STA, 30 January 2020 - Slovenia's most polluted cities are located in the east of the country, with air quality improving compared to the situation half a century ago, shows a survey by the National Institute of Public Health. However, air pollution is still the key environmental factor affecting health and premature mortality rates, the newspaper Delo reports Thursday.
The air in Celje and Zagorje in the east, and Murska Sobota in the north-east is found to be the most polluted in Slovenia in terms of particle pollution. The daily concentration of dust particles in these cities exceeds the statutory limit more than 35 times per year.
Excessive particle pollution was also recorded in Maribor, as well as Hrastnik and Trbovlje which, like Zagorje, are situated in the industry-heavy Zasavje region, shows the survey on Slovenians' mortality rates in cities plagued by particle pollution.
Poor air quality has a significant detrimental effect on cardiovascular disease, according to the National Institute of Public Health. Between 2016 and 2018, when the study was conducted, almost 1,000 people died from pollution-related causes, accounting for almost 25% of all deaths in the cities in the study.
Up to 70 cardiac patients per year die due to air pollution health ramifications in Ljubljana, while in Celje citizens were exposed to excessive levels of PM10 particles in the air for almost a month and a half in total last year.
Due to air pollution, aggravated by traffic and, most notably, household emissions, Slovenia records 1,700 cases of premature deaths, shows the Environment Agency data.
