Health costs caused by air pollution in Bucharest reach around €3,000 per person

The health costs caused by air pollution in Bucharest are the biggest in Europe and reach approximately 3,000 euro/person,that is why Low Emission Zones (LEZ) must be implemented by 2025 to improve air quality, say 2Celsius experts in a specialized analysis. "The health costs caused by air pollution in Bucharest are the highest in Europe, about €3,000. At the same time, the European Environment Agency announces that air pollution remains the main environmental risk to the health of Europeans and estimates that at least 253,000 deaths in the EU in 2021 can be attributed to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) above the WHO recommended concentration of 5 micrograms per cubic meter", the source cited.   According to a research, made by 2Celsius and Ecopolis in 2023, through which the level of NO2 was monitored from 21 locations in Bucharest, exceedances of the legal limit values were recorded at six points. NO2 is a gas resulting from road traffic, industrial activities and power generation and, in high amounts, affects human health, causing in particular respiratory diseases.In this sense, the environmental organisation presented a proposal for the implementation of such areas in the Report on waste burnings and other materials valuable in Bucuresti and Ilfov, made by Ecopolis and AerLive in 2021.‘In such areas, the use of transport means which are less polluting, such as electric cars, bikes or ecological public transport, applying  taxes and restrictions for conventional motor vehicles which meet the standards for emissions already established. The implementation of the low emissions zones means a seris of administrative and technical measures, including the installation of adequate signals, the monitoring of emissions levels and implementation of sanctions for breaking regulations’ consider the representatives of the association.The 2Celsius Association is a non-governmental organization established in 2010 with the aim to influence climate change policies at national and European level.