The Development of the Air Pollution of Czechoslovakia
Authors: Muranský Stanislav 
Published: July 2023

As everywhere else, the industrial development brought about the devastation of natural environment even in Czechoslovakia, much more so here owing to worse conditions of dispersal in rough terrain and worse quality of fuel, consisting mainly of brown coal. The worst devastion occured after 1945 following the marked concentration of industry and increase of its production. The air pollution (i. e. dust, exhalations and exhaust fumes) is generally classified by three stages in industrialized countries. From this point of view, the situation of Czechoslovakia is rather unfavourable already in the early sixties. It is in the first stage as regards the big areas of dustfall, but the bad quality of coal and its great consumption puts the country in the second stage of big areas of high concentration of SO2, and as for the total exhalations of SO2 per inhabitant, it gets the unenvied world championship. By the worst was the situation in three big areas, namely the North Bohemian Browm Coal Basin, the Ostrava-Karviná Pitcoal BaSin, and the Metropolitan Zone of Prague, apart from a number of smaller but badly polluted areas. Ever since 1960, much has been improved due to some important mesures taken, especially in the dust fall situation. It is expected that the situation will go on improving, even though the development of energies will continue to be tied up to the brown coal fuel base and the new power plants will again be located in the coal basin for economic reasons. However the decrease of dust fall in bigger cities might be partly counteracted by the rise of exhaust fumes, unless basic technical measures are taken. The problem of SO2 concentration will remain, though, should the output of electrical energy and heat be doubled, as expected. The doubling of yearly SO2 exhalations should put Czechoslovakia clearly into the second development stage, while it will still keep some of the first one on one hand, and gain some of the third one on the other, through the rise of motorization. Some of the areas of undue dustfall might disappear or decrease at least, but the areas of high SO2 concentration migh increase. It is therfore, imperative to use all possibilities offered by a good physical plan. The basic information on physical conditions in the whole state, covering the necessary data on the extent and degree of air pollution as well, are contained in the so-called "Project of the Republic" elaborated in 1964. This, as well as, many other materials, was the basis for the planning criteria and actual locational studies of siting of new big industrial enterprises, which were potentional sources of air pollution, the decontamination of which presented difficult technological or economic problems (like the big power plants), so as they would not add to existing pollution. This, of course, is not easy in a densely populated country. The physical planning informations are being formed into an integrated system of information on territory just at present, being widened at the same time. Since they contain all data on air pollution, they will represent a useful tool for mesures leading to decontamination of air.