Solutions maximizing environmental, social and economic effects governing the combustion of solid fuels in individual energy source used by households in Poland

Abstract

The effect of smog is one of the most important environmental problems in Poland today. According to a research [1], the main source of this situation is low-stack emissions. It is primarily responsible for the appearance of suspended dust and benzo(a)pyrene in the air. In the last few years, a broad social campaign was launched in Poland, followed by a legislative action to significantly reduce the problem of low-stack emissions and, in consequence, smog. These measures are based mainly on the CAFE Directive [2], the Environmental Protection Act [3] and the National Air Protection Program [4]. As a result, there are now so-called mass-produced in Poland: anti-smog resolutions and Low-Stack Emission Reduction Programs (PONE). In this article, author presented the results of simulating the impact of these decisions on environmental (level of reduction of suspended particulate matter and benzo(a)pyrene), but also social aspects (decrease in employment in mining and related industries) and their economic consequences (related general economic). Selected documents concerning the limitations and changes in the range of used furnaces and types of fuels by the households, analytical data from Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) (including Local Data Bank (BDL) of the Polish Central Statistical Office) [5] and own calculations are the base for this analysis. On the basis of the obtained results, in the final part of the work, author proposed the method of elimination of low-stack emission, which will take into account the environmental, social and, consequently, economic aspects.