Air protection policy in the 2019 parliamentary campaign in Poland. An analysis of positions

This article seeks to investigate whether the election committees that won seats in the 2019 parliamentary elections had noted the public concerns about the issue of air not meeting the normative standards, and whether they offered Poles a specific vision of an air protection policy in their election manifestoes. This analysis concerns the proposals of election committees to limit low-stack emissions. Answering the research questions posed: (1) to what extent do election manifestoes address the issue of air pollution in Poland?; (2) are the tools for the implementation of environmental policy as concerns the reduction of low-stack emissions indicated, and can they be effective? leads to the conclusion that the successful election committees noted public concerns about air pollution, and addressed air protection policy to a varied extent, though not always presenting specific solutions to eliminate low-stack emissions To achieve the purpose of the research the methods of source and comparative analysis were used.

A Comparative Study of Stack Emissions from Straight-Line and Zigzag Brick Kilns in Nepal

Nepal has approximately 1000 operational brick kilns, which contribute significantly to ambient air pollution. They also account for 1.81% of the total bricks produced in the South Asian region. Little is known about their emissions, which are consequently not represented in regional/global emission inventories. This study compared emissions from seven brick kilns. Four were Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kilns (FCBTKs) and three were Induced-Draught Zigzag Kilns (IDZKs). The concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), black carbon (BC), and particulate matter (PM) with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) were measured. The respective emission factors (EFs) were estimated using the carbon mass balance method. The average fuel-based EF for CO2, SO2, PM2.5, and BC were estimated as 1633 ± 134, 22 ± 22, 3.8 ± 2.6 and 0.6 ± 0.2 g per kg, respectively, for all FCBTKs. Those for IDZKs were 1981 ± 232, 24 ± 22, 3.1 ± 1, and 0.4 ± 0.2 g per kg, respectively. Overall, the study found that converting the technology from straight-line kilns to zigzag kilns can reduce PM2.5 emissions by ~20% and BC emissions by ~30%, based on emission factor estimates of per kilogram of fuel. While considering per kilogram of fired brick, emission reductions were approximately 40% for PM2.5 and 55% for BC, but this definitely depends on proper stacking and firing procedures.