Warsaw: Environmental groups are to complain to the European Union about dangerous levels of air pollution, accusing government departments and local authorities of passing the buck and failing to tackle the lethal smog.
Poland’s air is the most polluted in Europe, due in part to extensive coal and garbage-burning by households, and kills more than 40,000 people a year, activists say. Cities such as Warsaw, Katowice and Krakow have choked with smog this winter, with pollution levels often exceeding those of Beijing or New Delhi. The energy, environment and economy ministries have come up with proposals, including monitoring the quality of solid fuel or imposing standards on household burners.
But environmentalists say bolder measures are needed and blame the government for downplaying the problem and putting the interest of the coal industry above citizens’ health.
