site.btaAir Quality within Safe Limits after Sofia Recycling Facility Fire

Air quality in Sofia remains within the legal limits following the fire at a waste treatment facility that caused a strong smell of burnt plastic across several parts of the city, the Environment Ministry said here Friday.

The Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) explained that while the odour may be unpleasant, it does not necessarily mean that air pollution levels exceed the standards set under Bulgarian and European legislation. The smell results from burning materials and can travel long distances depending on wind direction, wind speed and weather conditions, even when monitored pollutant levels remain within the permitted range.

RIEW noted that the temporary increase in benzene concentrations does not represent a breach of the legal limit because the benzene standard is based on the annual average concentration rather than hourly measurements. The benzene levels had fallen to between 0.00 µg/m³ at the Pavlovo monitoring station and 1.23 µg/m³ at the Mladost station.

The inspectorate added that no exceedances were recorded for ozone (O₃), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) or particulate matter (PM₁₀). Measurements from all automatic monitoring stations remained below the regulatory limits.

RIEW said it will continue to monitor air quality in real time and will promptly inform the public if any deterioration or exceedance of air quality standards is detected.