Air quality in Budapest continues to deteriorate

Air quality in Budapest is worse than previously believed and continues to worsen despite various programs intended to clean up pollution, according to the head of a leading Hungarian environmental group.

Péter Lenkei, head of the Environment Consulting Office of the Levegő Action Group, said that the biggest problems are caused by automobile emissions, especially from diesel-powered vehicles. While modern diesel-fueled cars emit much smaller dust particles than earlier models, Lenkei said that they produce a much larger number of particles.

Meanwhile, he argued that most devices used to measure pollution are ineffective, as they measure only the mass of dust particles in the air, and not the number of particles, adding that research has indicated that the most dangerous pollutants are flying particles of dust with a diameter of under 10 microns.

Lenkei also said that the particles derived from car tires and bitumen - the binding material for asphalt - creates serious pollution, and that antimony pollution, which is caused by the abrasion of brakes, can be up to 36 times higher in the city center than in the outskirts of the capital.

According to József Stieber, head of a laboratory that calibrates such equipment, the levels of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide at Budapest's busiest intersection - the corner of Üllői út and Könyves Kálmán körút - are 15% to 20% higher than permissible levels. The level of dust there also exceeds permissible levels - the so-called "border value" - 163 days a year.

• Email
• Save to My Caboodle