Speaking at a ceremony held on Tuesday in the presence of Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, to commemorate the ‘Day of Clean Earth’, head of the Department of Environment (DOE), Masoumeh Ebtekar said once current administration took office in August 2013, pollution in mega cities especially in the capital was so high that tackling the problem seemed unimaginable.
She continued: "Despite this, we could overcome the problem which is a great achievement and it is mainly the result of perseverance and reasonable initiatives taken by Petroleum Minister on the one hand and oil refineries cooperation on the other."
DOE’s chief noted that distribution of eruo-4 gasoline, elimination of aromatics and benzene, reducing the amount of sulfur in the air and dramatic reduction of using fuel oil by power plants were big achievements over the last year in efforts to improve the quality of air.
“In 2012 and 2013 the level of pollution in Tehran was so high that there was no other solution than closing schools and offices but in 2014 despite less rainfall and air sustainability the number of clean and healthy days rose in cities like Tehran, Esfahan, Tabriz and Arak remarkably so that schools and offices did not suspend their activities for even a single day, implying our efforts bore fruit and we have taken steps in a right path”, DOE official said.
Ebtekar pointed that in order to eliminate pollution the capital has a long road ahead because Tehran with around 5 million cars and motorcycles is struggling with numerous problems.
She said despite this, "we are determined to find out adequate solutions to reduce pollution".
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