Summary of anti-smog activities in Małopolska in 2017

We have summarized the effects of the actions in Małopolska Region in the fight against smog in 2017. The prepared document contains information on the effects of local government activities. The entities showed activities that directly or indirectly affected the improvement of air quality in Małopolska, presented, among others, achieved environmental effects and expenses incurred.

Liquidation of coal furnaces and boilers

On 1 July 2017, an anti-smog resolution for the Małopolska region, adopted by the Assembly of the Małopolska Region, entered into force. It prohibited the use of new boilers and fireplaces that do not meet the ecodesign requirements, the use of coal sludge and flotoconcentrates, and biomass with a moisture content above 20%. At the same time, a transitional anti-smog resolution for Krakow came into force, which introduced a ban on the burning of poor quality coal and moist biomass.

In 2017, a total of 10,081 boilers for solid fuels were liquidated in Małopolska. In recent years, the scale of liquidation of boilers has been systematically  growing  – in 2017 there were 37% more than in 2016, 127% more compared to 2015 and three times more than in 2014. Among the exchanges of low-efficiency fuel devices, for gas heating (72%) and  new solid fuel boilers (19%) dominated.

Investments in this area were carried out in 87 municipalities from the Małopolska region, while in 2016 only in 48 municipalities (81% increase). Municipalities in which the largest number of devices were liquidated were: Kraków (6,114), Miechów (459), Tarnów (183), Skawina (179) and Zabierzów (135).

Map: Number of coal furnaces and boilers liquidated in 2017 in the Małopolska municipalities.

A total of over  28 km of new heating networks were build, to which nearly 600 new heat consumers were connected and nearly 220 km of new gas networks with a connection of almost 30,000 new gas recipients. Also in 771 buildings thermal renovation was completed and 1,446 new renewable energy sources were installed.

Activities in the area of ​​low emission reduction undertaken by municipalities and poviats allowed in 2017 to reduce the emission of PM10 by 280.9 Mg and PM2,5 by 246.2 Mg. The emission of benzo(a)pyrene has been reduced by 144 kg.

Controls and educational activities

83 municipalities have taken measures to control the incineration of waste by residents. In 2017, a total of 16,200 inspections were carried out in which 1,200 non-compliance (7.2% of all controls) were detected. The fines were imposed in the total amount of 79,000 PLN and 44 cases were referred to the court.

In 73 communes, inspections were carried out to comply with the requirements of the anti-smog resolution. In total, nearly 11,000 controls were conducted resulting in over 300 cases of non-compliance with the resolution. In the majority of municipalities, controls in the scope of compliance with anti-smog resolutions were carried out together with controls on the incineration of waste or plant residues.

Map: Number of waste incineration inspections carried out in 2017 in the Małopolska municipalities.

In the municipalities and poviats of the Małopolska Region, a total of 1,100 actions or educational campaigns in the field of air protection were organized, in which 400,000 participants took part.

83 municipalities have prepared and updated a database of contacts to schools and health centers in order to provide notifications from poviat crisis management centers about the occurrence of high levels of pollution. 121 municipalities and 14 poviats declared that they publish on the website announcements about high air pollution.

Reduction of emissions from transport

Municipalities in Małopolska also undertook activities in the field of reducing transport emissions. The most important of them are:

• A new Park & ​​Ride car park has been opened for use in Krakow (Kurdwanów).
• 14 municipalities carried out 634 inspections of vehicles leaving the construction site. In addition, 12 municipalities conduct regular washing of major roads at least once a week, and 7 municipalities and 2 poviats every 2 weeks.
• A total of 123 low-emission urban transport vehicles were purchased , including 99 in Kraków itself.
• In total, around 130 km of new bicycle paths were build in Małopolska, and 16 municipalities carried out campaigns promoting the use of bicycles for transport.
• Poviats conducted  453 inspections of vehicle diagnostic stations. 94 cases of irregularities in the field of emission tests or technical condition of the vehicle were detected during the inspection.

Costs of activities in the field of air protection

The total cost of implementation of activities related to the implementation of the Air Quality Plan in 2017 amounted to 770.4 million PLN. Including:

• 119.6 million PLN for the liquidation of old heating devices,
• 84.5 million PLN for the expansion and modernization of heating networks,
• 131.8 million PLN for thermal modernization of buildings,
• 25.7 million PLN for investments in renewable energy sources,
• 174.2 million PLN for repairs and hardening of road surfaces,
• 5.8 million PLN for improving the organization of car traffic in cities,
• 164.9 million PLN for the development of public transport.

Change in the level of pollutants in the air

Air quality in Małopolska in 2017 did not change significantly compared to the previous year. The average annual concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 were comparable to last year’s values. According to the air quality assessment performed by the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Kraków, exceeding the admissible value of PM10 and the target level of benzo(a)pyrene occurred in all zones of the Małopolska Region.

Measurements have shown that the worst air quality in Małopolska occurred at measuring stations in:

• Brzeszcze (the highest in Małopolska: the number of days exceeding the permissible concentration of PM10 daily average: 130 days, average annual concentration of PM10: 64 μg/m³, average annual concentration of benzo(a)pyrene: 23 ng/m³),
• Krakow, Al. Krasińskiego (the number of days exceeding the permissible concentration of PM10 daily average: 130 days, average annual concentration of PM10: 55 μg/m³, the highest annual average concentration of nitrogen dioxide: 61 μg/m³),
• Krakow, ul. Dietla (number of days exceeding the permissible concentration of PM10 daily average: 103 days, average annual concentration of PM10: 49 μg/m³, annual average concentration of nitrogen dioxide: 42 μg/m³),
• Nowy Targ (number of days exceeding the permissible concentration of PM10 daily average: 100 days, average annual concentration of PM10: 47 μg/m³, average annual concentration of benzo(a)pyrene: 14.6 ng/m³, the highest annual average concentration of sulfur dioxide: 14.5 μg/m³),
• Nowy Sącz (number of days exceeding the permissible concentration of PM10 daily average: 91 days, average annual concentration of PM10: 43 μg/m³, average annual concentration of benzo(a)pyrene: 10.0 ng/m³).

Check also the effects of the implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Małopolska Region in previous years:

The summary has been prepared on the basis of reports prepared by all municipalities and poviats of the Małopolska Region, data obtained from the inventory database for heating buildings in Małopolska (as at 24/10/2018) and the annual Air Quality Assessment for the Małopolska Region. The report was prepared as part of activity D.1. “Monitoring of the effects of the implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Małopolska Region” as part of the project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Małopolska Region – Małopolska in a healthy atmosphere “, LIFE-IP MALOPOLSKA, LIFE14 IPE/PL/021 co-financed from the LIFE program of the European Union.