3. ORGANIZATION OF THE MONITORING SYSTEM


3.1 Scope of the Monitoring System

The Monitoring System has been implemented in 30 cities including the capital Prague, regional capitals and selected former district cities. For economic and technical reasons not all subsystems of the Monitoring System have been in operation in all cities. On the other hand, additional cities have been included in some subsystems: stations operated by the Public Health Service in cities where the Monitoring System is not run to the full/initially planned extent were included in the air pollution monitoring within Subsystem I and surface soil contamination was also monitored within Subsystem VIII in more cities. Subsystems II and VII have been run at the nationwide level. The cities participating in each of the monitoring subsystems are shown in Fig. 3.1 and Table 3.1 together with population numbers.

3.2 Monitored factors and indicators and their limits

Various factors (pollutants, contaminants, analytes and indicators) have been monitored within the individual subsystems. Their list is based on the respective regulations and analyses carried out both prior to the actual start and during the routine operation of the Monitoring System. These factors together with the respective subsystems are listed in the Supplement. In addition, respective limit or reference values, if established, are given for each of the factors.

For evaluation of the results, several types of limits have been applied. On the one hand, these are limits given in Czech standards and regulations, and, on the other hand, these are values taken from documents of supranational institutions (e.g. the World Health Organization and US Environmental Protection Agency), which usually do not have the force of standards in the Czech Republic. This is true namely of the exposure limits such as the acceptable daily intake (ADI) or recommended daily allowance (RDA) applicable to contaminants or trace elements from foodstuffs or drinking water, or tolerable internal doses applicable to the content of toxic substances in biological material. These limits and values are being adjusted to keep up with the latest developments and the changes, if any, are indicated in the Technical Reports and the Summary Report.

3.3 Information system and data processing

The structure of the used databases and corresponding softwares enable the collection of results from the information system end users (measuring laboratories), their transport to the directors of the individual subsystems, and independent processing according to the requirements of the Monitoring System users. The directors archive all original data in databases for possible reprocessing according to other criteria, if needed. The databases are designed as standard products enabling data processing to the usual extent, are compatible with other database systems and allow additional data processing and evaluation, if required.

The quantitative data processing is based on the calculation of the parametric sample characteristics (e.g. arithmetic mean) or the nonparametric ones (median, percentile). Most data on environmental pollutant concentrations show a statistical distribution close to the lognormal one. Both the detection limit of the analytical method used and the extreme values due to a specific burden of a locality or population (called nonsystematic fluctuations) are to be taken into account. If the burden does not show a normal distribution, an arithmetic mean of the values obtained cannot reflect the situation properly. Therefore, it seems more appropriate and more objective to use the nonparametric sample characteristics (median, percentile) thus avoiding possible unrealistic assumptions about the statistical distribution of the data processed. Nevertheless, general application of the nonparametric characteristics has not yet been possible. The reason is that some standard or reference data are still presented as arithmetic means, the use of which gives overestimated results. In the Monitoring System databases characteristics of all types have been currently available.

It should be noted that the calculation of individual statistical characteristics is limited by the number of values in the sample processed. For small numbers, only their mean value (arithmetic mean or median) is presented. Some data on a contaminant (analyte) concentration in an environmental medium or biological material may fall below the detection limit of the analytical methods used (so called “negative results” or “trace amounts”). If the concentration measured is below the detection limit, a value equalling one-half of the detection limit is used for the calculation of sample characteristics (based on the assumption of an even distribution of the values below the detection limit). This may lead to overestimated results; nevertheless, such an approach is safer than considering the values to be zero. Frequently, a greater number of the results can fall below the detection limit and their processing may be subject to error. If the number of the negative measurement results (i.e. falling below the detection limit) in the defined data set exceeds 50 %, the data on the given contaminant are usually described only verbally and their quantitative assessment is not routinely performed.

The trends in environmental quality and population health are established for the given time intervals in each of the subsystems; their evaluation reflecting both linear and non-linear development of concentrations or population exposure to environmental contaminants is being regularly presented within each of the subsystems.

3.4 QA/QC system

Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) in the analytical laboratories participating in the Monitoring System have been included in the activities of the laboratories as well as their home institutions. These are analytical laboratories of the public health institutes, created after reorganization of the Public Health Service, private laboratories and laboratories of other institutions. The QA system for analyses in the Monitoring System laboratories is based on the accreditation procedure steps focused on:

Information on QA/QC activities of the directors of different subsystems is presented in the Technical Reports.

Most collaborating Public Health Service laboratories use accredited methods according to CSN EN ISO/ICE 17025. As in previous years, the QA control for analyses included sampling reliability, compliance with good sampling practice and adequate data submission to the teams of different subsystems and NIPH Monitoring System Headquarters.

Tab. 3.1 Participants of the Environmental Health Monitoring System

Basic participants

Subsystem

City code

Number
of inhabitants

I

III

IV

V

VI

VIII

Benešov

x

 

x

 

x

x

BN

16,259

Brno

x

x

x

 

x

 

BM

366,904

České Budějovice

x

x

x

 

x

x

CB

94,635

Děčín

x

x

 

 

x

 

DC

51,936

Havlíčkův Brod

x

x

 

 

x

 

HB

24,273

Hodonín

x

 

 

 

 

 

HO

26,242

Hradec Králové

x

x

x

 

x

x

HK

94,436

Jablonec nad Nisou

x

x

x

 

x

x

JN

44,653

Jihlava

x

x

 

 

x

 

JI

49,849

Jindřichův Hradec

 

 

 

 

x

 

JH

22,659

Karviná

x

 

 

 

x

x

KI

63,439

Kladno

x

x

 

 

x

 

KL

69,245

Klatovy

x

 

 

 

x

x

KT

22,866

Kolín

x

x

 

 

x

 

KO

29,561

Kroměříž

x

 

 

x

x

x

KM

28,996

Liberec

x

x

 

x

x

x

LB

97,596

Mělník

x

 

 

 

x

x

ME

19,055

Most

x

 

 

 

x

 

MO

67,891

Olomouc

x

x

 

 

x

x

OL

100,491

Ostrava

x

x

x

x

 

x

OS

310,681

Plzeň

x

x

x

 

x

x

PM

162,659

Prague

x

x

x

x

x1)

 

AB2)

1,176,116

Příbram

x

x

 

 

x

x

PB

35,001

Sokolov

x

 

 

 

 

 

SO

24,681

Svitavy

x

 

 

 

x

 

SY

17,294

Šumperk

x

 

x

 

x

x

SU

28,279

Ústí nad Labem

x

x

x

 

x

x

UL

94,021

Ústí nad Orlicí

x

x

 

 

x

 

UO

14,927

Znojmo

 

x

x

 

x

 

ZN

35,134

Žďár nad Sázavou

x

x

x

 

x

x

ZR

23,949

Other participants:

Bílý Kříž

x

 

 

 

 

 

P2

 

Jeseník

 

 

 

 

 

x

JE

12,395

Košetice

x

 

 

 

 

 

P1

 

Litoměřice

x

 

 

 

 

 

LM

24,221

Litvínov

x

 

 

 

 

 

LT

26,968

Lovosice

x

 

 

 

 

 

LV

9,176

Meziboří

x

 

 

 

 

 

MZ

4,892

Rokycany

 

 

 

 

 

x

RO

13,748

Strakonice

 

 

 

 

 

x

ST

23,300

Tanvald

x

 

 

 

 

 

TN

6,939

Teplice

x

 

 

 

 

x

TP

51,083

Uherské Hradiště

 

 

 

x

 

 

UH

26,183

Note:
Subsystems II and VII are implemented nationwide.
1) Prague 10
2) Codes A1–A10 are used for Prague districts.
Stations P1 and P2: rural background stations of Czech Hydrometeorological Institute.
Number of inhabitants is updated on the date 1. 7. 2005 (Czech Statistical Office, www.czso.cz).


Fig. 3.1 Environmental Health Monitoring System in the Czech Republic – participant cities

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