Regarding the fire that broke out at a waste treatment site, which has caused a strong odor of burnt plastic to be detected in several areas of Sofia, the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water - Sofia (RIEW - Sofia) provides the following clarification:

The presence of an unpleasant odor does not in itself mean that air quality standards set by European and national legislation have been exceeded. The odor is a direct result of the burning of various materials and, depending on wind direction and speed, as well as specific atmospheric conditions, can spread over significant distances without necessarily being accompanied by exceedances of the monitored parameters.

Between 9h and midnight, a temporary increase in benzene concentration was recorded. This does not indicate an exceedance of the standard, as the standard for benzene is defined as an annual average, while the measurements reflect the instantaneous concentration at that specific time. The data indicate that the values subsequently began to decrease, with the concentration measured at 16h at the Executive Environment Agency’s monitoring stations ranging from 0.00 at “Pavlovo” to 1.23 µg/m³ at “Mladost.”

No exceedances of the limits for ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and fine particulate matter (PM10) were recorded in accordance with current regulatory requirements. The concentrations recorded at all automatic monitoring stations remain below the established standards.

The Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water - Sofia will continue to monitor the situation, as it is changing dynamically. The inspectorate’s experts are constantly monitoring the data from the automatic monitoring stations. If data indicating deteriorated air quality or exceedances of the standards are detected, the public will be informed in a timely manner.