This study evaluates the mass concentration and chemical composition of particulate matter (PM), collected in the chamber complex of the underground health resort located in the Wieliczka Salt Mine in southern Poland. Physical and chemical properties of PM were examined from the standpoint of their possible connection with therapeutic effects of the subterranean air in the mine. We found that in three underground spots we measured the average concentration of PM did not exceed 30 μg/m. Chemical composition of PM was dominated by sodium chloride, making up 88 % of its mass, on average. It was shown that the underground ambient concentration of PM and its chemical composition depended mostly on the nature of the rock material present in the ventilation tunnel of the health resort, filtering the incoming air. The presence and effect of external sources of PM, including patients' activity, also had an impact on the underground PM concentration.

Air pollution, one of ten most important causes of premature mortality worldwide, remains a major issue also in the EU, with more than 400,000 premature deaths due to exposure to PM2.5 reported yearly. The issue is particularly significant in Poland, where there is the highest concentration of PM2.5 among the EU countries. This study focused on the proportion of mortality due to lung cancer and cardiopulmonary diseases attributable to PM2.5 in eleven biggest Polish cities in the years 2006-2011. The findings demonstrate that the mean annual concentration of PM2.5 varied from 14.3 to 52.5 μg/m 3. The average population attributable fractions varied from 0.195 to 0.413 in case of lung cancer and from 0.130 to 0.291 for cardiopulmonary diseases. Such substantial values of this ratio translate into a considerable number of deaths, which ranged between 9.6 and 22.8 cases for lung cancer and 48.6 to 136.6 cases for cardiopulmonary diseases per 100,000 inhabitants. We conclude that the impact of PM2.5 concentration on the incidence of premature deaths is unduly high in Polish cities.

Abstract:The aim of this study was to investigate how atmospheric air pollutants and meteorological conditions affected atmospheric visibility in the largest Polish agglomeration. The correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and generalized regression models (GRMs) were used to accomplish this objective. The meteorological parameters (temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind speed and insolation) and concentrations of the air pollutants (PM10, SO2, NO2, CO and O3) were recorded in [2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010][2011][2012][2013]. The data came from the Ursynów-SGGW, MzWarszUrsynów and Okęcie monitoring stations, located in the south of Warsaw (Poland). It was shown that the PM10 concentration was the most important parameter affecting the visibility in Warsaw. The concentration, and indirectly the visibility, was mainly affected by the pollutant emission from the flat/building heating (combustion of various fuels). It changed intensively during the OPEN ACCESSAtmosphere 2015, 6 1155 research period. There were also periods in which this emission type did not have a great influence on the pollutant concentrations (mainly PM10) and visibility. In such seasons, the research revealed the influence of the traffic emission and secondary aerosol formation processes on the visibility.

Air pollution, one of ten most important causes of premature mortality worldwide, remains a major issue also in the EU, with more than 400,000 premature deaths due to exposure to PM2.5 reported yearly. The issue is particularly significant in Poland, where there is the highest concentration of PM2.5 among the EU countries. This study focused on the proportion of mortality due to lung cancer and cardiopulmonary diseases attributable to PM2.5 in eleven biggest Polish cities in the years 2006-2011. The findings demonstrate that the mean annual concentration of PM2.5 varied from 14.3 to 52.5 μg/m 3. The average population attributable fractions varied from 0.195 to 0.413 in case of lung cancer and from 0.130 to 0.291 for cardiopulmonary diseases. Such substantial values of this ratio translate into a considerable number of deaths, which ranged between 9.6 and 22.8 cases for lung cancer and 48.6 to 136.6 cases for cardiopulmonary diseases per 100,000 inhabitants. We conclude that the impact of PM2.5 concentration on the incidence of premature deaths is unduly high in Polish cities.

It is essential in pulmonary disease research to take into account traffic-related air pollutant exposure among urban inhabitants. In our study, 4985 people were examined for spirometric parameters in the presented research which was conducted in the years 2008–2012. The research group was divided into urban and rural residents. Traffic density, traffic structure and velocity, as well as concentrations of selected air pollutants (CO, NO2 and PM10) were measured at selected areas. Among people who live in the city, lower percentages of predicted values of spirometric parameters were noticed in comparison to residents of rural areas. Taking into account that the difference in the five-year mean concentration of PM10 in the considered city and rural areas was over 17 μg/m3, each increase of PM10 by 10 μg/m3 is associated with the decline in FEV1 (forced expiratory volume during the first second of expiration) by 1.68%. These findings demonstrate that traffic-related air pollutants may have a significant influence on the decline of pulmonary function and the growing rate of respiratory diseases.