Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Programme 2007 - 2013 Central Europe

Date of latest update: 2021-04-06

Description

Description (EN):

With every breath we take risk of inhaling some very dangerous substances is unavoidable. Impacts of this can significantly influence our health and therefore it is not surprising that air pollution has become one of the most important issues we face today. World Health Organisation has identified that air pollution is a major problem, particularly in Central and Eastern parts of Europe. Air pollution impact at the local level however may be caused far away from where the main effects are realised. Additionally, it may be aggravated by the effects of climate change, particularly severe weather events. Air pollution contains particles suspended in the air, the three main sources of which are vehicle exhaust, industrial activities and the burning of fossil fuel. These can contribute to the development of various disorders which result in respiratory complaints and a deterred health. This can also undermine the competitiveness of a city/region by deterring the movement of people and enterprise to affected areas. Thus, air pollution impacts at different levels, spatially and temporally, in the home, health care systems and the workplace. The TAB project responds directly to the concerns of reducing the effects of air pollution at the local level by focusing on the forces driving air pollution at the transnational level. The general objective of TAB is to reduce the adverse effects of air pollution originating from industrial production, road traffic and domestic heating on the health and quality of life of citizens in the partner cities/regions and also to limit the ways by which these may be exacerbated by extreme weather events induced by climate change.

Achievements (EN):

The central concern of the TAB project is the air pollution. It impacts at the local level but may be caused far away from where the main effects are realised. Additionally, it is aggravated by the effects of climate change, particularly severe weather events. Partners realised that although effects of air pollution were experienced at local level, strategies to ameliorate these effects need to be coordinated and implemented at transnational level if improvements in human health and the quality of life were to be achieved at the local level. Project launched on 1st August 2011 and will take 36 months. 8 project partners from Poland, Czech Republic Hungary, Italy and Slovenia constitute the project team, providing professional and scientific background. TAB is planning to produce 4 Core outputs: 1. Web-based Virtual Observatory (VO) acting as virtual transnational air pollution database fed by continuous measurementsfrom partner cities. 2. Joint Transnational Strategy and Action Plan for participating countries along joint methodology using results of baseline studies and monitoring data from VO. 3. Adaption Action Plans being jointly developed for partner cities & regions to reduce adverse effects of air pollution and its interactions with climate change 4. Central Europe Healthy Environmental Platform, a dynamic web platform to disseminate and share knowledge of urban and regional healthy environment and provides continuation of TAB project after the 36 month implementation period. Since the very beginning of the project methodological bases of VO have been reviewed and best practices have been sought. Basic ideas and concept of the Virtual Observatory was introduced by National Institute of Environmental Health (HU). Technological options of the Observatory run and methodological aspects of vulnerability assessment in partner cities and regions were discussed during the opening conference on 28 March, 2012 in Katowice and the midterm conference on 21.01.2013 in Turin involving external experts. Introduction and involvement of stakeholders is performing: very first Healthy Environment Platform meeting was organised in Várpalota, since all partners organised at least one platform meeting. Initial campaigns have already launched by Sosnowiec called “Low emissions and high risk”. Sosnowiec has already started worked out a training programme which is introducing local secondary schools. Publicity of the TAB project is remarkable, several articles and research publications have been issued and TV and radio interviews have been recorded. Interim assessment and SWOT analyses are available in English and the partners’ languages. Content of the project webpage is continuously developed, it is good source of related environmental and air pollution topics.

Thematic information

Soil and air quality Climate change and biodiversity

Partners (8)

Lead Partner: Główny Instytut Górnictwa

Address: Pl. Gwarków 1, 40-166 Katowice, Poland

Legal status: n/a

ERICo Velenje, Inštitut za ekološke raziskave d.o.o.

Name: ERICo Velenje, Inštitut za ekološke raziskave d.o.o.

Address: Koroška 58, 3320 Velenje, Slovenia

Legal status: n/a

Istituto per le piante da legno e l'Ambiente

Name: Istituto per le piante da legno e l'Ambiente

Address: Corso Casale 476, 10132 Torino, Italy

Legal status: n/a

Országos Környezetegészségügyi Intézet

Name: Országos Környezetegészségügyi Intézet

Address: Gyali út 2-6., 1097 Budapest, Hungary

Legal status: n/a

Gmina Sosnowiec

Name: Gmina Sosnowiec

Address: Zwyciestwa Ave. 20, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland

Legal status: n/a

Mestna občina Velenje

Name: Mestna občina Velenje

Address: Titov trg 1, 3320 Velenje, Slovenia

Legal status: n/a

Várpalota Város Önkormányzata

Name: Várpalota Város Önkormányzata

Address: Gárdonyi Géza u. 39., 8100 Várpalota, Hungary

Legal status: n/a

Ústecký kraj

Name: Ústecký kraj

Address: Velká Hradební 3118/48, 400 02 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic

Legal status: n/a

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

ERICo Velenje, Inštitut za ekološke raziskave d.o.o.

Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Partners and Projects info

Istituto per le piante da legno e l'Ambiente

Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Partners and Projects info

Országos Környezetegészségügyi Intézet

Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Partners and Projects info

Municipality of Sosnowiec

Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Partners and Projects info

Municipality of Velenje

Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Partners and Projects info

Główny Instytut Górnictwa

Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Partners and Projects info

Municipality of Várpalota

Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Partners and Projects info

Ústí Region

Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Project acronym: TAB

Project start date: 2011-08-01

Project end date: 2014-07-31

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 1 877 042.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 1 559 549.70

Co-financing sources:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2007 - 2013 Central Europe

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2014-10-01

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

124 / 124 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

1 331 / 1 331 (100%)

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Take a Breath! - Adaptation Actions to reduce adverse health impacts of air pollution

Description

Thematic information

Partners (8)

Partners map

Summary

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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