Volume 28 (2017): Issue 2 (June 2017)

Efficient and environmentally friendly public transport is a requirement of a modern city. For many years, Krakow has been building a modern multimodal transportation system, with the bus services playing a significant role. The article presents the results of the studies carried out on the fleet of urban buses operating within the Krakow agglomeration in the years 2010-2015. The influence of modernization of the urban bus fleet in the specified period on emissions of the most significant air pollutants into the air was evaluated. The studies have confirmed a total reduction in emissions from buses during the study period at levels of approximately 28 % for NOx, approximately 35 % for PM10, approximately 39 % for PM2.5 and approximately 43 % for NMVOC.

The aim of the research was to define changes in the content of NO3¯ determined by the environment and processing in products from five cultivars of carrot, orange in colour. Besides this, in the research, the human intake of toxic compounds found in processed foods was also assayed. All the processed foods were produced at laboratory scale compliant with the applicable guidelines and norms. The content of nitrates in processed foods depended significantly on the genetic conditions of material and on the processing method. Of all the cultivars under study, ‘Karotan’ was least applicable to processing since, irrespective of the processing method, the lowest decrease in nitrates was reported for that cultivar. The consumption of processed foods from the cultivars of carrot studied is not hazardous to consumer health, since the value of the ADI in adult, Acceptable Daily Intake, is not exceeded.

The aim of the present research was to determine the effect of environmental conditions (biofortification with Mg) and technological processes (freezing, preserving in jars and drying) on the content of nitrates (III) in carrot. Besides this, the amount of human intake of nitrates (III) found in the carrot products analysed was assayed. The effect on environment resulting from the changes in carrot growing technology was not so unambiguous as for nitrates (V) since most NO2¯ was contained in, for example, processed foods from non-biofortified Mg material. The consumption of products was not hazardous to the consumer since it did not exceed Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) NO2¯. Most nitrates (III) are consumed with dried carrot and least - with carrot preserved in jars. For this reason, one should run a thorough monitoring of the contents of nitrates (III), toxic to humans since new products based on dried carrot material, such as crisps, are launched in the consumer market.

In Europe and around the world, field studies conducted in areas surrounding the odour source are used for evaluating the odour nuisance and for emission studies. In Europe, the Standards of the Association of German Engineers (VDI) - VDI 3940 series - for grid and odour-plume measurements are used. Carrying out this type of research allows for the assessment of olfactory air quality in a ‘quantitative’ analysis by characterizing a particular odour in terms of its impact and its frequency. In addition, in order to analyse and visualize the distribution of odours occurring in a certain area, by using the results of field studies, the Geographical Information System (GIS) tools may be applied. The research methodology, including the results of field measurements and geostatistical analysis in the assessment of odour nuisance, could be very important tools for the determination and spatial interpolation of odour intensity distributions and studying the range of odorous plumes. This paper presents the results of field measurements and geostatistical analysis conducted for selected municipal, industrial and agricultural sectors objects.

The paper presents the possibilities of selected functions from openair package for R programming environment in urban air pollution assessment. Examples of data analysis were based on the measurements from continuous air quality monitoring stations in Krakow (Poland). In order to present additional functionality of this software, modeling results of back trajectories and air pollution dispersion were used. Functions and visualization methods included in openair package make scrutiny of large data sets easier and less time consuming. They allow for analysis of measurement data with the determination of general relationships between parameters, additional complex spatial analyses for back trajectories, and validation of air pollution dispersion models. Openair package is, therefore, a valuable and functional tool that can be successfully used as a support in the air quality management system.

One of the crucial reasons of the system changes of waste management in our legal system in Poland was a need to implement solutions and mechanisms that are applied in the European Union. At the European Union law level, a Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives constitutes a basic legal document described in this part of the article. The essential idea of the quoted directive is creating legal measures, promotion of eliminating waste production and treating it as a source instead. Achievement of these assumptions requires providing segregation at source and recycling of the main waste streams above all. It is necessary to encourage this action and support the reuse of products and waste utilization. Indicated international legal instruments are of primary importance for internal rules, which shall be constructed in a way that enables the achievement of goals determined by the EU law. Legal-organizational internal systems associated with the management of waste have undergone substantial changes from 2010. National legal provisions will be presented in the second part of the article.

In 2013, the Polish legal system referring to municipal waste management was restructured in a revolutionary way. The analysis of new provisions of law described in the article requires particular attention, taking into account their place in the entire system of dealing with waste and connections with the remaining elements of this system. At present, Polish regulations lay down the rules of conduct with all types of waste, diversifying a subjective area of responsibility. These assumptions are determined by the provisions of law that are in force in the Republic of Poland. At present, the system of legal provisions is quite complex; however, the provisions of law of the EU constitute its base (the first article). At the level of Polish law, the goals and tasks concerned with dealing with waste were set forth, which leads to tightening of the system. All actions in this respect - from propagating the selective accumulation and collection of municipal waste, keeping the established levels of recycling and recycling of packaging wastes, and limiting the mass of biodegradable waste directed at the storage - is only a beginning of the road to reduction of environmental risks. In this case, permanent monitoring of proper waste dealing in the commune, the province as well as the entire country is essential. Third part of the article will present characterization, division, classification and identification of waste, together with the aspects of logistic process of municipal waste collection and transport.

In the period of 2012-2013, a research was conducted to investigate the insects damaging the seeds of field elm (Ulmus minor Mill.). The aim of the research was to specify the damages to field elm seeds caused mainly by the brick (Agrochola circellaris) and to indicate the possible dependence between the number of damaged seeds by the caterpillars of this moth and stand density. The research was conducted in the areas of Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park (C-OLP) and Nida Landscape Park (NLP) in the Świętokrzyskie Province. In both parks, there were two test stands situated, each of which covered the material collected from the trees. The number of field elms ranged from four to six. Furthermore, a sample of 300 seeds were randomly collected from each tree. The elms in Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park were observed in full density stands (fully stocked stands); however, these trees in Nida Landscape Park were growing in loose density stands (under-stocked stands). In total, there were 12,000 seeds collected from 20 trees. The analysis of the collected research material demonstrated that 436 seeds from the field elms (Ulmus minor) were damaged by the brick (Agrochola circellaris). It constituted 3.6% of the total number of collected samples (Table 1). In the seed samples collected from the test stands in Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park, the damages caused by the caterpillars of the brick moth ranged between 0.8% and 2.9%. In the case of seed samples collected from Nida Landscape Park, the damages caused by the caterpillars of the brick moth were greater and ranged between 4.1% and 6.5%. The percentage of undamaged seeds ranged between 94.4% in Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park and 84.7% in Nida Landscape Park, which constituted, on an average, 89.5% for both parks. The 6.8% of the seeds were also damaged by other insects. The results of the research showed the dependence between the number of field elm seeds damaged by the brick Agrochola circellaris and the stand density (Table 2). The seeds collected from trees growing in the Nida Landscape Park in loose density stands (under-stocked stands) were twice as frequently damaged than those collected from the trees growing in Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park in full density stands. Also, the damages caused by other insects were greater among the seeds collected from trees growing in loose density stands than in full density stands (Table 1).