Coal and other waste from mines containing heavy metals and other carcinogenic substances were the most toxic and will be burned in stoves that Poles have at home for another two years. The Ministry of Energy, under the pressure of the anti-smog movement, has finally signed a regulation that prohibits the sale of such materials, but it will not come into force until June 30, 2020.
- The anti-smog movement in Poland has reason to be happy. Under pressure from anti-smg activists and pressure from the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Health, it was finally possible to force the Ministry of Energy to admit that coal quality standards are necessary in Poland and that coal waste must be eliminated from the market – sludge, fleets and the worst coal coal
- Unfortunately, the joy is partial, because the regulation issued by the Ministry of Energy will only apply in two years. Instead of introducing a ban that would apply immediately, Minister Tchórzewski postponed the deadline. Until June 30, 2020, the mines, without any restrictions, will be able to sell to their homes damp and sulphated dust, half of which is non-flammable waste and water
Once again, the Ministry of Energy puts the interests of the mining sector and the profitability of production over the interests of the health of the inhabitants of Poland – the Ministry of Energy provides us with the Polish equivalent of dieselgate, making the regulation of the Ministry of Development on emission standards for boilers a fiction – both the environment and the users of new ones will suffer. boilers that, under the influence of poor coal, will lose their efficiency – says Andrzej Guła from the Polish Anti-Smog Movement.
The ban on selling the worst dust and post-production waste is of key importance to reducing air pollution. Coal waste contains increased amounts of heavy metals and other hazardous substances.
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The regulation is good news, but it’s hard to be happy about. We have to answer the question whose interest is closer to us, as a society, – says PAS leader Andrzej Guła – of the coal sector or of the entire society suffering from burning bad coal. We have the right to require ME to take into account not only the financial situation of coal companies, but above all the interests of all Polish residents – he adds.
– It is outrageous – says Guła – the granting of a reduced tariff for mines for the next two heating seasons. It is worth recalling that the government’s Clean Air program announced that the ban on trading in the worst coal would enter into force in the first half of 2017. Now we learn that it will happen more than three years after the announced date. Not only this year, but also the next two years, will be marked by poor quality coal.
The Ministry of Energy did not take into account most of the demands made by the anti-smog movement, the local government side and several ministries, including the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology and the Ministry of Health. And so, in addition to coal waste and poor-quality fines, thicker coals with very poor parameters – high sulfur, ash or moisture content will also be available in trade. The Ministry of Energy allowed the sale of coals with a sulfur content of up to 1,7%, while according to experts it should not exceed 0,8%. The Ministry of the Environment proposed lowering the maximum permissible level to 1,2%, the Ministry of Health and the Polish Smog Alert to 0,8%.
Contrary to the postulates, no classification of coal has been introduced, which would facilitate making informed consumer choices. Class 5 boilers require fuel of sufficient quality to meet the emission standards. The parameters of coal (the so-called eco-pea coal) proposed by the Minister of Energy do not allow the achievement of these standards. Thus, the real level of pollutants emitted from this type of boilers will differ from the level of emissions achieved in the laboratory, where the boilers are certified on carefully selected coal samples of very high quality.
Pursuant to the recently amended Act on the Fuel Quality Monitoring and Control System, the regulation is to be periodically reviewed every two years.