Author: Lorin Kadiu
Near QSUT, it is not difficult to identify all the citizens who are waiting to perform consultations for respiratory problems, one of them is Entela, 35 years old, who has been suffering from respiratory problems for more than four years.
"You can find me here almost every two months", says the young woman, an economist by profession. "It started more than four years ago, doctors blame it on air pollution", she says, adding that she is often forced to spend her vacations in deep mountain areas, where after returning she feels better for some time.
"I spent the summer holidays this year in Vermosh, together with my partner we learned every inch of the forest as we walked for hours every day". she says, adding that for more than a month after returning to Tirana, she did not need to be treated as her symptoms were almost non-existent.
But diseases of the respiratory apparatus are becoming one of the main causes of Albanians' health problems, as well as the cause of loss of life. Last year, according to a report by the Statistics Institute of Albania, the number of Albanians who lost their lives from respiratory diseases increased. These diseases constitute one of the main groups of mortality in the country.
"The number of deaths caused by the disease group "Respiratory system diseases" is almost 1,5 times higher, compared to 2020, and constitutes the third main group in terms of the cause of death. About 11,8% of all deaths are caused by this group of diseases and the mortality rate per 100 inhabitants is 128,4 deaths", says the report of June 3, 2022 of Institute of Statistics of Albania. Exposure to polluted air can cause a variety of negative health effects, including respiratory diseases.
Albanian authorities have no data on air quality in most of the country in recent years. The reason, as officially confirmed, is the depreciation of urban air monitoring stations, for which, as a result of the 2019 earthquake and the pandemic, there is no budget to return them to operation.
Meanwhile, the lack of budget in no way justifies the non-fulfillment of the legal obligation of the institution. The law "On the protection of air quality" defines that the National Environment Agency is the competent authority for the assessment of air quality in the environment, for analyzing measurement methods and ensuring the accuracy of measurements. This law specifies the 6 pollutants that KTA is tasked with monitoring, including PM10 and PM 2.5 particles that have the greatest impact on people's health. But, from the search on the website of the National Environment Agency, it appears that the monitoring carried out for air quality, date back to 2014, at least for PM 10.
In an official response to ACQJ, the National Environment Agency refused to respond and also to make available air quality measurements for the last 10 years. This institution explains that the urban air quality monitoring stations were installed since 2007 in 7 main cities of Albania and the long time of use has brought their depreciation. "The difficult period of the earthquake and the pandemic were also reflected in the insufficiency of the budget allocation to realize the continuous maintenance and full efficiency of the urban air monitoring stations". says KTA, adding that in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, work is being done to put urban air monitoring stations into full efficiency by the end of this year.
Why is air quality not measured?
Experts are divided on the reasons that lead the authorities not to measure air quality, supporting two arguments: lack of funds and the purposeful concealment of the level of air pollution. "From the somewhat informal conversations and communications that we have had with KTA employees, they state that they do not have a sufficient budget, because they have a number of components that must be measured according to the law". says Arjon Sauku, environmental expert, who adds that the air quality component requires a lot of resources, tools and funds.
"The argument they use is that they didn't have many resources available, plus, the devices they use are static, they put them in one place for a long time and there they get the data for 1 month, 2 months, for 24 hours, this means that they do not have many representative points", he explains.
Even for the urban environment expert, Mevis Struga, the reason could be the lack of funds. "Air monitoring and measurement of pollutants should be done continuously, but it requires very expensive equipment and requires a lot of funding, it requires capacity." he says, adding that the lack of human capacity in the field to work continuously and the lack of equipment are very important to be present.
"So these two elements that are missing at the moment, have caused us to have a vacuum, that is, we have a partial monitoring, in different places and we do not have a continuous monitoring". he concludes.
Meanwhile, for Lavdosh Ferun, the reason is not the cost, not measuring the air quality is intentional. "Decision-makers are not interested in air quality measurement, because in its absence people do not react. If there is no information, there is no reaction", he says, adding that "we are doing it gradually, the municipality of Tirana is a powerful municipality that has a budget and has nothing to do with the issue of cost, since there are devices that cost from 50-100 dollars, it is simply deliberate not to provide information". he says.
And while the data is missing from the National Environment Agency, some Civil Society organizations are carrying out continuous air quality measurements in some cities in Albania. An alternative measurement was also carried out by a project financed by the European Union, monitoring that highlights the exceeding of the norms allowed by the Albanian legislation and that European.
Polluted air in Tirana, Durrës, Shkodër...
Tirana is the largest urban center in the country, where a large part of the population is concentrated in the capital. According to the monitoring carried out by Co-Plan, funded by the EU, the findings of which were published in a report called "Green lungs for the city", it turns out that in some areas of Tirana air pollution standards are exceeded.
Of concern remains the high level of PM particles, dust particles with very small diameter sizes ranging from 10 microns to 2.5 microns. Due to their small size, these particles can penetrate deep into the tissues of the lungs, becoming the cause of various respiratory diseases. The main sources of these particles are constructions, but also means of transport, especially old ones.
From the measurements in the capital, according to the report, it turned out that the concentration of PM 2.5 particles is twice higher than the European standard near the "Petro Nini Luarasi" gymnasium.
Also, the intersections that remain problematic and exceed the EU norms are "Rruga e Elbasani", the roundabout at the Economic University of Tirana and the Small Ring that goes around the pedestrian area of the city center. And while the accepted standard for PM10 dust particles in the EU is 40 μg/m3, and that of the WHO 20 μg/m3 in Tirana, the concentration of PM10 dust particles has reached up to 101 μg/m3 at "Zogu i Parë" Boulevard , "Dibra" street, American Embassy, "Economic" university, "Petro Nini Luarasi" gymnasium, Municipal Area No. 5, Rruga e "Kavaja" and Durrës. (The symbol μg in this text refers to the micron).
"For NO2, values were measured in 424 stations in the city of Tirana, where the Albanian, European and WHO standard is 40 μ/ m3. Below is the corresponding map", it is said in report, where it is pointed out the fact that during the monitoring carried out from 2019-2021, the measured values of nitrogen dioxide were higher than the standard in the main roads and streets of Tirana.
"In the Air Pollution Index 2019 (Numbeo 1) Tirana is ranked among the most polluted cities in Europe. As a result, the number of individuals registering for treatment for respiratory illnesses and stress has increased in recent years.", it is stated in the report "Green Lungs for our City" where the main causes of this pollution are the constructions in the capital as well as the large number of vehicles that circulate on the streets of the capital, but that their maintenance is not done in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations , which brings a significant discharge of gases and substances not burned well.
"There are times when you can see with your eyes how polluted the air is, just look at this car and you'll understand." says IB, a resident near the former "Shqiponja" square, pointing to a concrete mixer.
Despite the values recorded in the measurement, in the city "Studenti" the perception of air pollution is different. "I don't think it's that polluted, this is probably one of the areas with the cleanest air in all of Tirana since it doesn't have a high population, there's limited vehicular traffic, there are trees around and it's close to the park large part of the lake, while for other parts of the capital it is a different matter", says Clara. D, a resident of this area.
Meanwhile, in the city of Durrës, which is one of the largest cities in the country, where the port also makes it one of the most important economic centers, the situation does not look optimistic anymore. "The state of air quality in Durrës is not among the most optimal. The area with the most polluted air is the port area. Also, air quality deteriorates during the construction process", it is written in the report.
Meanwhile, in the capital of the north, in Shkodër, measurements were carried out for several parameters, from which it was found that PM2.5 and PM10 particles have a value greater than the EU norm. The components NO2 and SO2 were also found above the EU norm, where the most problematic point of the city is its center.
Experts show the most polluted areas of the capital
In the capital, experts say that the black spots of air pollution are almost always the same, even though the air quality has problems in almost the entire capital. "If we talk about Tirana, the intersections of the roads that have heavy traffic such as: the Great Ring that has been under reconstruction has had dust particles twice as high, Elbasani street, the former Train Station, so where there is heavy traffic and intersections there is pollution and particles of dust and CO2 and NO2 that are released from car exhausts", says environmental expert Arjon Sauku.
On the other hand, the urban environment expert, Mevis Struga, says that external costs from air pollution are high, indirect, social costs that affect citizens and the state. "Citizens who have chronic respiratory diseases must be treated continuously. So, if it is insured, fine, but if it is not insured, it is the person who covers the expenses. So it is a burden for the citizen both from the health and financial side", he says, adding that in the long term, it is the part of the state that must create insurance opportunities for citizens, which must be fully covered. "So it is a burden not only of the state, but of the whole society". he concludes.
Even Elbasan in the "claws" of pollution
Ahmet Mehmeti, environmentalist in the city of Elbasan, says that air pollution during the period 2019-2021, where in 2019 only 4 out of 47 monitored points had nitrogen oxide levels within EU standards.
"Specifically from the EU standard which is 40, during the measurements it was noticed that the level went 40-100 μm 3", he says. "This has come as a result of industrial activity near urban areas" says Ahmet Mehmeti who adds that "regarding the state of pollution by PM2.5 particles, in 25 monitored points in Elbasan the pollution was within the norms, while in the other 22 points the norm was exceeded, going 30-180 μm 3".
"The state of pollution towards PM10 particles is better presented, since out of the 47 monitored points only 8 exceeded the norms, compared to the EU standard which is 30 μm. Sulfur dioxide in the 100 monitored points in Elbasan reached the maximum value of 181 μm 3, while the average reached 137.1 μm 3", says environmentalist Ahmet Mehmeti, adding that the European standard is 125 μm 3.
Polluted air causes cancer. WHO: The children of the elderly are most at risk
World Health Organization explains that polluted air can cause a variety of negative health impacts. "It increases the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer. Both short-term and long-term exposure to polluted air is associated with health impacts.", says the WHO, adding that these effects are more severe in people who have been ill. "Children and the elderly are most at risk.", he says WHO adding that the most dangerous pollutants - closely related to the loss of premature lives - are PM2.5 particles, which manage to deport in the air passages in the lungs.
WHO has a list of ways for countries to intervene to reduce air pollution levels, which include developing sustainable transport in cities, implementing solid waste management, ensuring access to clean household fuels, developing the market for renewable energies and energy efficiency and the implementation of industrial emission reductions.
But what can be seen is that in our country, even though the dangers of polluted air are known, none of the state agencies are taking measures to intervene. Not even to measure the level of pollution.
