“Dust, people, nature”. Air pollution in the Kielce Voivodeship (1975–1989)

Abstract

The industrialization of the 1975–1989 period brought changes in spatial development and transformations in the human natural environment. New industrial investments required space for their implementation. As a result, the size of green areas near the cities gradually decreased. In addition, the activity of the “old” plants, as well as those under development, posed a serious threat to the environment. These problems were also evident in the province of Kielce. In the middle of the Gierek’s decade the region ranked fifth in the country in terms of the amount of pollution emitted into the atmosphere. In the area of “White Basin”, where many cement and lime factories were concentrated, dust fallout production standards were exceeded even several times. Results of the analyses on the problem of environmental threats may become an important part of the debate on socio-economic processes taking place in Poland during the postwar period. Hitherto studies of industrialization in the years 1944/1945–1989 focused mainly on its social consequences. However, they almost completely ignore the issue of degradation of the ecosystem, which is also closely associated with the industrialization pursued.