*3.4. Measurements of Air Pollution in the Urban Area of Radzionkow*

Currently, there is only one air quality measurement station (Figure 9) in Radzionków. It is located on Szymały Street outside of the designated zones. Its readings seem to be unreliable, due to the open and flat space that surrounds it, which facilitates the area's ventilation. Furthermore, there are no buildings that use coal for heating up to a distance of 1 km to its west. The measurement station is actually located on the edge of Radzionków's urban area, where environmental conditions are highly favourable. The measuring equipment is located at a height of approx. 6.5 m. It should, therefore, be assumed that its indications show the most favourable situation in the city, at a site located outside the designated reliable location (A, B, C). On a sunny, windy day, e.g., 30 December 2019, the sensor's indicators showed a PM10 level of 52 μg/m3. The acceptable total is 50 μg/m3 per day. The readings did not fall below 50 μg/m<sup>3</sup> during the entire day, at times reaching 110 μg/m3, with the average hourly reading being approx. 65 μg/m3. Calculated for all hours of the day, this resulted in a combined PM10 amount of 1440 μg/m<sup>3</sup> [55,59]. This demonstrates that the readings exceeded standards by as much as 2280% for the entire day, with the daily average exceeding standards by 130%, while overall it exceeded 360 μg/m<sup>3</sup> per day—under very favourable weather conditions and measured at a convenient location. According to WHO recommendations, the permissible daily concentration should not be exceeded for more than 35 days in a year, with levels of 300 μg/m3 (daily average) being cause for alarm [55,59].

In terms of permissible PM2.5 standards, European Union Member States have set their maximum levels at 25 μg/m3 [55]. Measurements taken for the purposes of this study showed a value of 30 μg/m3, while in zone A, measured with a hand-held pollution measurement device, they reached 120 μg/m3. Inside a gas-heated building, the readings were as high as 91 μg/m3. In zone A, the test results were four times worse than the readings of the official measurement station. At the same time, this demonstrates that the standard was exceeded by 480%. Daily tests performed during the period with the highest concentrations of PM2.5 at the measurement station, which reported a level of 75 μg/m3, produced readings at a level of 300 μg/m3 on the hand-held device in zone A, exceeding the standard by 1200%. On less windy days, in zone A, readings taken with the hand-held device exceeded standards by 2000%.

### **4. Conclusions**

In recent years, mathematical LUR (Land Use Regression) models have become an alternative to conventional research approaches [60]. They are used to predict the concentration of atmospheric pollution at a given location by establishing statistical relationships between pollution measurements and potential predictive variables, e.g., land use, traffic and physical features of land use [60,61]. High PM2.5 and PM10 levels observed in a mostly residential and service-oriented zone did not confirm frequently reported findings in which industrial zones have higher air pollution levels than residential zones. This is mainly related to PM2.5 and PM10 emission sources, which are more closely associated with restrictive regulations and inspections of zones used by industrial entities under Polish conditions. On the other hand, in the zones under study, differences in pollution around new multi-family housing and service areas were clearly noticeable. The study did not confirm the findings presented in the simulation model described in [62] and focused on the topographic and functional specificity of areas in Central Europe, rooted in their historical, economic and spatial conditions. As a result of political and economic changes that took place in the twentieth century, Poland has engaged in measures aimed at promoting and supporting renewable energy only relatively recently. The first significant reduction of air pollutant emissions took place in Poland in the 1990s. This was due to the abandonment of old industrial technologies that caused significant environmental pollution. At that time, biomass and coal combustion technology in existing domestic boilers was developed quite successfully [63]. Unfortunately, changes in domestic heating technologies affected less urbanised areas to a smaller extent. In the municipal and multi-family housing sector in Poland, they are regulated and modernised in many places. In the private sector, low-efficiency furnaces with no dedusting systems are used the most often. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the problem of reducing emissions at low altitudes with a particular emphasis on topography. The paper discusses development challenges that are often faced by selected municipal authorities in the area under study.

The research showed that:


• The smallest air pollution was generated by buildings owned by municipalities and education authorities, which rely on the municipal heating grid.

Several postulates can be formulated for the case under study:


**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
