The National Environmental Guard (GNM) has completed its anti-pollution arsenal with 46 sampling and thermal imaging drones, Minister of Environment, Waters and Forestry Mircea Fechet announced on Wednesday on Facebook, stating that the airborne systems have already arrived at all of the anti-pollution watchdog’s county commissariats and are ready to detect both atmospheric pollutants and industrial emissions. „They are equipped with thermal imaging cameras, sensor modules for air, landfill gases, emissions from incinerators or from the wood processing industry, which means that we will be able to identify pollution sources in real time, including in hard-to-reach areas, where classic control was difficult or impossible,” Mircea Fechet emphasized.
According to him, GNM inspectors have been trained to operate the drones in control and inspection activities, where suspicions exist of pollution or illegal activities.
„They will collect precise data from the field, allowing us to rigorously document pollution sources and to take prompt measures, based on clear evidence. With this new monitoring system, aligned with European standards, we are taking another important step towards protecting public health and the environment. Advanced technology is thus becoming our direct ally in the fight for cleaner air, and I hope that through aerial control via drones, Romania will gain a standard tool in environmental inspections. Pollution outbreaks (as is the case of the Sintesti illegal waste incinerations) can only disappear through sustained control actions based on modern technology and through firm measures to discourage illegal practices and hold accountable those who intentionally pollute the environment,” the minister wrote.
The official added that the equipment was purchased under the project „Expansion and modernization of air quality monitoring and control infrastructure – stage II” financed through the Sustainable Development Program.
„Under the same project, the National Agency for Environment and Protected Areas and its network of county agencies benefit from 21 mobile air quality monitoring stations (auto labs) equipped with advanced technology for measuring polluting compounds such as SO2, NO2, volatile organic compounds, suspended particles (PM2.5 and PM10), H2S and NH3. These auto labs will contribute to better territorial coverage and to completing data sent in by the national air monitoring network. The project worth a total of over RON 53 million is implemented by the Ministry of Environment in partnership with the National Agency for Environment and Protected Areas, the National Environmental Guard and the ‘Elie Carafoli’ National Institute for Aerospace Research and Development – INCAS Bucharest,” Fechet added.
AGERPRES
