Ten air quality sensors have been installed in Chisinau. The devices not only show humidity, but also measure the pressure and temperature. The measurements are conducted within an air quality monitoring project implemented by the Public Association “Rural Renaissance” and funded by the European Climate Foundation. The association also launched a campaign to inform the citizens about the impact of air pollution, the importance of monitoring it and the benefits that knowledge of the level of pollution bring to the community.
At a news conference hosted by IPN, “Rural Renaissance” head and coordinator of the project Silvian Răcilă said that at the first stage of the project, sensors have been installed in the municipality of Chisinau. Simultaneously, informative leaflets containing a QR-code are distributed. Once the QR-code is scanned, it provides information about the level of air pollution. The data collected by the sensors is stored on a web platform . “Instant monitoring allows us to more easily detect the sources of air pollution so that we can figure out what measures we can take in the future to avoid them or minimize the impact of these pollutions on the municipality of Chisinau, on the health of citizens,” stated Silvian Răcilă.
The project coordinator noted that informing the citizens about how they are influenced by the quality of aur in Chisinau in the short and long terms, information that very few people know, is an important part of the campaign.
The project will continue to be extended throughout the territory of the Republic of Moldova. In Balti and Rezina, in the southern areas adjacent to the Odessa and Galati industrial zones, such sensors will be installed in order to see the impact of the industrial zones on the localities situated nearby.
Silvian Răcilă said that the purpose of placing these sensors is not to replace the devices installed by the state. Their actions complement authorities’ efforts and raise citizens’ awareness.
Vladimir Ursu, executive director of the Public Association “Rural Renaissance”, said that these sensors are very important for the community. The citizens can learn about the quality of air and avoid peak hours when there are traffic jams, when pollution is higher. Parents with young children can decide when it is better to go for walks and ventilate the rooms. The sensors are located in practically all the districts of the Chisinau municipality, including in parks and industrial areas, such as, for example, Uzinelor Street.
“Within this project, we cooperated closely with counterparts from Romania. In fact, this project started a few years ago in Bucharest. That’s why we enjoyed full support from our counteracts and we successfully dealt with all the challenges experienced in the process of installing these sensors,” stated Vladimir Ursu.
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