In 2012 the highest air pollution levels were registered in five cities and towns of Ukraine - Odesa, Horlivka, Armiansk, Sloviansk, and Dniprodzerzhynsk.
As the Web site of Mariupol City Council reported referring to the Central Geophysical Observatory of Ukraine, assessments of the air quality index (AQI) were conducted via observations in 53 cities and towns at 163 state weather monitoring services.
High pollution levels were registered in Kyiv, Chervonoperekopsk, Mariupol, Donetsk, Kryvy Rih, Makiyivka, Uzhgorod, Rivne, Dnipropetrovsk, Dzerzhynsk, Rubizhne, Yenakieve, Lysychansk, Kherson, Sieverodonetsk, Zaporizhia, Kramatorsk, Mykolaiv and Lutsk.
According to the four AQI levels (up to 5 – safe, 5-7 – high, 8-13 – higher and 14 and more – very high), Mariupol got a high index in 2012 (very high in 2011) after checks on eight contaminants, heavy metals and benzapyrene.
“Over three years (2009-2011) Mariupol was third in Ukraine according to AQI, and the level of pollution was very high. In 2012 the town dropped from the top five most polluted towns and is now in seventh place. The maximal indicator was registered in 2009,” reads the document.
A program for the creation and protection of a healthier urban environment for 2012-2020 has been running since the middle of 2012. Fulfilling the program, Azovstal, ahead of schedule, at the end of 2012 terminated the operation of three coke batteries and suspended a sinter plant, which helped to reduce contamination levels.
In 2012 the levels of air contaminants such as ammonia, formaldehyde and benzapyrene fell in Mariupol.
As reported, emissions of contaminants from stationary sources into the atmosphere through January-March 2013 dropped by 6.65% year-over-year, to 55.183 million tonnes. Over the review period, 54.72 million tonnes of carbon dioxide was emitted into the atmosphere, which is 6.7% less compared to the same period of 2012. Emissions of other contaminants into the atmosphere from January-March was 4.4% down, to 1.110 million tonnes.
However, Ukraine saw 9.2% growth in methane emissions (aggressive greenhouse gases), to 232,900 tonnes, and a 1.6% rise in emissions of metals and their compounds, to 8,300 tonnes.
In 2011 and 2012 there was growth in the amount of contaminants emitted into atmosphere from stationary sources.
