Disease risk

Air pollutants in Salzburg are not falling enough

The state's air monitoring station at Rudolfsplatz in Salzburg City(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

First the good news: Salzburg was able to comply with the current values for air pollutants over the previous year. However, experts from the VCÖ believe that the air quality is still not good enough: the guideline values recommended by the WHO were exceeded at several measuring points. This has health consequences.

The guideline values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) were exceeded at eleven nitrogen dioxide measuring points and five measuring points for PM2.5 particulate matter in the province of Salzburg. "Thanks to numerous measures, air pollution in Salzburg has decreased significantly over the past 20 years. But from a health perspective, the levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are still too high," emphasizes Katharina Jaschinsky on the VCÖ's analysis based on data from the Federal Environment Agency. The EU has already decided to reduce the limit values for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide for 2023: however, they will still be twice as high as the WHO's recommended values.

Toxicity of diesel exhaust downplayed
Environmental physician Hans-Petter Hutter from the Medical University of Vienna illustrates just how dangerous air pollutants are for us humans: "In addition to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, there is also increasing evidence that they affect the brain - the keyword being dementia. Particles promote diabetes and neurodermatitis. Unfortunately, the health consequences have long been downplayed, for example the toxicity of diesel exhaust and nitrogen dioxides has been denied. Therefore, despite various improvements, there is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to measures to reduce exhaust fumes."

Incidentally, Graz is the Austrian leader in terms of air pollution. In the province of Salzburg, the air around Hallein is particularly polluted. The experts unanimously call for more measures to reduce pollution, including tax breaks for diesel. Because one thing is particularly important: "The risk of serious illness is increasing, especially for children, the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions," says Jaschinsky.