The article discusses the tools used for air quality management in the health resorts in Poland including legal instruments, documents and activities at the regional and local level with an example of formal and legal activities, such as the so-called anti-smog resolution to limit the emission of air pollutants from the municipal and housing sectors and thus minimize the risk related to air pollution. The issue of pollution emission resulting from the spatial conditions, including spatial planning, was also indicated. The analysis of the results pertaining to the PM 10 measurements from 2017-2018 available for the resorts in Lower Silesia with reference to selected resorts in other regions of Poland and the health risk assessment according to the concentration-response functions for the PM-based on long-and short-term relative risk estimates derived from epidemiological studies were conducted. The exposure assessment was based on the available mathematical modelling results for the PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentration distributions, which was performed using the CALPUFF model for 2017. In the case of average risk indicators, the obtained values indicated that the values (for all the stays and areas of all zones (total A, B and C) peaked for the Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój health resort (over 1.1% per annum) and were lowest for Czerniawa and Świeradów-Zdrój (about 0.7%). The highest relative risk indicators in 2017 were observed for cardiovascular diseases for the first two stays in January / February (for the Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój health resort-over 5%) and for both December stays (over 2.5%). In other health resorts, the risk indicators were significantly lower. The lowest health risk indicators were observed in July, regardless of the location of the health resort and the analysed health effect (rarely exceeding 0.3%). The scale of risk in this case was much higher compared to the short-term risk.
The case study selected in order to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented solutions for improving air quality with the WRF-CALMET/CALPUFF modeling system as an element of decision support was the subject of this paper. Its character can be considered unique due to its geographical location, topography and the functioning PGE GiEK S.A. Turów Power Complex (ELT), and, in particular, the PGE GiEK S.A. Turów Coal Mine (KWBT). The conducted analyses have defined three scenarios of emission changes: (1) scenario related to the activities of the energy complex resulting from the minimizing measures indicated in the report on the environmental impact of the mine, (2) scenario resulting from the so-called “anti-smog” regional resolution and (3) scenario compiling the abovementioned scenarios. According to the analyses, the lowest values of the annual mean PM2.5 concentration were noted in the eastern part of the studied area and did not exceed 14 µg/m3 (56% of the permissible level). The best results in improving air quality were proven for scenario 3, i.e., a 10% reduction in concentration values over the entire analyzed area of the commune. In the case of this scenario, as the most effective and health-promoting solution, only in 25% of the area was the improvement in the residents’ health below 5%, while the reduction in the estimated number of premature deaths by over 15% was observed in nearly one third of the studied area.
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