Abstract
Thirty years ago, Northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic was one of the most air polluted areas in Europe. After political changes, the Czech government put forward a research program to determine if air pollution is really affecting human health. This program, later called the “Teplice Program”, was initiated in collaboration with scientists from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). This cooperation made possible the use of methods on the contemporary level. The very high concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the air showed, for the first time, the impact of air pollutants on the health of the population in mining districts: adverse pregnancy outcomes, the impact of air pollution on sperm morphology, learning disabilities in children, and respiratory morbidity in preschool children. A surprising result came from the distribution of the sources of pollution: 70% of PM10 pollution came from local heating and not from power plants as expected. Thanks to this result, the Czech government supported changes in local heating from brown coal to natural gas. This change substantially decreased SO2 and PM10 pollution and affected mortality, especially cardiovascular mortality.
Highlights
Mining districts in Northern Bohemia, the northern region in the Czech Republic, were in the late1980s one of the most air polluted regions in Europe
The Program results imply that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure in polluted air is a significant health problem for the Czech Republic: 62% of population is exposed to B[a]P concentrations higher than the EU standard of 1 ng/m3
In analyzing the sources of air pollution, approximately 70% of PM2.5 fine particles were attributed to local heating sources that used brown coal containing a high content of SO2
Summary
Mining districts in Northern Bohemia, the northern region in the Czech Republic, were in the late. Brown coal containing 1–5% sulphur was used for power plants, industry, and local heating This area is a valley sandwiched between the Ore Mountains approximately 1000 m above sea level to the north and the Middle Bohemia Highlands, approximately 800 m above sea level to the south. The average concentration of sulphur dioxide (SO2 ) in the years 1982–1990 was 103 μg/m3 , and that of total suspended particles (TSP) was 102 μg/m3 [1] Air pollution from these sources caused extensive deforestation of conifers in the Ore Mountains. Research included air pollution monitoring, human exposure, biomarker studies, and The health effectsprogram studies. That and rely included air pollution monitoring, still on burning coal for home heating.human exposure, biomarker studies, and health effects studies. Program countries still rely on burning coal for home heating
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