Environment Quality Monitoring Department

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Ambient Air Quality Monitoring And Radioactive Background Level Center

                             Air Pollution Forecasting Division  

                             Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Division,  Bălţi  

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring and Radioactive Background Level Center (AAQMRBLC) was established in 1969 and operates the monitoring network consisting from 17 stationary stations. Samples are collected 3 times per day ( 7^oo, 13^oo, 19^oo) and analyzed by main parameters (solid substances, sulphur oxide, carbon oxide, nitrogen dioxide) and by specific parameters (soluble sulphur, nitrogen oxide, formaldehyde, phenol and benzapirene) in 5 industrial regions (Chişinău – 6 posts, Bălţi – 2 posts, Benderi – 4 posts, Tiraspol – 3 posts, Rîbniţa – 2 posts).
In order to carry out a more efficient monitoring of the atmospheric air quality, activities of real time monitoring were initiated on the first of April 2007 by installing an automatic control station in Mateuţi village Rezina district. The station automatically monitors 17 parameters (with the exception of total solid suspensions, that are collected manually) of which 12 on atmospheric pollutants (nitrogen oxides (NO, NO₂, NOX’s), sulphur dioxide (SO₂)), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), ammonium (NH₃), carbon oxide (CO), sum of the aromatic hydrocarbons (∑CH), troposphere ozone (O₃), total solid suspensions, as well as those with 10mkm fraction (PM₁₀), theexposure to gamma rays and 5 meteorological parameters (temperature and air humidity, atmospheric pressure, direction and speed of the wind).

This station is the only one of such kind in the Eastern Europe as it performs online continuous automatic monitoring on 12 atmospheric pollutants, thus completing the national and international monitoring network.

In 1992 the Republican monitoring network of atmospheric precipitation chemistry was established on a basis of 8 weather stations on 6 indices: SO stations on 6 indices: SO^2-₄, Cl^-, HCO^-₃, C^a2+, Mg²⁺, NH₄⁺ and the active reaction of the hydrogen ions concentration (pH) was determined.

In order to meet the commitments of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, (Geneva,1979), in 2007 the transboundary pollution control station from Leova city was re-established and provided with modern equipment and it started to carry out atmospheric air quality observations according to EMEP Programme (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme):rogramme):level I (no organic compounds in precipitations: SO4--, NO3-, NH4+, H+ (pH), Na+, K+, Ca++, Mg++, Cl; no organic compounds in the atmospheric air: SO₂, SO₄^--, NO₃^-, HNO₃, NH₄⁺, NH₃, (NO₃, NH₄), HCl, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca⁺⁺, Mg⁺⁺; NO₂; troposphere O₃; PM₁₀; gas phase particles: NH₃, NH₄+, HCl, HNO₃, NO₃^-) and level II (persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals in precipitations).

To ensure the authenticity of obtained data, the centre yearly participates in the international extern laboratory control (EMEP) in cooperation with Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), thus increasing the qualification of specialists from the local laboratories.

For the assessment of the radioactive state of the environment, starting with 1978, systematic observations on the level of exposure of the γ-irradiation are carried out twice per day (7^oo and 20^oo) at 18 weather stations (in the northern part – 7, in the central part – 7, in the southern - 4), as well as on-line at the Mateuţi automatic station.

The centre also takes additional observations on anthropogenic radionuclide ic radionuclide ¹³⁷Cs, ⁹⁰Sr (cesium-137, strontium-90), summarily activity γ-β in the atmospheric deposits, as well as determining of the telluric radionuclide composition in the soil ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K (radium-226, torium-232, calium-40). Also, since 2009 the investigation of radioactive aerosols in the ambient air was initiated by installing a station (ASS-500) in Chişinău.

According to the Agreement of Cooperation between the State Hydrometeorological Service and Roshydromet, as well as in the frame of the information exchange, for the development on the yearbook “Radioactive situation on the territory of Russian Federation and neighbouring countries”, AAQMRBLC is providing annual investigations results on the radioactive situation in the Republic of Moldova.

Starting with 2007 AAQMRBLC is cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency in the frame of the IAEA-WMO program on global network for determining the isotope compounds in precipitations (GNIP) and especially of the stable isotopes Oxigen-18 and Deuterium (Hydrogen-2) as well as of the radioactive isotope Tritium (Hydrogen-3).

At present, the national monitoring system has passed the accreditation and alignment procedures with the international standard ISO/CEI 17025.