|
Air pollution is a global problem. In Europe, ambient air quality remains poor in many areas, particularly in urban ones. Air pollutants have a significantly adverse effect on human health and ecosystems. They are the main cause of many serious illnesses and thus contribute to increased mortality. This paper analyzes the air pollutant emissions in the last four years (2018-2021) in the Upper Silesian Region, which has one of the worst air qualities in Poland and in Europe in general, and the emissions in the Lublin Region in eastern Poland, which is considered as a clean region. In each of the above-mentioned regions, the areas with the highest air pollutant emissions were specified i.e. the Upper Silesian Agglomeration and the Lublin Agglomeration. The emission data for the following pollutants: particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) have been compared. The obtained results were also compared with the estimated average emissions in Poland. It was indicated that in both agglomerations the exposure to air pollutants was on similar levels, which were several times higher than in the remaining parts of the considered regions and the average values for Poland in general. In the Silesian Agglomeration, the exposure to PM10 was over 5 times higher than the average national exposure. The exposure to PM2.5 was almost 6 times higher, the exposure to BaP was about 5 times higher, while the exposure to SOx and NOx was 16 and 10 times higher than the national average, respectively. This is reflected in the increased number of premature deaths and the number of years of life lost due to the exposure to air pollution. Therefore, the actions aimed at limiting air pollutant emissions are urgent in the above-indicated areas.
|
