Air pollution is a long-standing problem in Europe. The large-scale concentration of people and activities in urban/industrial areas has been accompanied by high emissions of a wide range of air pollutants. These are supplemented by additional pollution from dispersed sources throughout the region, including agricultural activities. Urban air quality and long-range transboundary air pollution are both major concerns in Europe. Air quality is cited as the top environmental priority by the majority of experts in CEE countries (REC, 1994). On the global level, Europe is thought to be responsible for a high proportion of many harmful substances being added to the atmosphere, including 36 per cent of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), 30 per cent of carbon dioxide (CO2), 25 per cent of SO2 and volatile organic compounds (VOC), and 21 per cent of NOx (EEA, 1995a).
For many European cities and rural areas, the information required to obtain a reliable timely overview of air pollution and its effects is still not available (EEA, 1995a). Harmonized data reporting could significantly improve understanding of current air pollution, and reliable data are needed to monitor and verify the effectiveness of control measures (WHO, 1995).
The main sources of emissions to the atmosphere are fossil fuel combustion and industry, in CEE countries, along with road transport in western cities and increasingly in cities in the rest of the region. Fossil fuel emissions include CO2, SO2, NOx, and particulate matter (PM) as well as metals and radionuclides. In the industrial sector, the producers of power, petroleum, chemicals, pulp and paper, cement, steel, and non-ferrous metal are all major emitters, with SO2, PM, and heavy metals being the most significant pollutants (EEA, 1995a). Road traffic currently accounts for 80 per cent of total traffic emissions in western Europe: it contributes over half of total NOx, 35 per cent of VOC emissions, and about 25 per cent of total energy-related CO2 emissions (EEA, 1995a). Air transport is also a cause for concern because of the relatively high energy consumption per kilometre travelled and the introduction of NOx and CO2 high up in the atmosphere, which may enhance their impact on global warming (EEA, 1995a). Other major anthropogenic sources of CO2 are combustion for power generation and land use change. Europe is responsible for around a third of global CO2 emissions, with Russia, Germany, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom being major emitters. Per capita emissions also tend to be high compared with other regions (EEA, 1995a; WRI/UNEP/UNDP/WB, 1996). (See Figure 2.14.)
Industrial emission "hot spots" have shifted during this century from western Europe towards the east and south (EEA, 1995a). In CEE countries, the prevalence of heavy industry, the intensive use of low-quality fuels, and the substantial lack of modern production technologies have resulted in continued high emission levels (REC, 1994). Sulphur dioxide emissions are particularly high in the northern countries, where brown coal is burned for energy. In contrast, southern CEE countries typically experience lower levels of SO2 emissions due to a greater dependence on oil and gas for energy (Environmental Resources Ltd., 1990).
The transboundary movement of air pollutants is a problem leading to wet and dry deposition of harmful substances, to smog episodes, and to reduced air quality in locations far from their emission sources. Up to 45 per cent of Hungary s SO2 emissions are transported to neighbouring countries (Environmental Resources Ltd., 1990). The atmospheric deposition of heavy metals in Europe is generally well below emission levels, indicating that Europe contributes to deposition outside the region (EEA, 1995a). Airborne radioactivity is another pollutant prone to long-range distribution. Material released into the atmosphere from the Chernobyl accident in 1986 was measurable over practically the entire northern hemisphere (IAEA, 1996).
During the past 20 years, successful measures for reducing urban SO2, particulates, and lead emissions have included regulations on fuel for domestic heating (such as low sulphur content), the promotion of low and unleaded fuel, and restrictions on the use of cars in city centres. A series of European Community directives (see Chapter 3) to tackle emissions of acidifying substances from transport and industry led to a significant reduction in SO2 emissions in many countries (EEA, 1995b).
Parties to the Helsinki (Sulphur) Protocol of the UN-ECE LRTAP Convention were required to bring their SO2 emissions at least 30 per cent below 1980 levels by 1993 (EEA, 1995a). (See Chapter 3.) These reductions have been achieved through such measures as increased use of nuclear power, switching from coal and oil to natural gas, emission controls on large combustion installations, and technological improvements such as desulphurization of petroleum products. As Table 2.7 shows, the economic recession in CEE and the CIS has also served to lower total emissions. Over the next 20 years, dust emissions from power generation and industry are expected to decrease in CEE by at least 30 per cent as a result of technological changes and a shift in fuel use (EEA, 1995a).
In contrast, European NOx emissions have shown a slight increase in recent years (UN-ECE, 1995). Although many countries have made progress in reducing outputs from stationary sources and individual vehicles, this has been offset by increased total emissions from vehicles as overall vehicle numbers and distance travelled per vehicle have risen. A further legal instrument under the UN-ECE LRTAP Convention, the Sofia Protocol, addresses NOx emissions and is expected to lead to overall NOx reductions of 20-30 per cent during the next 10 years (EEA, 1995a).
A VOC Protocol under the UN-ECE LRTAP Convention is bringing in a stepped-up approach to controlling VOC (an ozone precursor) emissions. It has not yet been possible to detect clear trends in recent emissions, but the protocol should lead to a 15-per-cent reduction in European VOC emissions by 1999, compared with levels in the 1980s (EEA, 1995a).
Poor air quality is characteristically, though not exclusively, an urban problem. It is likely that all cities with more than 50,000 residents have air pollution problems, though exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for both short- and long-term exposures is more common in central, eastern, and southern Europe.
Large-scale winter smog episodes, caused by SO2 and PM, are most common and severe in central Europe and in all the major Siberian cities in Russia, with serious repercussions for the health of the population. The incidence of lung cancer among males living for an average of 30 years in polluted parts of Cracow, Poland, was 46 per cent higher than in residents of less polluted areas (WHO, 1995). Czech Republic records reveal 20-30 per cent higher rates of post-neonatal mortality in areas with high concentrations of total PM and SO2 (WHO, 1995). Average concentrations of the associated pollutants are up to 10 times higher in densely populated parts of the Czech Republic, eastern Germany, and southern Poland than in western Europe as a result of the high use of sulphur-rich coal and lignite for power generation and steel production (EEA, 1995a).
High tropospheric ozone concentrations (photochemical smog) tend to develop in the summer over large areas of Europe when high-pressure conditions prevail. The main precursors for this buildup are NOx and VOC emissions. In recent years, concentrations of ground-level ozone have exceeded the WHO air quality guideline for one-hour average human exposure at nearly all existing European stations (EEA, 1995a). Health problems associated with high ozone concentrations include breathing difficulties and decreased lung function (WHO, 1995). The ozone precursors themselves can induce cancers and respiratory diseases.
Long-term overshooting of critical values of harmful air constituents (SO2, PM, benzene, heavy metals, and so on) is another health hazard in the region (EEA, 1995a). While this problem has been less studied, it is known that long-term exposure can affect human health in many ways, including longevity and the incidence of cancers (WHO, 1995). Indoor air pollution may also be a significant health hazard, especially for old people and very young children, but it has not yet been clearly assessed (EEA, 1995a).
On the positive side, major improvements have occurred in the level and composition of some air pollutants in the region s cities over the past 20 years. Concentrations of SO2 in most cities are lower than in the late 1970s, in some cases by as much as 80 per cent (EEA, 1995a). As a result, the total population experiencing pollution episodes (exceeding 250 micrograms of SO2 per cubic metre) has decreased dramatically during the 1980s, from 71 per cent to 33 per cent in western countries and from 74 per cent to 51 per cent in Russia (WHO, 1995). Many cities also show downward trends in particulate concentrations.
In countries that have reduced the lead content in petrol, lead concentrations have substantially declined (EEA, 1995a). The remaining hot spots are in eastern Europe and are associated with lead-emitting industries as well as with leaded fuel (WHO, 1995). Regarding tropospheric ozone, it is anticipated that implementation of the VOC Protocol should result in a 40-60 per cent reduction in high ozone peak values and a smaller reduction (1-4 per cent) in annual average ozone concentration (EEA, 1995a).
West of the Urals, stratospheric ozone depletion is a cause for concern as densely populated areas are under direct risk from the substantial ozone decline recently detected in northern high-latitude regions. The resulting increased ultraviolet-B radiation in the lower atmosphere can have adverse impacts on human health (skin cancer, cataracts, reduced immune efficiency), on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (reduced species survival and productivity), and on building materials (faster deterioration). As a region, Europe is in a prime position to contribute to remedial action, as it produces 35-40 per cent of the global emissions of CFCs, which destroy stratospheric ozone (EEA, 1995a).
The increase in airborne caesium-137 levels following Chernobyl has had severe consequences. In human terms, it is estimated that the accident had a devastating impact on the well-being of the 600,000 "liquidators" who worked to contain the spread of radioactivity immediately after the event; in addition, up to 9 million additional ordinary people have also been affected socially and psychologically (UNESCO, 1996). In Belarus alone, the incidence of thyroid cancer increased five times over the 10 years following the accident (Republic of Belarus, 1995). Genetic and other long-term effects may continue to reveal themselves for generations in the populations of the nations affected. Although wildlife in the vicinity of the reactor received lethal radiation doses at the time of the disaster, no sustained severe impacts on populations or ecosystems have been observed. Possible long-term effects remain to be studied (EEA, 1995a; IAEA, 1996; UNESCO, 1996).
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