In January next year, a project monitoring the air quality in South Moravia will begin. The PAUPZKO project will help local administrators initiate more specific policies to safeguard the health of citizens. Credit: SM / BD.
Brno, Nov 24 (BD) – Air quality is one of the fundamental factors determining the quality of life in a country, and although air quality has improved in the Czech Republic in recent years, it remains one of the most pressing environmental problems to solve.
Some elements that determine air quality are the level of industrial pollution, domestic heating, and automobile transport. These three types of pollution release benzo[a]pyrene into the air, a pollutant highly harmful to humans.
In the Czech Republic it was recorded by the stations of the road network for monitoring atmospheric pollution that the concentration of this substance exceeded the maximum limit established by the law on clean air.
The Transport Research Center (CDV), a public research body, has therefore decided to launch PAUPZKO, a project to monitor and control air pollution. The preparation of the project began last spring, but the project will only launch fully in January, when maps of the specific locations where the measurements take place will be published, and periodically updated. The project will end in April 2024.
“Our environmental experts will carry out detailed monitoring and assessment of the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including the aforementioned carcinogenic benzo[a]pyrene, in 60 selected locations in the South Moravian region,” explained Roman Ličbinský, director of the Diagnostic Center for sustainable transport and transport construction.
Based on the results, local authorities will have the opportunity to propose projects and action plans to reduce the concentration of toxic substances and protect the health of citizens as well as the environment.
CDV is a public research body that deals with all aspects related to the development of transport in the Czech Republic, at national, regional and local level. The fields in which it operates include road safety, the technology of construction, maintenance, repair and reconstruction of transport infrastructure, and the impact of transport and its infrastructure on the environment.
