Invitation to participate in comparative measurements of particulate matter sensors for PM10

Informing residents of excess airborne levels is one of the key actions in the fight for clean air in the Malopolska Region. Recently, a wide range of particulate matter concentration measurement equipment is available on the market, which is of great interest to both the residents and local governments of the Malopolska Region.

The Malopolska Region, in co-operation with the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, the Voivodship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Krakow, the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow and the Smog Alert Association, plans to organize comparative measurements of the PM10 sensors available on the market. The purpose is to verify and evaluate the reliability of the widely available measurement devices by comparing the results obtained with the results obtained by the Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection reference method.

The planned date of the commencement of measurements is January 16, 2017. The estimated measurement time is about 5 months. The measurements will be conducted at the Main Inspectorate of Environmental Protection. The condition of participation in the planned measurement is the provision of the minimum of 2 measuring sensors that measure the PM10 with mid-hourly values. The results of the measurements will be sent to the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection and compared with the results of the measurement station located there. The comparative action will be summarized with a report. The report will be published and widely accessible to municipalities and residents.

We are pleased to invite the entities offering the PM10 measurement equipment to participate in the planned action. Please kindly e-mail us to: powietrze@umwm.pl. The rules of participation and details of the event will be presented to the interested parties in the near future.

The Malopolska Region Management Board adopted a draft anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region. This is a document which, from mid-next-year, is to introduce a complete ban on the burning of coal muds and floatation concentrates in furnaces and fireplaces throughout the region and eliminating the installation of boilers that do not meet ecodesign standards.

The most important assumptions of the anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region is the limitation of the creation of new low emission sources and the ban on the installation of the so-called “smokers”, boilers that do not meet any emission standards. The resolution also intends to introduce a ban on using coal muds and floatation concentrates and wet wood (with a moisture content of over 20%) from July 2017. At the moment, 800 000 tons of coal muds, coal waste – mainly in the Malopolska and Silesian Regions – are for sales. As a result, more than 98% of the inhabitants of the region breathe the air exceeding the permissible levels of carcinogenic benzo (a) pyrene up to 10 times, and over 4 000 people die each year from diseases caused by the polluted air. The cost of treatment for patients with air pollution and their absence from work is estimated at PLN 3 billion per year.

Residents will have time by the end of 2022 to comply with the provisions of the existing heating system and if the boiler meets the emission requirements of at least at the level of class 3, this period will be extended by the end of 2026.

The content of the draft resolution is available at www.powietrze.malopolska.pl/antysmogowa. Comments and proposals for the draft document can be addressed by January 5, 2017, using the e-mail: powietrze@umwm.pl or in a written form to: the Marshal Office of the Malopolska Region, Environment Department, 56 Racławicka, 30-017 Krakow.

You are invited to participate in the conference “Air beyond borders – anti-smog resolution as a tool to improve air quality” which will take place on 23 November 2016 at the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow. After the conference, from 4:00 pm, a consultative meeting of the draft Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region will start.

Conference program:

12:00 am-12:20 am Welcome of the participants – Wojciech Kozak, Deputy Marshal of the Malopolska Region

12:20 am-12:40 am Actions planned for improvement of air quality in the Malopolska Region – Tomasz Pietrusiak, Deputy Director of the Environment Department, the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region

12:40 am-1:40 pm Strategy for improving air quality in Poland – moderated panel discussion with experts and opinions from the room
Moderator: Mr. Jacek Bańka – Radio Krakow
Participants:
– Wojciech Kozak –Deputy Marshal of the Malopolska Region,
– Marzena Wodzińska – Member of the Board of the Wielkopolska Region,
– Representative of the Ministry of Development,
– Blanka Romanowska – Head of the Department of Planning and Reporting and Environmental Policy, the Marshal’s Office of the Silesian Region,
– Maciej Zathey – Director of the Institute for Territorial Development in Wroclaw,
– Marcin Podgórski – Director of the Department of Waste Management and Integrated and Water Authorities, the Marshal’s Office of the Mazowieckie Region,
– Andrzej Guła – President of the Krakow Smog Alert.

1:40 pm-2:00 pm Coffee break

2:00 pm-3:00 pm Solutions for the improvement of air quality at the municipality level with respect to the anti-smog resolution, moderated discussion panel with experts and opinions from the room
Moderator: Mr. Jacek Bańka – Radio Krakow
Participants:
– Witold Śmiałek – Advisor to the Mayor of Cracow for Air Quality,
– Mateusz Klinowski – Mayor of Wadowice,
– Wiktor Łukaszczyk – Deputy Mayor of the City of Zakopane,
– Marta Wieciech-Kumięga – Director of the Department of Environmental Protection, Municipal Office of Nowy Sącz,
– Marek Kaczanowski – Director of the Department of Environmental Protection, Tarnow City Office.

3:00 pm-3:30 pm Lunch

For organizational reasons, please confirm your participation in the conference by e-mail: ewa.dabrowska@umwm.pl

Consultations concerning the draft Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region

4:00 pm-4:15 pm an update draft of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Aneta Lochno – ATMOTERM SA

4:15 pm-4:25 pm Opinion on the draft updating the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Anna Majchrzak – NILU Poland

4:25 pm-5:30 pm Speeches and discussions as part of the consultation of the draft Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region

The testing carried out by the Krakow Smog Alert within the implementation of the integrated LIFE project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere” indicates that only one fifth of the single-family buildings in the Malopolska Region is heated with sources that do not adversely affect air quality.

Coal and wood are used to heat over 400 000 single-family houses. As many as 60% of houses (300 000 households) have boilers that can burn everything, including poor quality coal or rubbish. What is more, more than 50% of these boilers are old devices – 12 years and over. Devices of this type are called “smokers” just because of the smoke that gets out of them and the huge amount of pollution that they release in use.

Such a state of affairs makes the residential sector the main source of particulate matter and benzo(a)pyrene pollution in our region. Emissions from low chimneys (mainly houses) account for 57% of PM10 emissions in our Region, 69% of PM2.5 emissions and over 90% of benzo(a)pyrene emissions.

27% of the Malopolska Region houses (142 000) do not have any external thermal insulation. In the houses, the heat energy, instead of heating the space, escapes through the non-insulated walls.

Most owners of single-family houses (77%) do not currently think about replacing boilers. This means that without the regulation and financial support programs in the coming years there will be no significant progress in the elimination of smog sources.

Report on the technical condition of single-family houses in the Malopolska Region

By November 30, 2016, there will be a public consultation on the draft resolution of the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region on updating the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region.

The subject of the document are long-term corrective measures, a short-term action plan and details of the issues related to inventory of emission sources, air quality analysis and description of the economic, ecological conditions and local selected directions of corrective measures.

The Program is available on the Public Information Bulletin of the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region in the Project Consultation section and at the address powietrze.malopolska.pl/aktualizacja-pop/

Comments and requests for the draft document can be sent electronically to the following e-mail address: powietrze@umwm.pl or in writing to: the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region, Environment Department, 56 Racławicka, 30-017 Krakow.

The authority competent for the consideration of the comments and motions is the Management Board of the Malopolska Region.

In addition, the public consultation will include an open consultation meeting for all of the interested persons held on 23 November 2016 at 4:00 pm in the seat of the Polish Aviation Museum, 39 Jana Pawła II 39 in Krakow.

The draft of the Program will be submitted to the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region by the end of January 2017.

It was a great day for the Malopolska Region during the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels. On October 12, Mr. Tomasz Pietrusiak – Deputy Director of the Environment Department of the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region was pleased to present the LIFE Project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere”. This is the best integrated project of all of the 39 from across the EU which were submitted in the competition in 2015. Mr. Tomasz was invited by the European Commission, we are glad that other countries can benefit from the experience of the Malopolska Region!

Pictures from the event

The development of the update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region includes an analysis of the variants of the introduction of the anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region. It is a priority to stop the increasing number of new low emission sources. Currently, despite the replacement of approx. 4 000 coal boilers annually, at the same time, approx. 12 000 new sources that do not have to meet any emission standards are installed. The anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region can introduce an obligation for the new sources – already after the adoption of the resolution in 2017 to meet the requirements of class 5. At the same time, the burning of coal muds and floatation concentrates will be eliminated, and only dry, seasoned wood will be required for the wood to ensure cleaner and more efficient combustion. The regulation can also set the target year 2023 by which all non-class boilers should be replaced with Class 5 boilers. This solution will enable local resources of Polish coal and the wood to be utilized in modern and high-efficiency heating systems, thus enabling the Malopolska Region’s air quality standards meeting the standard requirements.

The estimated total costs of the implementation of the obligation to use Class 5 boilers by 2023 is approx. PLN 4.8 billion, financed in part by external sources. However, the reduction of pollutant emissions as a result of the implementation of the anti-smog resolution in the variant of Class 5 boilers will enable achieving target savings of health costs estimated at PLN 2.8 billion per year.

The preparation of the update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region included an analysis of the effects of various options for low emission reduction measures. They clearly demonstrated that both the continuation of the current activities without regulating boiler emissions at the level of the Region as well as the regulations which introduce milder requirements of Class 3 or 4 bring no sufficient effects in the form of compliance with air quality standards. While it would be possible to meet the average annual standards for PM10, the achievement of the PM2.5 standards in force since 2020 and the achievement of the target level of benzo (a) pyrene on a significant area requires the use of modern solid fuel boilers of at least Class 5. Even in this variant, reaching the target levels of benzo (a) pyrene on sensitive areas will require additional measures – twin actions to reduce low emissions in the Silesian Region in order to reduce the inflow of pollutants to the western Malopolska Region and the preferences (e.g. under co-financing schemes) for the development of district heating networks and clean sources of heat in major cities of the Malopolska Region, e.g. Nowy Sącz, Nowy Targ, Bochnia, Wadowice, Miechów.

With the start of the Malopolska Region’s requirements for grants provided only for the modern Class 5 boilers, the boiler manufacturers have made significant progress in the last 2 years in the construction of modern devices. At present, more than 30 boiler models of at least fifteen different manufacturers meet the requirements of the highest emission class and new models undergo accredited testing every month. A list of low-emission heating devices is provided on the website www.powietrze.malopolska.pl/kotly

Adopting the anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region, introducing the requirement of the use of Class 5 boilers is an opportunity for the development of Polish companies producing modern and high-efficiency heating devices using local resources of coal and wood. Since 2020, the EU regulations will ban the sale of boilers that do not meet the so-called Ecodesign requirements, i.e. pollutant emissions corresponding to Class 5. The Ministry of Development is planning to limit the sales of boilers below Class 5 from 2018. The introduction of an anti-smog resolution in the Malopolska Region will enable avoiding the increased distribution of non-standard heating appliances before the date of entry of the EU and national regulations. Thanks to this, the Malopolska Region will not become an outlet for non-class heating devices, which would result in the maintenance of high emissions for subsequent years of operation.

Analysis of the variants of the anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region

The Provincial Administrative Court in Krakow dismissed the filed complaints against the resolution of the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region of 15 January 2016 on the introduction of restrictions on the operation of fuel combustion installations in the municipality of Krakow. The Court in Cracow confirmed that the resolution was adopted lawfully while maintaining the required elements and procedure.

Adoption by the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region of the anti-smog resolution for Krakow introducing the total ban on the use of solid fuels in boilers, stoves and fireplaces starting from 1 September 2019 is the answer to the demands of the Krakow residents for radical measures to improve air quality. The voices of the residents were backed up by the Mayor of the City of Krakow and unanimously supported by the Krakow City Council being in favor of the prepared solution. In the public consultation, 4 600 people (96.5% of those taking part in the consultations) explicitly supported the adoption of a total ban on the use of solid fuels in Krakow.

The Management Board of the Malopolska Region consistently strived to adopt a solution for Krakow that would be adequate to the scale of air pollution levels and the topographical and meteorological conditions characteristic to that city, which would have a greater effect on the accumulation of pollutants. Despite the unfavorable judgments of the Court and the NSA against the previous resolution of 2013, the anti-smog resolution of 2015 inspired by the Malopolska Region and conducted by Tadeusz Arkita enabled the preparation and adoption of a resolution aimed at improving air quality in Krakow.

The anti-smog resolution for Krakow has proved successful after the first few years, as it translates into a significant amount of liquidated coal furnaces. In this respect Krakow is the leader – over 10 thousand boilers liquidated in the last 3 years in the Malopolska Region, as many as 7 800 in Krakow itself. This means a reduction in PM10 emissions by about 277 tons and PM2.5 by about 275 tons and carcinogenic (a) pyrene by 159 kg. In Krakow, there are still approx. 15 000 coal furnaces to be liquidated in Krakow.

The adoption of the anti-smog resolution for Krakow was necessary in order to improve air quality in the shortest possible time. The actions undertaken so far to subsidize the replacement of ovens and coal-fired boilers, despite the involvement of large public funds, were ineffective as they did not limit the emergence of new sources of emissions. The adoption of the resolution for Krakow has also inspired other regions of Poland to take a serious interest in air quality and take steps to reduce pollution levels.

On Saturday, September 24, 2016, the Malopolska Days of Health Prevention started on the Main Market Square in Krakow. Participants of the event at the anti-smog stand of the Environment Department of the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region were able to take advantage of free spirometry (examining lung capacity) in at a specialist mobile point.

During the event, a total of about 60 free examinations were performed. Participants of the meeting could also learn more about the impact of air quality on health, as well as information on the possibilities of financing the replacement of heating systems with the green. The youngest participants of the event took part in a competition on air quality and waste prevention in which the prize was an ecological bag made of waste banners of the Malopolska Region and a booklet “Attention! Alert! Smogdragon!” issued by the Krakow Smog Alert.

The first meeting presenting the assumptions of the update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region took place in Krakow (14.09) for municipalities from the Krakow Metropolitan Area and in Tarnów (15.09) for the municipalities of the Subregion of Tarnów. Representatives of municipal authorities, organizations, enterprises and residents learned about the current air quality in the Malopolska Region, the planned major corrective actions and how they will be implemented. The main responsibilities concerning the implementation of the measures aimed at reducing air emissions rest with local authorities. During the discussion, the participants presented their suggestions and postulates on the implementation of the Program and stressed the importance of citizens’ awareness of the impact of air pollution on their own health.

Comments and postulates regarding the update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region can be sent by 30 September to powietrze@umwm.pl.

Other meetings will be held in Krakow (19.09), Nowy Sącz (20.09), Chrzanów (21.09) and Nowy Targ (22.09).

Presentation of the assumptions of the Air Quality Plan KOM 14/09/2016

Presentation of the assumptions of the Tarnów Air Quality Plan 15/09/2016