Region-wide assessment of the land-based sources of pollution of the BlackSea

Black Sea riparian countries have committed to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment of the Black Sea from land-based source s in accordance with Article VII of the Bucharest Convention. Gathering inf ormation on the sources of pollution was one of the basic requirements of t he Odessa Ministerial Declaration of the Black Sea countries. This paper pr esents a summary of the outcome of the studies conducted to fulfil this obl igation. The aim of this study has been limited to the point sources of was tewater discharges including domestic as well as industrial discharges. The inputs through main rivers were also included in the scope. Solid wastes d irectly or indirectly discharged or dumped into the Black Sea were not incl uded in this study. Diffuse sources, surface runoff (storm water) and air e missions were not included in the scope of the study. In this paper, total domestic, industrial and riverine pollution loads of the major pollutants s uch as BOD, TSS, TN and TP were presented for each of the six Black Sea rip arian countries after compilation of the data. Rapid assessment techniques of WHO were adopted in the study to estimate the pollutant loads of the poi nt sources. The major source of contamination to the Black Sea arises as a result of the inputs of contaminants from international rivers, especially the River Danube. The other international rivers are also crucial in the po llution of the Black Sea, although the River Danube is the dominant polluta nt source. The bet that the total riverine input is about 85% of the total pollution load of BOD demonstrates the significance of the control of the r iverine sources. Total pollution loads of each Black Sea country and their breakdown as domestic, industrial and riverine inputs were presented both i n graphical and in tabulated forms. Furthermore, the contribution of the oi l pollution and pollution exchange through straits (Kerch and Bosphorus Str aits) are also given. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of the IAWQ. All rights reserved.