Romanian Environment Ministry clashes with Ilfov authorities over state of alert for Sintești waste burning

The Ilfov County Committee for Emergency Situations has refrained from imposing a state of alert regarding the waste burning at Sintești, a locality near Bucharest infamous for this practice, despite pleas from the Environment Ministry.

The decisions were made during an extraordinary meeting of the headquarters of the County Committee for Emergency Situations on Monday, September 28.

Also in attendance was Romanian interim environment minister Diana Buzoianu, who had requested Ilfov authorities declare a state of alert following the situation generated by the illegal transport and disposal of waste, including through burning, in the Sintești area of Vidra commune.

The request, however, was denied.

“The Institution of the Prefect – Ilfov County points out that the state of alert cannot be declared outside the conditions and procedure provided by law. Such a measure must be based on an analysis of risk factors and on data provided by the institutions responsible for managing the situation,” the Ilfov Prefecture said in a press release.

According to the institution, the Ilfov Prefecture will permanently monitor developments in the Sintești area and the results of the measures ordered. Any additional measure, including the declaration of a state of alert, may be analyzed and adopted only in accordance with the law, based on objective data and an assessment of risk factors, the Ilfov Prefecture also said.

Buzoianu harshly criticized the decision in a Facebook post.

“What decision was made? That no decision would be made. Basically, the prefect came with a proposal already written to establish a working group that would return with data three weeks from now. And then this group would work, broadly speaking, to stop the phenomenon and report its actions to us monthly,” she said.

The minister argued that establishing a working group would not be effective in stopping the waste burning.

“The prefect explained to us that it was not clear from the data whether this was actually a widespread phenomenon or whether there were consequences for people's health. Astounding. I presented data showing that the air quality monitoring station in Sintești recorded moderate, poor, and very poor air quality on 80% of the days this year in 2026,” Buzoianu argued.

The minsiter pointed further to studies analyzing the link between illegal burning and the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, and respiratory conditions.