Report: Pollution is rising

For all the talk about greening industry, emissions of dust particles and carbon dioxide increased in the Czech Republic in 2010 compared to the previous year, according to an analysis by the environmental group Arnika.

Representatives for Arnika cited ineffective government measures to rein in pollution, and pointed out that new legislation on the table from the Environment and the Industry and Trade ministries includes measures that would water down the obligations of companies to report certain toxic emissions. Government officials argue these changes will bring the country in line with other EU members.

Arnika, which issued a report analyzing results in government registries, found that 1,609 firms reported the production of pollutants, 100 more than in 2009, and the volume of dioxins released into the air and water tripled from 98 grams in 2009 to 310 grams in 2010. Emissions of the carcinogen styrene increased by 30 tons in 2010, and the amount of dust particles increased 25 percent, or 1,000 tons, mostly in the highly industrial Moravia-Silesia and Ústí regions.

"The good news is there was a decrease in formaldehyde emissions, which is carcinogenic, but the bad news is the increase in pollution from waste incinerators, including more dioxins ... [and] more dust particles, especially in north Moravia," said Arnika spokeswoman Zora Kasíková. "That is very bad for the people living there, because the situation with the air pollution is already bad, and dust particles are very dangerous for health."

Greenhouse gases

The ČEZ Prunéřov plant in north Bohemia was the single largest emitter of greenhouse gases in 2010, followed by the ČEZ Počerady and Unipetrol Litvinov plants. The ČEZ Chvaletice power plant reported two times more mercury released than in 2009, while the SITA incinerator in Ostrava released 5,634 kg last year compared to 708 kg in 2009.

Ozone-depleting substances doubled in 2009, the analysis said, mostly because of the Spolana Neratovice plant's released of 103 kg of carbon tetrachloride near Prague.

The increase in emissions is likely due to increased production in 2010 after a major economic slowdown in 2008 and 2009, but is also the result of ineffective efforts to reduce pollution, Kasíková said. And though the past few years have been trying financial times for companies, Kasíková isn't convinced the lack of environmental efforts can be attributed to a shortage of cash.

"We also hear about new investments by the same factories, so I think the problem is we don't have very powerful tools to put pressure on factories," she said. "Our Environment Ministry is not very powerful."

Arnika's report comes as the Industry and Trade Ministry wants to reduce required emissions reporting to those in EU directives, while the Environment Ministry's new Clean Air Act calls for higher emissions fines but simplifies reporting requirements by reducing the number of pollutants that must be reported to four.

"The proposed changes concern only a small fraction of mandatory reports to the Integrated Pollution Register - that is, reports of wastes transported out of the plant," said Jiří Sochor, a spokesman for the Industry and Trade Ministry.

At present, he said, the Czech Republic requires the reporting of 72 substances not reported anywhere else in the EU and that "even France [has] abandoned."

"[We] strive to alleviate the red tape imposed on companies doing business in the Czech Republic," Sochor said. "Since this regulation is unique to the Czech Republic, there is no comparison with any other EU country, meaning that the information provided by the companies has little or no value [because they cannot be] compared to best practices in other countries."

However, those waste products that will no longer be reported can be some of the most dangerous and important to track, Kasíková said.

"The problem with pollution and waste is there is no control over where the waste goes. For example, it is possible to use it in construction materials and other products," she said. "That is very bad news, because it will be transmitted and transferred, and we don't know where." 

Cat Contiguglia can be reached at
ccontiguglia@praguepost.com