territorial Waters in Black Sea after Kakhovka Dam Collapse

There is no evidence of pollution in Bulgaria's territorial waters in the Black Sea after the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine was destroyed on June 6, the Environment and Water Ministry in Sofia says on its website. The information is based on analyses by the Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Monitoring Centre at the Naval Academy in Varna and satellite observation.

The Environment and Water Ministry is carrying out constant, comprehensive monitoring of possible environmental damage in Bulgaria's territorial waters in the Black Sea in the aftermath of the Kakhovka Dam collapse.

The Disease Control and Prevention Centre in Odessa Province, functioning under the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, is quoted in the post as saying that a microbiological analysis of tap water samples showed no unsafe levels. Background radiation in Odessa Province is within the safety limit. The data was conveyed by the Bulgarian Embassy in Kyiv in a regular report to the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water.

The Black Sea Basin Directorate and the Varna Regional Laboratory of the Executive Agency for the Environment are monitoring the quality of coastal water off Durankulak, Shabla and Kaliakra on a weekly basis, the Ministry said.

The experts are watching for petroleum products, metals, the radionuclides caesium-137 and tritium, and most recently, pesticides and other additional factors. None of the indicators has reached an unsafe level.

The experts are monitoring not only coastal waters but also water currents farther from the shore.

Any signs of pollution along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast can be reported to the Environment and Water Ministry via its green telephone numbers 0887 088 440 or 02/9888205, or using the email address nccw@moew.government.bg. Alerts can also be submitted at the green telephone numbers of the Varna Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (0884 290 634 or 052/634 582), the Burgas Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (0889 096 577 or 056/813 212), and the Black Sea Basin Directorate in Varna (0886 406 816).

As early as June 8, Environment and Water Minister Julian Popov asked the Black Sea Basin Directorate in Varna and the Executive Agency for the Environment to step up the monitoring of the coastal water off Durankulak, Shabla and Kaliakra.

Since June 15, the Tourism Ministry has maintained a special section on its website providing up-to-date information about the temperature and possible pollution of the seawater off Bulgarian beaches.