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What Does Tbilisi Breathe In

January 21, 2008
No Comprehensive Researches are Carried out to Study the Air Pollution Problem

The research carried out on atmospheric air pollution a few years ago, showed that the health of 11 % of the Tbilisi population was in danger. The main reasons for pollution were low quality fuel and cars. Nowadays, the main reasons for air pollution remain the same, but no new research has been conducted. Nobody knows whether the percentage of people in danger has increased or decreased.

We know that the majority of cars in Georgia are mainly driving in Tbilisi. We also know that the capital of Georgia is badly ventilated and that it is often smoggy in summer because it is located in the Mtkvari Gorge. It is known that the cars in Georgia are second hand cars from Germany, which are ready for pressing and throwing away which does not offer a hopeful prognosis. The roads are not so good and there are many traffic jams during which the production of fumes is the highest. And of course there is also petroleum. Nobody, except for the importer of the fuel, can say with complete certainty that the fuel is of the highest quality.

According to data of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources there were 510,600 registered vehicles in Georgia at the end of 2006, out of which 51,500 were trucks, 41,200 buses, 1,700 special cars and 416,200 cars.

According to the data of the Department of Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Development of Georgia, the consumption of fuel in 2006 was 645,200 tons, out of which 318,700 tons were petrol and 326,500 tons were diesel.

Janri Karchava, the main specialist of the Division of Atmospheric Air Protection of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, elucidates that carbonic acid, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and smoke are the main causes of atmospheric air pollution. He also says that diesel consumption has increased during the last few years and diesel pollutes the air to a lesser extent than petrol. The cars working on gas are the least polluting, but the number of such cars is very small.

Karchkhava is of the opinion that the main reason for air pollution is, together with low quality fuel, old cars. “There are many old cars in the city. None of them have a catalytic converter. The old cars with no converters emit 15 times more fumes than the ones with a converter. These cars are pressed and thrown away in the countries where these cars are imported from.

A car with a converter needs good fuel. But as the cars in our country work on law quality fuel, the converters become out of order and consequently, they are removed from the car. The quality of fuel is regulated by law in all countries. The proportion of sulfur and benzyl in fuel must be as small as possible and it must be controlled by special laboratories. Taking into account the scale of Tbilisi it should have 11 fuel laboratories, but in fact we only have one or two. No one can give you a definite answer to the question whether the fuel is inspected in these labs or not after having imported it.”

Janri Karchava's argues that international cars damage frequently. And damaged cars especially in traffic jams (of which there are many in the centre of Tbilisi) pollute air more than for example a car moving 80-100 km/ph. For Tbilisi, 90% of the air pollution can be blamed on cars.
"The research of Tasis conducted in 2002, found that the situation in the central regions of Tbilisi is very deplorable. No systemic research has been carried out since, because as nongovernmental organizations say it is too expensive. In addition, "environmental protection is a luxury only wealthy countries can afford".
Even with the most optimistic prognosis it will be impossible to replace all Georgian cars with new ones in the upcoming years. Accordingly, a more effective solution is to import relatively high quality petroleum. Big importers, who are well-known, own many petrol stations in Georgia. European fuel is imported in large quantities during the last several years.

One of the representatives of such a company states that all of their products - super, euro regular, premium and euro diesel - are imported from Bulgaria, in particular from their own factory and they absolutely comply with European standards. The company also stated that all countries import the same petroleum - the same quality petroleum is imported in France and in Georgia.
   

But it must be noted here that the petroleum from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan entering the Georgian market is of lower quality than European petrol, but is imported on a larger scale. The lower quality is also represented by the price of petroleum from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, because European petroleum costs 15-20 tetri more per liter.

The petroleum is also imported from Romania and Greece. Gia Kotrikadze, the chairman of the Union of Fuel and Gas Importers, announced that Italy recently joined these countries as well.
''We receive high quality as well as low quality fuel. The reason is that there are many different cars in the Georgian market and 70% of the cars are of low quality. The number of quality cars grew in recent years and they need a higher quality fuel. It must be mentioned here that earlier 70% of the imported fuel came from Azerbaijan, now the share of fuel from Azerbaijan has decreased to 50 %. The other half is imported from Europe. As for diesel, it is another situation, the 80% is imported from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and only 20 % from other countries. Georgia.

Kotrikadze states that it is common knowledge that the fuel which is imported is not inspected, but the fuel is checked before it is exported. It has a certificate of quality, which lists the components of the fuel. There is an agency responsible for checking the quality of the petroleum.. Fuel does not pass through customs without a check. Companies do not benefit from doubts regarding the quality of their fuel. The problem of importing low quality fuel existed 5-10 years ago, when 50% of the fuel was imported illegally and low quality oil products were imported. Now, this problem has almost disappeared in the country” said  Kotrikadze.

The chairman  considers that the examination of the fuel is not a way out of the difficult situation. According to his recommendation, first of all, the cars must be renewed. He brings up Romania as an example, where the government offered to consumers a compensation for exchanging their old cars and this is how the old car park was slowly replaced with new cars.

Until the government of Georgia and NGOs will start focusing on the problem, we will only have the data of previous surveys which do not show a hopeful picture, especially for Tbilisi.

The Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) has conducted a mathematical calculation on this topic several years ago. According to this information, the percentage of lead in petrol was so high that it made 200,000-275,000 people sick. The treatment of these people cost between 38,240-53,200 GEL.

Numbers of people suffering from diseases according to 2004 statistics of the Ministry of Health and Social Security:
Blood and liver diseases     13,400
Vascular diseases    72,200
Diseases concerning respiratory organs     374,800
Diseases concerning regenerative organs     8,500
High blood pressure     200,000-275,000
People suffering from micro infarctions     600-800

CENN states that since the technical inspection of cars has been abolished, the condition of the air has deteriorated. It is necessary to reinstate the technical inspection and improve management.
Nona Inashvili, a resident of Marjanishvili Avenue in Tbilisi, says that it is almost impossible to breathe outside her house, especially in summer. She has to clean her windows every hour, because they get covered by dust very quickly. The majority of her neighbors suffers from cardiovascular diseases. “The number of cars and mini buses has increased during the last 15 years. It is impossible to breathe in the center of the city, especially in when it is hot outside. I think that I am gradually approaching the end of my life.”

During the last century, mankind has consumed much more fuel than in the previous 19 centuries. Professionals say that the tendency for fuel consumption will continuously increase. The solution to the problem for such a small country like Georgia is fuel of better quality, better cars, better roads and the most important is regular investigations into the quality of the air. After all, we have to breathe it in.

Eka Kevanishvili, Tbilisi

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