On 20-22 May 2019, the Working Group on Noise paid a study visit to Katowice.
The visit was dedicated to discussing subjects on the use of noise reduction methods alternative to acoustic barriers, including the implementation of a speed limit of up to 30 km/h in the city centre, on the example of the „Speed 30 Zone” in Katowice, as well as to becoming familiar with the method to identify noise sources in the area belonging to ArcelorMittal Poland S.A. in Dąbrowa Górnicza.
On the first day of the visit, the WG on Noise had a debate, during which the participants, after hearing the experts’ presentations, discussed the noise-related issues, including the determination of boundaries of areas in need of noise protection. The meeting addressed the issue of carrying out analyses of the noise impact on areas subject to acoustic protection. They discussed how to properly prepare input for the acoustic impact model, how to extract the most important sources of noise and how to carry out an investment process so as to achieve, as soon as possible, the environmental effect consisting in reducing the acoustic impact. They also discussed the administrative enforcement of non-monetary obligations and the complexities in the environmental impact assessment procedure related to the provisions (or their interpretation) of the local zoning plan with regard to noise protection.
The following days were dedicated to visiting the individual installations as selected examples of sources of acoustic impact in the Śląskie Voivodeship.
The first example concerned the ArcelorMittal Poland plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza, around which a restricted use area had been established. The Group was presented with the activities of the installation operator which limited the scale of the environmental impact of the steel mill. The scale of the project and the associated multi-annual period were illustrated.
ArcelorMittal Poland is the largest steel producer in Poland, bringing together about 70% of the production potential of the Polish metallurgical industry. The company consists of five steel mills: in Kraków, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Sosnowiec, Świętochłowice and Chorzów. In 2018, the major objective of ArcelorMittal Poland was to implement large and costly environmental investment projects. Only in the steel mill in Dąbrowa Górnicza, PLN 700 million were spent on upgrading the existing dust removal system and building a new dust removal facility in the steel mill, which allowed to increase the dust removal system’s efficiency as much as three times. Modern hybrid filters for sintering belts were built at the sinter plant, thus reducing dust emissions on belts more than six times. Another investment project implemented in the field of environmental activities was the construction of an installation for desulfurisation and denitrification of exhaust gases at the TAMEH POLSKA power plant. Thanks to the installation, emissions of dust were reduced by more than 86%, of nitrogen oxides by 35% and of sulphur dioxides by 66%. In addition, the TAMEH POLSKA power plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza put into operation the first Polish installation of turbines generating electricity in the process of decompression of blast furnace gas. This innovative project allows to generate 25 MW of energy from blast furnace gas, which is equivalent to as much as 45 thousand tonnes of coal a year, i.e. 900 wagons full of coal. This investment project will reduce emissions to the environment by almost 90 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and almost 9 tonnes of dust a year.
When visiting the steel mill, the participants were shown the installation of a hot rolling mill. The group had an opportunity to observe the entire process of rolling steel, from the stage of heating long perpendicular slabs to producing ready-to-use tram rails of 120 m, which were produced on that day. The entire installation is contained in the workshop, so that any resulting acoustic impacts are generally contained inside of it.
On the second part of the day, the participants in the visit walked through the streets of Katowice, covered by the so-called „Speed 30 Zone”. They could see how the reduction in traffic works in practice in the city centre, where the maximum allowed speed is 30 km per hour, when compared to traffic on roads not covered by the zone. Then, the Group went to Nikiszowiec – the district of Katowice where they could see a combination of residential buildings with a typical industrial area, i.e. a coalmine.
During the study visit, the participants could experience the actual impact of the mine ventilation shaft. The ventilation shaft in Rudołtowice, due to the continuous uniform operation of high-performance fans for ventilating the coal mine in Czechowice-Dziedzice, is a nuisance for the local residents. Thanks to the issue of a corrective decision, the operator has already started an investment process aimed at building new diffusers whose parameters do not exceed noise levels in the environment.
The last point of the programme was a visit to Knurów, to the Farskie Pola housing estate, where the participants could hear the noise spreading under the A1 motorway. Installing of the motorway on the spans, in addition above the water reservoir, causes the impact generated by cars crossing the expansion joints and this results in exceeding the noise level due to its impulse nature. The manager, after assessing the opportunities, is at the stage of making a project to soundproof the expansion joints in the bottom part of the roadway, and then the effectiveness of this solution will be measured.
The visit was organised by the General Directorate for Environmental Protection as part of the project “Continuation of support for the functioning of the network of environmental authorities and managing authorities of EU funds “Partnership: Environment for Development for 2018-2019” co-financed by the Cohesion Fund as part of the Technical Assistance Operational Programme 2014-2020.
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