"Do you know what you breathe?" Educational and information campaign for cleaner air

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

According to 2010-11 data from the World Health Organisation, 19 Polish cities are among the 100 cities with the worst particulate matter (PM10) air pollution. On average, they exceed limit values for PM10 and have very high levels of fine particulates (PM2.5) on 60-70 days per year. During the summer high ozone concentrations are recorded. Poor air quality causes up to 40 000 premature deaths per year in Poland (EEA, 2016), including 900 in the city of Wrocaw. It also increases the incidence of chronic bronchitis in adults and bronchitis in children by 32% and 23% respectively. This affects quality of life, costs money, reduces productivity and increases sickness-relatedabsence at work. There is growing awareness among policymakers in Poland of the impact of air pollution with a number of actions taking place at the national (Clean Air programme), regional (Air Quality Management Plans), and local level (city of Krakow). Effective implementation of environmental policies and laws requires general public acceptance based on well-established knowledge of the sources of pollution and their environmental and health impacts. However, surveys indicate that citizens' awareness of air quality is still low, with more than 50% of people seeing no connection between air quality and health and only 10% identifying burning coal as a pollution source.

OBJECTIVES

To tackle the issues outlined, the LIFE-MAPPINGAIR/PL project will carry out a broad information and awareness-raising campaign linking air quality forecasts, expanded monitoring, and modern methods of education. It will build on the work of the earlier project, LIFE-APIS/PL, adding new awareness raising and information tools. The project will educate citizens about air quality in urban areas, focusing on the types and scale of threats, how to reduce the problem, health advice, the law on air quality etc. It will develop an online educational platform for air quality in the regions of Lower Silesia and Kuyavia. This will include original scholastic materials and will be based on the MOOC (massive open online courses) format. Expected results:

contributes to improve air quality (reduced recorded concentrations and reducedemissions) and public health (reduced number of acute cases of cardiovascular and respiratory disease) through information and awareness-raising campaigns;

helps implement a regional anti-smog act by facilitating a shift away from coal-based heating systems, leading to a 10% reduction in emissions in districts where the emission factors are highest, reduced emissions during adverse weather conditions (thanks to local media announcements and online tools) and an 8% reduction per year in the number of days on which pollution levels exceed legal limits;

a regional air quality information system with at least 1 000 users;

awareness-raising and training targeted at medical personnel; and

a 15% increase in public awareness of the impact of air pollution on the state of environment and public health.