The implementation of the low-stack emission reducion program in the municipality of Nowy Sącz

The article analyzed the results of air quality measurements in the city of Nowy Sącz and assessed the activities of the local government to reduce low-stack emission. Nowy Sącz is among the top European cities with the most polluted air. According to the annual mean PM10 particles levels within the Małopolska Province, Nowy Sącz belongs to the group of cities and poviats where the highest levels of this pollutant are recorded. In the case of PM2.5 particles, Nowy Sącz is the second city after Krakow in the Małopolska Province, where there is a significant exceedance, including the margin of tolerance, of the limit value of the pollutants. The background and inflow of pollutants from outside the city reaches the level of about 17 µg•m-3, i.e. 85% of the limit value and 50% of the total level of the pollutant in the city. The local government undertakes investments aimed at improving air quality, inter alia: thermo-modernization of buildings, Renewable Energy Sources installation (solar installations) in buildings, elimination of coal boilers and replacing them with gas boilers or new generation boilers.