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AIR POLLUTION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC IN 2010 Czech Hydrometeorological Institute - Air Quality Protection Division |
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II. AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION LEVELS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC II.1 Networks of Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations The ambient air pollution situation has been assessed based on the data archived in the ISKO air pollution database. In addition to the data from CHMI networks, several other organisations that play an important role in air pollution monitoring in the Czech Republic have also been contributing to the ISKO database for a number of years. As it was stated, since 1996 the data for the German part has been included and presented in the air pollution ISKO database, and the data for the Polish border area has been included since 1997 likewise. In early 2000 there emerged the need to optimize the air pollution network in order to provide the state bodies with the necessary information for the whole Czech Republic territory and the tools for fulfilling the tasks set by the respective EU directives and by the obligations ensuing from international agreements adopted by the Czech Republic in the field of air quality protection and to site the monitoring stations pursuant to the requirements of EU directives. Simultaneously the urgent need emerged to innovate the instruments worn down by continuous operation which resulted in ever increasing failure rate. Within the R&D project the Draft of the optimized network of air quality monitoring was presented followed up in 2002 by the Implementation project of the National air pollution network (SIS) including the AMS (automated monitoring stations) network and the supplementary network with manual sampling. The SIS project, pursuant to §6, Art. 8 and §7, Art. 5 of the Clean Air Act No. 86/2002 Coll., aimed at ambient air quality monitoring in the whole territory of the Czech Republic, and namely in the areas with deteriorated air quality. The project also considered new knowledge and requirements concerning the monitored pollutants, as well as the change in the emission situation in the Czech Republic. Pollutants’ monitoring within the national air pollution network was aimed mainly at the pollutants with the set limit values. It was supposed that the proposed SIS, operated by one authorized organization, is the basic component of air quality monitoring in the Czech Republic. If necessary it can be combined with and use the data from the specialized networks of other organizations or the monitoring stations operated at a lower level (regions and selected basic administrative units). This optimized National air pollution network, established with the PHARE project contribution in CHMI, was launched on 1 January 2004. The network is gradually innovated in accordance with the requirements on the monitoring of air pollution situation in the Czech Republic. Based on the requirements of the Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe, the National air pollution network has been enlarged by further measurements of PM2.5 particles. On the contrary, with regard to the long-term low SO2 concentrations in the most territory of the Czech Republic, the measurement of this component was cancelled in some localities. Tables II.1.1–II.1.5 present the overviews of the numbers of localities in the respective zones and agglomerations from which the measured data were supplied to the Air Quality Information System (ISKO) database in 2010. Table II.1.1 provides the overview of the number of localities, broken down by the owner, measuring ambient air pollution data. Usually only one measuring programme is installed in the respective locality. Several localities, particularly the CHMI ones, operate more than one measuring programme, for example the stations Prague 4-Libuš, Košetice, ĂšstĂ n. L.-KoÄŤkov and some others at which automatic, manual and semiautomatic measuring programmes have been installed, as also those intended for the monitoring of PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and heavy metals. Table II.1.2 lists the number of localities, broken by the owner, in which basic pollutants are measured at the automated monitoring stations (AMS). At the stations of the AMS network the pollutants are measured by continual analysers and the measured concentrations are as 1-hour averages transmitted in real time via switched lines or via radio transmission for further processing. Table II.1.3 shows the number of localities in individual regions, broken by the owner, in which further pollutants, incl. supplementary meteorological parameters, are measured at AMS. Table II.1.4 lists the number of localities in individual regions at which the listed pollutants are monitored by manual methods. Table II.1.5 presents the total numbers of localities in individual regions, broken by the owner, with special measurements using manual methods. Network density in each of the Czech Republic’s regions and monitoring organisations’ involvement are illustrated in Fig. II.1.1. The graphs in Fig. II.1.2
illustrate how the monitoring of basic air pollutants has developed since 1969
for the organisations and network types listed; the measured data are archived
in the ISKO database. This classification of localities is based on the Council Decision 97/101/EC on exchange of information (EoI) [4] and Criteria for EUROAIRNET [5]. The requirements of the Council Decision 97/101/EC are obligatory for the EU Member States. Due to the fact that this is the only official European
classification it has been applied to all localities in the Czech Republic
registered in the ISKO database. The complete EoI classification of localities (Table II.1.6) consists of 3 fundamental letters divided by strokes and for most stations it was officially affirmed by an expert team in accordance with local criteria. In some cases the classification was derived mainly from the purpose of the station establishment. The third column of the Table II.1.6 shows only the examples of the combinations of zone characterisation. Any logical combination is possible, but the order of letters in the abbreviation is meaningful – the first position is of the highest priority. The legends in maps of fields of pollutants concentrations the EoI classification is used in a simplified form based mainly on the type of area according to the Decision 2001/752/EC. The correct application of this classification during the production of maps of fields of pollutants is bound mainly to the station types:
Four specialized CHMI stations marked as traffic hot spot are in operation, and namely Prague 2-Legerova, Ústà n.L.-Všebořická, Ostrava-Českobratrská and Brno-Úvoz (launched on 1 January 2008). These measuring sites are exclusively traffic oriented and their air pollution loads result from this. These localities meet the criteria for traffic-oriented samplers pursuant to the Government Order No. 597/2006 Coll. More detailed overview of background rural stations into subcategories pursuant to the Commission Decision 2001/752/EC and Criteria for EUROAIRNET, Technical Report no. 12, EEA have been presented in the tables since 2004.
Further details on station networks, the measurement methods used, on the detection limits of different methods used, and the detailed updated list of stations broken by territorial units and further specific data can be found in the summary Tabular Survey [2]. The degree of usability of the data supplied by the institutions that contributed to the ISKO database in the year under review (i.e. data capture) is listed in Tables II.1.7–II.1.10. For the parameters assessed these tables compare the number of those monitoring stations in the networks reviewed, which meet the criteria for the validity of annual air pollution characteristics (see the numerator), and the total number of stations of the given network measuring the respective parameter (see the denominator). This proportion of valid data from the annual file of the measured and verified data, submitted for the given parameter by the respective organization/network, is expressed as percentage (see the number below the fraction). Data validity is based on the longest-lasting continuous measurement failure in a year (NSV) and the minimum required percentage (MP) of valid data within the annual data file. Being the basic parameters of the criterion of comprehensiveness and uniformity of the data entered into the annual air pollution characteristics computations, the longest-lasting continuous failure in a year – expressed as a certain number of days – and the required minimum percentage of valid data are evaluated during the annual data processing, and stored as part of the annual data file for each station and for each parameter. The criterion of the minimum percentage of valid data MP≥66 % and the longest-lasting continuous failure NSV≤40 is used for setting the valid annual arithmetic average of concentrations of the given substance as well as for the data capture (see Tables II.1.7–II.1.10). As already mentioned earlier during the years 2003 and 2004 the CHMI measuring network (National air pollution network) changed significantly. The measuring sites were located with regard to the monitoring aims set in the respective EU directives, the Clean Air Act No. 86/2002 Coll. and the Government Order No. 350/2002 Coll. The changes were finished in 2004 and the measuring programmes and types of pollutants’ measurement ensure the ambient air quality monitoring in the whole territory of the Czech Republic and mainly in the areas with deteriorated air quality. Since 2006 air quality monitoring and assessment have been based on the Government Order No. 597/2006 Coll. amended by the Government Order No. 42/2011 Coll. of 2 February 2011. Tab. II.1.1 Air pollution monitoring localities, based on the owner, Czech Republic, 2010 Tab. II.1.6 Exchange of Information (EoI) station classification Tab. II.1.7 Percentage of valid data from the stations with continuous measurement, 2010 Tab. II.1.8 Percentage of valid data from the stations with manual measurement, 2010 Tab. II.1.9 Percentage of valid data from the stations measuring meteorological parameters, 2010 Tab. II.1.10 Percentage of data from other measurements, 2010 Fig. II.1.1 Major station networks of ambient air quality monitoring, 2010 Fig. II.1.2 Monitoring of basic pollutants in selected organisations – development
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