Air pollution costs crores

In fact, in the fight to save the climate, good news is very rare. It has long been known that coal used for energy production emits many harmful chemicals into the atmosphere that threaten health and life . Science has widely shown that the effects of fine particles from the burning of fossil fuels cause many serious diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Dust particles, along with inhaled polluted air, are deposited in the airways and alveoli of the lungs. They are expelled from them too slowly, making them accumulate in the body, causing serious risks. Despite this knowledge, coal still remains the main source of energy. The International Energy Agency reports that global coal consumption has risen to an unprecedented 8.3million tons in 2022. A possible decline is not expected until 2025, but this is nothing certain.

Continuing to emit greenhouse gases at such high levels brings climate and health catastrophe an alarming step closer. A recent study published in the scientific journal Sience provides further disturbing evidence that CO2 emissions are causing far more harm than previously thought. It turns out that air pollution particles from coal-fired power plants are twice as likely to cause premature deaths as particles from other sources. Fine PM 2.5 particles emitted from coal combustion contain sulfur dioxide, making them more deadly than other types of PM 2.5. A U.S. study of Medicare patients found that 460,000 deaths between 1990 and 2020 were caused precisely by the presence of these particles in the air. In places where modern technology and appropriate industrial filters have been installed, mortality has slowly begun to fall, a clear sign that measures that exclude coal burning, or at least reduce particulate emissions, are having a good effect.

It is worth bearing in mind a study conducted by an international team of scientists, which compared data on deaths with satellite data provided by NASA on atmospheric particulate matter and atmospheric chemistry. The results show that in 2019, 8.3 million deaths worldwide could be attributed to particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3), of which 61 percent (5.1 million) were due to the burning of fossil fuels. And even though it is difficult for these studies to conclusively indicate that fossil fuels alone are the cause of the deaths, the ( negative) results surprised the researchers themselves. From all the studies carried out in recent years, it is beyond any doubt that mortality caused by particulate matter pollution in the air is not only not declining, but is actually increasing.

The most dangerous to health and life are PM2.5 particles, whose c diameter does not exceed 2.5 μm (micrometer). Their size makes them easily penetrate the lungs, and further into the bloodstream. The WHO has determined that, on average over the year, PM2.5 concentrations in the air should not exceed 5 µg/m3 but the European Union as a whole still does not meet these standards. In Poland, the average annual concentration of PM2.5 particles was 18.1 µg/m3, almost four times higher than the WHO limit, which gives us the infamous leading position in European statistics. This is the worst result in the entire Union. We also rank first in the number of deaths caused by regular breathing of polluted air. In 2021, only PM2.5 particulate matter killed 47,300 people in Poland, and when we add the victims of nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone - the number rises to 53,400.

A study conducted for EPHA (European Public Health Alliance) shows that in 2018. Poland spent PLN 15.4 billion to combat the health costs of air pollution. As for the following years, exact financial figures are missing. Nevertheless, it is estimated that spending is bound to be much higher and will increase. Health costs per household in Poland are among the highest in Europe with wages that are among the lowest. Coal burning is still not decreasing despite numerous appeals, but it is rising energy prices that are forcing people to use the cheapest source of energy - coal. It is already known beyond any doubt that only reducing emissions will lower health costs. This is all the more important because each new scientific study shows how air pollution translates into loss of health in more and more areas. The renowned medical journal Lancet alerts that inaction in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions will result in additional deaths caused by high temperatures. To stop this deadly trend, however, discipline is needed at the level of governments, local governments but also societies, which by taking care of air quality will save their health.