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Smog in Poland is an increasingly serious problem not only in large urban agglomerations, but also in smaller towns, where houses are heated with coal and other environmentally harmful heating materials. Smog poisons and contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, shortening the life expectancy of people exposed to it. Scientific studies show that inhaling smog reduces life expectancy by 1,8 years, which is more than alcohol and drug abuse, or even cigarette smoking.
What is smog in Poland and where does it come from?
Smog is air pollution with fine dust generated during burning in domestic stoves and emitted by car exhaust pipes. Smog may contain sulfur compounds, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, soot, dust and other substances harmful to health that irritate the respiratory tract and poison the body. Contrary to popular belief, the most serious source of smog and the problems associated with it is not the automotive industry (millions of cars on the roads and their exhaust fumes), but households. They produce more than half of the total airborne dust emissions, 85% of PAH emissions and almost 100% of pollutants generated by burning toxic substances, for example plastic garbage, tires and other poisonous waste. In Poland, this problem is particularly serious, because many people are not yet sufficiently aware that by saving on fuel (by burning garbage), they are putting their health and life at risk and that of their loved ones. As many as 15 of the Polish cities are on the list of cities with the most polluted air. The worst smog situation in Poland is in Kraków and Lower Silesia. However, even in smaller towns, such as Zakopane in the mountain valley, the air quality in the heating season leaves much to be desired. According to the WHO, the concentration of airborne fine dusts (PM2,5) in recent years in Poland has been many times higher than the permissible level. Only Bulgaria fared worse than our country in European countries.
How harmful is smog?
In India, where smog is the highest, the average life expectancy of people living in large agglomerations and forced to inhale polluted air is lower than the average by as much as 11 years. Smog in Poland is not (yet) such a dramatic situation, but it is nevertheless more and more burdensome and harmful. According to a study commissioned by the National Health Fund at the turn of January and February 2017, when a record high concentration of PM10 dust in the air was recorded, a very high number of deaths was also recorded – there were as much as 23,5% more than in the previous year. According to the estimates of the National Health Fund, as much as 12% of all deaths in Poland are caused by poor quality of the air we breathe.
How to deal with smog?
On winter days, when the air quality is often bad or very bad, it is best not to leave the house at all. It is worth following the smog map in Poland on an ongoing basis and on days when the concentration of poisonous dust in the air is high, do not stay in the air for too long. It is also worth installing an air purifier in the apartment, because smog from the outside gets into the apartment through windows and vents. The problem of smog in Poland should of course be solved in a different way than by warning citizens against leaving home on certain days. In Poland, the so-called anti-smog act is in force, which obliges owners of houses heated with stoves to replace heating boilers with more safe and environmentally friendly ones. Unfortunately, even despite subsidies for the replacement of the furnace, still too few people decide to take such a step. Also, despite warnings and penalties, garbage is still burned in stoves in many homes. Some countries are considering installing special ‘vacuum cleaners’ for the air. These are devices installed on the roofs of buildings, designed to purify the air from dust suspended in it. For now, such a solution is not considered in our country. It is estimated that with the current actions and counting on the good will of citizens, air quality in Poland will improve (in some places) only in 100 years. Until then, we have to wear anti-smog masks or limit leaving the house on winter days.