PM promises action over worrying report in Czech Republic

The Czech prime minister Petr Necas has promised to take action over pollution in the country, after the 2010 environmental report revealed worrying environmental figures, it has been reported by Prague Daily Monitor.

According to the report, which was conducted by the Environmental Ministry, urban areas of the country have seen increased concentrations of arcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. It also revealed that 48 per cent of the Czech population live in areas with excessive concentrations of small airborne particulate matter in 2010, compared to 18 percent of the population in 2009.

Prime minister Petr Necas said in a statement that the data is alarming, and the government will work "very intensively" to reduce the air pollution.

The government was almost sued by the European Commission in 2010 over regularly exceeding airborne dust concentration limits in the Ostrava area, which is one of the most polluted localities in Central Europe.

The report has been released after a study by the Czech government found that more than two thousand Czechs were killed by air pollution in 2010.

Posted by Claire Manning