As early as 2018, regulations gradually limiting air pollution will come into force in Lower Silesia. A team of experts appointed by the marshal of the voivodeship Cezary Przybylski worked on solutions that will improve air quality in our region. Every resident could also submit comments during the public consultation.
From 1 July 2018, the use of the following will be prohibited:
- lignite and solid fuels produced using this coal
- bituminous coal in loose form with a grain size below 3 mm
- coal sludge and coal flotation concentrates, i.e. fuels with a grain size of less than 3 mm, and mixtures produced using them
- solid biomass with a moisture content above 20 percent
For Lower Silesia (excluding Wrocław and health resorts):
- from 1 July 2018 – newly commissioned boilers, stoves and fireplaces must meet particulate-matter emission requirements: no more than 40 mg/m³.
- from 1 January 2024 – a ban on using non-class-rated installations that do not meet the minimum particulate-emission standards under PN-EN 303-5:2012.
- from 1 January 2028 – a ban on using installations that do not meet the minimum Class 5 particulate-emission requirements (ending the possibility of using Class 3 and 4 installations). Ecodesign requirements are stricter than Class 5 requirements, so appliances meeting Ecodesign standards may be used indefinitely.
The regulations will apply throughout the year, regardless of the season. This is dictated by the need to reduce year-round emissions of pollutants—not only during the heating season. Allowing non-class-rated installations (so-called “smokers”) and low-quality fuels to be used outside the heating season would in practice make it very difficult to enforce the ban on their use during the heating season.
Regardless of the anti-smog resolutions, bans resulting from EU regulations will apply throughout the country: from 1 January 2020—a ban on selling boilers throughout the European Union that do not meet Ecodesign requirements; from 1 January 2022—a ban on selling stoves and fireplaces throughout the European Union that do not meet Ecodesign requirements.
Who exactly will the regulations apply to?
The regulations apply to anyone operating an installation, which means that one does not have to own it; using a given installation is sufficient to be required to comply with the regulations. The provisions of the resolutions apply both to residents and to landlords and business operators (with boilers of up to 1 MW).
According to the drafts, from 1 July 2018 there will be a transitional period for installations in use. In Lower Silesia (apart from Wrocław and health resorts), installed non-class-rated installations (so-called “smokers”) may continue to be used until the end of 2023, that is, for more than six years, while Class 3 and 4 installations may be used until the end of 2027, that is, for more than ten years. Class 5 installations are not subject to restrictions.
The transitional period is time to replace installations that do not meet the requirements set out in the draft resolutions—to switch to low-emission heating, as well as to reduce the demand for heat energy by carrying out thermal insulation of buildings.
The resolutions concern installations intended for burning solid fuels, including boilers, cooker-boilers, stoves (including tiled stoves) and fireplaces—both “goat” stoves and fireplaces with a water jacket or a hot-air distribution system. Actual-emission studies indicate that fireplaces can emit very high amounts of particulate matter and benzo(a)pyrene—much higher than, for example, coal- or wood-fired boilers.
According to the resolution for other centres and health resorts outside Wrocław, from 1 January 2024 only fireplaces meeting Ecodesign requirements for particulate emissions, of no more than 40 mg/m³, may be used.
If a fireplace does not meet the particulate-emission standards specified in the Ecodesign directive, then under the draft resolution it may be operated only until the end of 2023, that is, for more than six years. After that, the fireplace may be replaced with one meeting Ecodesign requirements, with a closed combustion chamber (there are increasingly more fireplace inserts with such parameters on the market).
Regardless of the above, it should be remembered that from the time the anti-smog resolutions enter into force, biomass used in a fireplace must be dry (i.e. its moisture content should not exceed 20 percent), which in practice means burning wood dried for at least two seasons.
Does the resolution apply to people using gas installations?
For residents who already use district heating, gas, oil, electric heating or heat pumps, the resolution will introduce no new obligations or restrictions. However, if they wished to give up their current heating in favour of coal or wood, they would immediately be required to install a modern boiler meeting the Ecodesign requirements specified in EU regulations.
The anti-smog resolution for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (excluding Wrocław and health resorts within zones A, B and C of health-resort protection) does not ban burning coal.
From the resolution’s entry into force, it will only be prohibited to burn the lowest-quality coal fuels: coal sludge and flotation concentrates with a grain size below 3 mm, lignite and wet biomass (including wood with a moisture content above 20 percent). Other solid fuels will be permitted.
How will coal quality be checked?
A person using solid fuel for heating or preparing meals and hot water will be required to possess a quality certificate for the fuel used, which they should receive from the fuel seller.
Why is burning rubbish prohibited?
Burning waste is prohibited by law. When waste, mainly plastics, is burned, extremely dangerous substances are released into the air, such as dioxins and furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dust containing heavy metals (including chromium, nickel, lead, cadmium, mercury and many others), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride. Many of these pollutants also enter the soil and water, subsequently reaching the body with food.
Dioxins and furans are thousands of times more poisonous than cyanide, and their half-life in soil is approximately 160 years. Once they enter the body, they accumulate in fatty tissue (including milk and meat) and migrate through the food chain, causing, among other things, cancer, reduced immunity, impaired growth and reproductive capacity, and neurological and hormonal disorders.
Heavy metals can cause disruptions in the functioning of the body. Lead impairs the liver and causes anaemia. Cadmium damages the kidneys, causes osteoporosis and is carcinogenic. Mercury damages the nervous system and causes heart disease. It is estimated that air pollution causes approximately 3,000 deaths annually in our voivodeship.
What penalties may result from failing to comply with the anti-smog resolution?
The sanctions applied in cases of violating the resolution’s provisions are set out in Article 334 of the Environmental Protection Law, which states that “anyone who fails to comply with the restrictions, orders or prohibitions specified in a resolution of the voivodeship assembly adopted pursuant to Article 96 is subject to a fine.” Under Article 24 of the Code of Petty Offences, the fine ranges from PLN 20 to PLN 5,000.