Clean bill of health for Czechs
By Ruth H.
Jønsrud - Newswire Norway
Lower semen counts, malformed foetuses, cancer and respiratory
infections are just some of the serious health problems that have
plagued the inhabitants of Teplice in the Czech Republic due to
high pollution levels. Now they are getting help.
Air quality and the health of the local population in Teplice are
now being monitored, evaluated and improved in an international
co-operative project to be completed in 2001.
Ten years ago the Northern Czech Republic was one of the most
polluted regions of Eastern Europe, with the highest concentration
of airborne sulphur dioxide (SO2) in Europe. The Czech Ministry
of the Environment therefore initiated a major project to identify
which environmental factors were adversely affecting the health
of the local population. The Teplice Health Project is now managed
by the Czech authorities with the support of international organisations
and the EU.
Semen counts and pregnancies
The aim was to find links between health and the environment.
This was done by monitoring the population over a ten-year period
and by recording changes in their health and pollution levels. The
project sought to introduce preventative measures and to assess
their impact.
"Researchers checked semen counts and how pregnancies progressed.
Studies were also conducted on fertility rates, respiratory illnesses,
the risk of cancer and effects on the body's immune system as a
result of pollution", says senior researcher Alena Bartonova, a
specialist on airborne pollution at the Norwegian Institute for
Air Research (NILU).
24 mobile measuring stations
NILU was invited to join the Teplice Health Project in 1991.
The program management needed help in producing estimates for the
level of airborne pollution, and in studying the health of the local
population. NILU is renowned for its expertise in these areas.
With the financial support of the Norwegian Pollution Control
Authority, NILU provided the technical equipment and know-how to
monitor local airborne pollution.
"Although the local researchers are highly trained and looked
after most aspects of the project, we made a contribution to quality
assurance. They already knew us, and that's why they asked us",
says Bartonova.
NILU sent equipment, including mobile measuring stations, to measure
the pollution in the air. Norwegian researchers went to the Czech
Republic and taught local scientists how to use the equipment. The
aim was to make themselves redundant. In 1995 NILU withdrew, but
the long-term air-monitoring project is still going with the same
24 stations. The readings will be used to calculate how far the
airborne pollution has spread.
Tremendous environmental gains
To monitor the health of the local population, NILU developed a
questionnaire for adults and children in Teplice. The first stage
was to check their health, mainly their airways. Then the findings
were compared with data from the measuring stations to determine
a connection between poor health and air pollution.
Similar questionnaires were circulated in the district of Prachatice
in the southern Czech Republic, where pollution is not as bad. The
researchers were then able to compare the findings from Teplice
and Prachatice.
"The project has undoubtedly improved our understanding of the
links between health and environmental pollution. The investigation
has been very thorough and to a high international standard. It
has made an important contribution to determining which of the measures
work, and how they work", says Bartonova.
Wide-ranging measures to reduce airborne pollution were initiated
at the same time as the Teplice program. The findings show marked
improvements. For instance, the concentration of SO2 in the Teplice
area is now significantly lower.
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