What is the air quality here and how can it be improved? This topic was discussed by the workshop participants within the Smart City Academy project. According to experts, the main sources of air pollution in Slovakia are local heating and automobile traffic. It is therefore necessary to look for solutions to improve the quality of life in the city.
The workshop attracted the attention of city representatives and pupils of Karol Rapoš Elementary School
On Wednesday, March 15, in the premises of the meeting of the Municipal Office at Nám. gen. M. R. Štefánika 3 held a workshop within the Smart City Academy project, focused on improving air quality and ways to improve it, it was also connected with inspiring examples from abroad. Representatives of the Smart Cities Club and the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute presented the progress of the project, its activities, outputs and held an informal discussion with representatives of the city, members of the city council, as well as representatives of companies and the district office.
In the morning, the guests also visited the Karol Rapoš Elementary School and Kindergarten. The workshop was attended by pupils from the 6th to 9th grades, who took the initiative, participated in the discussion, answered questions about the environment, what they liked and what they didn't like in Brezno. The four most active received a weather station as a reward, the others took away knowledge as well as a small present.
One solution is to walk or use a bicycle
As the adviser in the field of implementation of innovations and Smart Cities, former vice-mayor of Brno, Jaroslav Kacer, told MY Horehronie, we have two main sources of air pollution in Slovakia, namely local heating and automobile traffic. „Therefore, solutions must be sought to improve the quality of life. For example, if we live in a family house, use the correct heating procedures. Brezno is a city of short distances, so use the car only for longer journeys, prefer to walk or use a bicycle."
The Smart Cities club is an original informal platform for the exchange of experiences and cooperation between city leaders and experts in the preparation of strategies and programs on the way to a Smart City. According to the chairman of the club, Miroslav Jurík, such workshops, such as the one held in Brezno, are part of a project in which they organize foreign study stays in the Netherlands, Austria or planned ones in Denmark and Sweden, conferences and other activities that serve to improve awareness of quality atmosphere. They are primarily focused on the role of municipalities in this area, namely to gain experience in how and what types of projects municipalities in countries do that contribute to improving air quality. „I believe that these workshops are beneficial and based on feedback from mayors, heads or other city representatives, I know that they are already preparing projects that inspired them, for example, in the Netherlands in the field of active mobility. In the area of public spaces and inner city districts, I also spoke with the mayor of Brezno, who last year participated in a study stay in Aspern, a newly built district of Vienna. He himself admitted that it inspired him and he will look for ways to implement these experiences within the project that the city was preparing and is still preparing.“
From the point of view of air quality, Brezno district ranks among the risk areas
As part of the National Air Quality Monitoring Network, there are 52 automatic monitoring stations located in Slovakia, but there is none in Brezno. „Based on the information we have, the population census in 2021, there are households in this region that heat with solid fuel. Due to the basin location and the higher occurrence of inversions, it is assumed that the conditions here have worsened and for this reason we classify the entire district of Brezno as a risk area in terms of air quality," said Martin Kremler, head of the department for air quality monitoring of the SHMÚ.
And what effect does air quality have on human health? „I'm not a doctor, but if we're talking primarily about higher concentrations of PM dust particles, there is a negative impact on the cardiovascular system and the respiratory system."
According to the expert, each of us can contribute to air quality. „If we are talking about heating with solid fuel, these are investment-cost matters, such as insulating a family home, replacing windows and doors in order to reduce the energy demand in the home, then we just need to burn less fuel and emit less pollutants. The second thing is to replace the boiler if we have a 20- to 30-year-old one with a newer one that is more efficient and has significantly less emissions per kg of fuel burned. When heating with wood, it is necessary to heat with dry wood, ideally dry it for two years. Correct heating practice is also necessary and education must be done among all residents in this regard, so that the fire does not suffocate, there is sufficient air access and that the combustion takes place under ideal conditions. Then the emissions are low compared to the negative phenomenon when the fire suffocates.“
