Air quality in Ukraine?

[JensenHealey907]

So I just made my plane reservations today for my trip to Zaporozhye. The last time I made a trip like this it was to Beijing and Tianjin China and the dusty dirty air there gave me really bad problems with my sinuses. I still have the same sinus problems so I am wondering what the air quality is like in Zaporozhye.

[JayH]

The air is not like China where you see permanent   smog like conditions-- yellow hue where the sun is coming from !! While it is often reported  as being one of the more air polluted places in the world ( it is in Ukraine industrial heartland) in practice it is not so apparent. That could be dependant on the weather-- with wind helping to clear--but   it has always been ok when I was there.
Someone will trot out some frightening chart to prove my observations are incorrect--but I have seen  far worse visible pollution in Los Angeles !!
I would not worry at all about it.

[JensenHealey907]

OK, Thanks JayH

Is there a thread or other on-line document I could read that would have advice for first time travellers to Ukraine or other eastern europe countries??

[CanadaMan]

I still have the same sinus problems so I am wondering what the air quality is like in Zaporozhye.

My experience in Zap this summer was not like JayH's at all.

Of all the cities I've visited in my life this one has to be right up there as one of the very worst, pollution-wise.
In fact, I got sick in this city.

It wasn't the steel factory so much, but rather the non-stop mashrutkas belching thick black smoke.
If you have an oxygen mask, face mask or respirator you might consider packing it to be on the safe side.

Of course your date would probably dump you if you ever tried to wear it in her presence. 

[ML]

I agree with CanadaMan; Zap was the worst city I have ever encountered regarding air pollution.  Anyone should avoid it, and especially those with any sort of allergy and sinus problems.

[TomT]

Normally, I am a proponent of visiting a girl in her home town but spending a lot of time in Zap would be ill-advised, even for people without any sort of respiratory distress. If someone has a girl there, he ought to get her out as soon as possible.

[JayH]

ML & C Man--either of you been to China? My first thoughts when I read your comments was to ask  what time of the year you were there?
I have been there in the summer but also a few times about this time of the year and in December and  I cannot say I noticed at all. Certainly nothing like China where  many wear surgical masks on the street!!
Take note-- I am not disputing what the data collected says-- but it does not accord with my observation or recollection.

[JensenHealey907]

I found the following quote in an article about air pollution in Ukraine.

Air pollution is especially severe in many of the heavily industrialized cities and towns of southeastern Ukraine, notably in Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia. Coal-using industries, such as metallurgical coke-chemical plants, steel mills, and thermal power plants are major sources of high levels of uncontrolled emissions of sulphur dioxide, dust, unburned hydrocarbons, and other harmful substances.

Maybe if I am going there at the end of November it will be better than summer but it really doesn't sound good.

[JensenHealey907]

Hmm, it sounds like water pollution is also not good there either if this article is to be believed:

Almost all surface waters of Ukraine belong to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov basins. The high population density, heavy industrial development, and relatively low freshwater endowment of those basins, and the low governmental priority placed upon environmental protection until very recently, have given rise to chronic and serious levels of water pollution throughout Ukraine. The Dnister and the Danube are included among the most polluted bodies of water in the territory of the former Soviet Union. Hundreds of small rivers supply water for three-quarters of the villages and half of Ukraine's cities. Widespread fear is growing in Ukraine that a substantial fraction of those water arteries are so polluted as to pose fatal health risks to the people who depend on them. About half of the chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides applied in the fields are washed off into rivers. Moreover, surface runoff from industrial territories is highly contaminated.

This article can be found at: http://ukraineatpresent.com/Pollution_in_Ukraine_p_49

[JayH]

I recommend not drinking the water-bottled water readily available. Also careful when cleaning teeth. Others have taken no notice of any of that and are here to tell the tale.!!
OP-- where do you live in the US of A ?

[Shadow]

All the people living there manage to survive. Do as they do and you will be fine 

[mendeleyev]

the end of November it will be better than summer

This is the time of the year when cloud cover, steam heating plants, and vehicle emissions are going to be noticeable. Will it be as bad as your experience in China? No. But a face mask is not unusual in some cities although I wouldn't wear one when together if she doesn't.

[JensenHealey907]

Thanks for the advice everyone. It is very helpful. I will be taking some of the paper disposable face masks along.

[GQBlues]

...
My experience in Zap this summer was not like JayH's at all....

I agree with CanadaMan; Zap was the worst city I have ever encountered regarding air pollution...

You're both wrong, JayH is spot on. The OP should listen to him instead. He's the fcoking expert. I believe that's probably the reason why he gets banned from message boards. The dude's a wiz...
 
Yes OP, you should 'believe what JayH tells you. He would have you believe the metallurgic particle in Zap's air is great for your health so no need to get all paranoid. Make sure you take a lot of deep breathes soon as you get there. It's good to get those particles wrapped in petroleum-based dust deep inside your lungs.
 
The dude definitely knows what he's talking about. I just have no idea why he keeps bringing China up into the conversation. Was the OP also thinking of visiting China?
 
If China is being used as a comparable measuring stick then shouldn't that be a barometer in of itself to begin with?
 
"How hot is it in Ukraine? Well, compared to the surface of the sun, it ain't so bad...."

[LAman]

And here I thought Mariupol had the worst pollution.......

[LAman]

The air is not like China where you see permanent   smog like conditions-- yellow hue where the sun is coming from !! While it is often reported  as being one of the more air polluted places in the world ( it is in Ukraine industrial heartland) in practice it is not so apparent. That could be dependant on the weather-- with wind helping to clear--but   it has always been ok when I was there.
Someone will trot out some frightening chart to prove my observations are incorrect--but I have seen  far worse visible pollution in Los Angeles !!
I would not worry at all about it.

Reeeeeally??????Yea, maybe around 30 years ago. No charts needed here.....
Not only in the factories but vehicles running around resemble chimney stacks with thick black smoke coming out. No AQMD's in Ukraine.
BTW, any other cities that change their gasoline formula between winter/summer ??
 

[GQBlues]

...Someone will trot out some frightening chart to prove my observations are incorrect--but I have seen  far worse visible pollution in Los Angeles !!...

Of course. I'm glad you expected that. That's usually the case when you're just talking out of your butt without a clue what's coming out of it.
 
So, do you really know the PM10 difference between LA and Zap / Ukraine is, or, you're just blowing smoke out of your butt?

[TomT]

And here I thought Mariupol had the worst pollution.......

By Western standards, the whole damn country is polluted but the industrial cities present the greatest health risks. Writing that one should not worry about the pollution there because it compares well to China raises being wacked to a higher plateau.

[CanadaMan]

ML & C Man--either of you been to China? My first thoughts when I read your comments was to ask  what time of the year you were there?

Yes I have been to China.
My experience in Zap was worse than in China (wrt air pollution).
I already said what time of year I was in Zap.

[CanadaMan]

All the people living there manage to survive.

Sure they survive, but probably live a life that is 10-20 years shorter than in the west.

Do as they do and you will be fine 

Hopefully. As I said, I got sick from the city.
I wouldn't return to Zap if someone paid me.

[JensenHealey907]

CanadaMan
How long did you stay in Zap before you got sick?
I am only going to be there for two to three days on this trip.

[pokerintherear]

Jeez

I wonder what goes through the women's mind when they makes contact with men who are scared of their own shadow.

[Daveman]

Yeah, the air in Ukraine is very screwed in the industrial areas.  I spent a day in Enakievo, which is about an hour or so away from Donetsk (decided to go exploring), there was a coating of black dust on everything.  No joke.  You could see the white of the snow through a veil of grey blackness.  Absolutely unbelievable.


Compared to Enakievo, Zap is great.  Compared to rural farm land, it isn't so great.  I doubt you'll feel ill effects within three days. 

[CanadaMan]

CanadaMan
How long did you stay in Zap before you got sick?
I am only going to be there for two to three days on this trip.

I got sick in the first couple of days.
I was there for a week, but it felt like a month. 

[JayH]

I got sick in the first couple of days.
I was there for a week, but it felt like a month. 

Have you been there more than once? How often?  btw-- you did not define how you were sick?

I am asking in the context of this thread-- your personal experience does not match mine and I have been there a few times.You got sick--I did not-- and I am certain many others have been there without being ill.