Although air quality in Europe has improved over the last decade, there are still many places where concentrations of such pollutants as particulate matter (PM) or benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) significantly exceed WHO guidelines and EU norms. Pollution with PM2,5 only was responsible for 374 000 premature deaths in EU-28 countries in 2015. In countries as Poland, air pollution kills each year over 10 times more people than all road accidents. In 2017 as many as 17 countries registered PM10 concentrations above the EU norm. The situation is the most serious in hot-spot areas. For example, in many Polish cities concentration of benzo[a]pyrene exceeds the EU norm around 10 times. [1] As research shows, air pollution is not only a problem of large urban populations. Air within rural regions is often even more polluted, especially in the heating season. This in particular relates to such pollutants as PM and carcinogenic BaP or dioxins – as they are released when coal, wood or waste is burned in household heating appliances. [2] One of the worst air pollution hot spots in Europe covers CEE countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania and Romania, i.e. countries of project leaders and partners. Localities from these countries top all rankings of air pollution with PMs or benzo[a]pyrene in Europe . Although air quality in Spain is in general better than in Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic or Romania, Lithuania there are many areas which also suffer from excessive air pollution with particulate matter and benzo[a]pyrene. Health effects of long term exposure to high particulate matter and benzo[a]pyrene concentrations range from respiratory diseases (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis), through cardiovascular diseases (heart attack, hypertension, arrhythmia, cardiac insufficiency) and diseases of the nervous system (brain stroke, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer) to different types of cancer. The main reason behind high pollution levels in CEE is reliance on solid fuels (coal, wood) for heating. The household sector constitutes the largest single source of PM10 and B[a]P emissions in the analysed countries. The table below presents its share for respective countries. In Spain, residential heating with wood accounts for nearly half of particulate matter emissions. Biomass consumption in Spain increased by 27% since 2000. Czech Republic Poland Romania Slovakia Spain Lithuania PM10 38% 52% 74% 83% 43% 55% BaP 87% 87% 63% 84% n.a. 77% Source: Informative Inventory Reports for each country prepared under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution A large portion of households in these countries continue using sold fuels (coal and wood) for space heating. In Poland alone the number of single family houses using coal and wood for heating exceeds 4 million buildings. Low quality coal and wood remain the cheapest source of heat energy. They are often mixed with waste, which significantly aggravates the problem and health effects. Transnational approach As the problem of air pollution concerns all EU countries it requires applying a transnational approach including, cooperation between the countries, experience sharing and development of joint measures. Not only because the sources of air pollution and required solutions to the problem are similar, but also because air pollution has a strong transboundary character. Project partners come mainly from one of the most serious European hot spots, i.e. CEE area. Participation of Spain will allow for diffusion of project products and results to other parts of the EU, beyond CEE. Objectives, target groups and needs The objective of this project is to raise awareness in the countries covered by the project about the problem of air pollution, its reasons, health effects and possible solutions that can be taken by inhabitants in order to mitigate the problem and reduce local air pollution. This objective will be achieved by providing training for teachers in the topic of air pollution and equipping them with innovative, interactive education materials that they will use to teach their pupils and students about the problem. One of the main project outputs will be the game. This is the response to the feedback from the previous project realised by the consortium. The teachers taking part in the pilot testing in all the countries suggested that the interactive game would be a great tool to teach about air pollution. Recent reports in Poland show that 92.7% of respondents declared that in their future work will use computer games. [3] 1.Air Quality in Europe – 2019 Report, European Environment Agency, 2019 2.See for example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-QOsHuWI0UhcldwYi1fUVd4M0E/view?usp=sharing and http://polskialarmsmogowy 3. https://depot.ceon.pl
The long-term goal of the project is to raise awareness in the targeted countries about the problem of air pollution, its causes, health effects, and possible solutions that residents can take to mitigate the problem and reduce local air pollution. We wanted to equip teachers with innovative, interactive educational materials that they will use to teach their students about the problem. This will allow them to disseminate information about air pollution in an innovative way.
Although air quality in Europe is improving, there are still many places where concentrations of pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) or benzo[a]pyrene far exceed WHO guidelines and EU standards. As studies show, air pollution is not only a problem for residents of large cities. This is especially true for pollutants such as PM and the carcinogen BaP or dioxins - as they are released when coal, wood or waste are burned in home heating appliances. One of the hot spots for air pollution in Europe includes the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania and Romania, the leader and partner countries. Although air quality in Spain is generally better there are many areas that also suffer from excessive air pollution, often caused by local biomass burning. Since the problem of air pollution affects all EU countries, it required a transnational approach involving cooperation between countries, exchange of experience and development of joint actions. This is not only because the sources of air pollution and the required solutions to the problem are similar, but also because air pollution is highly transboundary in nature.