Abstract
The reports concerning air quality published by WHO and EEA showed that 33 out of 50 cities with highest concentration of particulate matter (PM)2.5 in UE are located in Poland. Various investigations identify main health outcomes to be consistently related to PM10 and PM2.5. Increased concentration of PM is responsible for 47.3 thousands of premature deaths every year in Poland. The objective of this study was the measurement-based assessment for determining whether the concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 are within admissible limits or exceeded in Silesia Province. The data provided by the Voivodship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Katowice was used in the analysis. The measurements were made in years 2009–2016 for PM2.5 and 2014–2017 for PM10 in three measurement stations: two in Katowice (capital of Silesia Province) and one in Żory. The increase in the number of excessive levels of average daily PM10 concentration in year 2017 were observed in all three measurement stations, both for the acceptable level, information and alarm level, with lack or singular excessive levels in the previous years. The increase in average annual PM2.5 concentrations in year 2016 was also observed, as compared to the previous year in all three measurement stations. The highest pollution is observed in winter. The main cause of exceeded acceptable PM concentrations in Poland is household heating systems, boilers and furnaces burnt with coal or wood, and chimneys. In Silesian Province, the air quality is poor and has deteriorated over the last year.
Highlights
In the recent years, the highest annual average concentration of particulate matter (PM)10 and PM2.5 particles in Europe has been observed in the countries located in the East-Central Europe, mainly in Poland
The relative differences in annual concentrations of the analyzed PM2.5 particles in suspension in years 2009–2016 for selected measurement stations were calculated according to the following formula: PM2.5 An arithmetic mean of concentration of PM2.5 particles in suspension calculated on the basis of average daily values for the averaging period of 1 year; PD Acceptable level of concentration of PM2.5 particles in suspension for the averaging period of 1 year for year 2015 was 25 μg/m3, whereas it has been equal to 20 μg/m3 since 2016, with achievement date in year 2020
Dates for PM10 exceeding 150 μg/m3 are presented in diagrams for better clarity
Summary
The highest annual average concentration of particulate matter (PM) and PM2.5 particles in Europe has been observed in the countries located in the East-Central Europe, mainly in Poland. The report published by World Health Organization (WHO) showed that 33 out of 50 cities with highest concentration of PM2.5 in European Union (UE) are located in Poland (WHO 2016a). Air pollution is the main environmental health risk affecting human health (Samoli et al 2005; Fenger 2009; Anderson 2009; Chang et al 2015; Li et al 2016); air quality and its health impact are major public health issues. One of the key indicators concerning air quality monitoring and urban air pollution is the concentration of the suspended PM. PM exposure limitation goals for the protection of human health are included in EU directives (EC 1999, 2008) and numerous WHO documents and guidelines (WHO 1987, 2000, 2006, 2012, 2013)
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