Sociální znečištění: Definice a dopady

At present, the definition of the human health is not limited only to the absence of diseases or corporal disorders, it is interpreted as the state of complete corporal, mental and social well-being. To reach such a state is not easy though, and it is quite impossible to be reached without providing such environmental quality, where the concentration levels of pollution caused by human activity do not impact significantly human health, or rather they do not represent any unacceptable risks for the human health. Researches in the latest years clearly show the causal connection between human health and environmental pollution, and the impossibility to improve the health of the population without improving the environment where people live, work, rest and perform a plenty of other activities.

The newly being constituted discipline of "environmental health" should deal not only with the studies of the particular environmental factors, that have a positive or a negative impact on human health, but should also deal with the evaluation of health risks. This is meant to be especially the assessment of the level and seriousness of the load the population exposed to the risk factors of the environment, work conditions and lifestyle faces.

Znečištění ovzduší a jeho dopady

Air pollution represents one of the main environmental issues. It affects human health and the environment through phenomena such as smog, acid rain, ozone layer depletion and climate change. Human health is not affected only outdoors but also indoors where other sources of pollution are in effect.

People were already concerned about polluted air in the past. Nowadays, people have become more aware of the harmful impacts of polluted air, particularly after a few smog episodes which resulted in numerous deaths in 1950s. Since then, a lot of has been done to improve the situation, especially in the developed world.

The United States (US) led the way by early environmental movements, establishing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and setting legislation to restrict polluting of the atmosphere. The European Union (EU) started later with their efforts. However, the air quality standards are much stricter now in the EU than in the US.

Čtěte také: Keller o sociálním ekologickém státu

The Czech Republic was behind on the way to cleaner air due to presence in the region of the Soviet Block where the environment was not seriously taken into consideration. Very rapid recovery has taken place establishing laws and legislation to adjust to the European standards and improve the air quality as fast as possible.

Role Evropské unie a České republiky

Council Directive 96/62/EC of 27 September 1996 on ambient air quality assessment and management (5 ), Council Directive 1999/30/EC of 22 April 1999 relating to limit values for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air (6), Directive 2000/69/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2000 relating to limit values for benzene and carbon monoxide in ambient air (7 ), Directive 2002/3/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2002 relating to ozone in ambient air (8 ) and Council Decision 97/101/EC of 27 January 1997 establishing a reciprocal exchange of information and data from networks and individual stations measuring ambient air pollution within the Member States (9 ) need to be substantially revised in order to incorporate the latest health and scientific developments and the experience of the Member States.

Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) has been implemented into the national legislation of the Czech Republic in February 2013. The key principles of integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) have been set already in March 2002 by implementing the former IPPC Directive. Integrated permitting started in the Czech Republic in January 2003 with some specific issues of the IPPC process, including the role of CENIA, Czech Environmental Information Agency in this process.

Data provided by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) together with further analytical information and services helps increase the quality of life in the Czech Republic through various controls, analyses and monitoring systems. The contributory organization set up by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic is involved in the drafting of national legislation concerning ambient air quality and participated in the preparation and revision of programs for air quality management and reduction of emissions.

Aktivity CEZ Group v oblasti snižování znečištění

CEZ Group complies with the basic legal standards governing the assessment and management of air and water quality based on the EU Industrial Emissions Directive and the Water Framework Directive, as well as other directives in the field of water resource protection transposed into Czech legislation. The substances specified in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No. 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) are monitored.

Čtěte také: Ekonomika, společnost a Ahold

CEZ Group’s ambition is to implement actions that will contribute to reducing pollution emissions. A significant contribution to this ambition is decarbonization targets and actions set out in the chapter Climate Change of this Report. As part of VISION 2030, a target for reducing SO2 and NOX emissions into the air was set in 2021.

The VISION 2030 targets in the area of pollution fulfill the Environmental Policy, which pursues the mitigation of negative impacts related to air, water, and soil pollution. These voluntary targets for reducing emissions released into the air are tied to the main activity of CEZ Group, i.e., generation of elektricity and heat defined on the basis of scenarios and information described in the section Transition Plan of the Sustainability Report 2024.

A significant reduction in SO2 and NOX emissions, as primary pollutants from combustion sources, is expected in the period 2025 to 2030. The effectiveness of actions taken to reduce SO2 and NOX emissions is verified four times a year based on a comparison of the actual amount of emissions generated and the expected emissions according to the targets.

Between 2019 and 2024, CEZ Group managed to reduce SO2 emissions by 77% and NOX emissions by 52%. In the same period, emissions of particulate matter (PM10) were also reduced by 72% 5). In 2024, the environmental target values for reducing NOX and SO2 emissions were met as NOX pollution reached 10.8 kt (target value for 2025 was 13 kt) and SO2 pollution was only 4.8 kt (target value for 2025 was 6.5 kt).

The development of emissions of selected pollutants from CEZ Group facilities for which the relevant threshold value set out in Annex II to E-PRTR regulation is shown in the charts in the Sustainability Report 2024.

Čtěte také: Propojení sociální pedagogiky a environmentálních studií

Přehled emisí vybraných znečišťujících látek z provozů CEZ Group

Následující tabulka shrnuje snížení emisí vybraných znečišťujících látek v letech 2019 až 2024:

Znečištění vody a půdy

An overview of individual pollutants released into water that exceeded the reporting thresholds set out in Annex II of the E-PRTR regulation in 2024 is presented in the table in the Sustainability Report 2024. Emissions were reported to the integrated pollution register.

Pollutants are not systematically released or transferred to the soil, and pollutants released into the soil in 2019-2024 did not exceed the reporting threshold for any of the substances monitored in the E-PRTR. In connection with operating activities, pollutants may leak into the soil from accidental leaks. The release of emissions into the soil is always associated with subsequent remediation actions. More information can be found in the Sustainability Report 2024.

tags: #social #pollution #definition

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