Medical society is indisputably proving the correlation between the quality of the air we breathe and the health state of the population, therefore the quality of life in an area is significantly affected by air pollution levels. Throughout history, the Zasavje region has been heavily influenced by heavy industry, which has contributed to the economic development on one side and brought negative environmental impacts on the other. Using the elements of the evaluation analysis, we examined the effects of public policies adopted to improve ambient air quality. We have done this by examining documents adopted at European, national and local level, expert reports, stakeholder interviews and air pollutant measurements. Today, the heavy industry is mostly gone and so there is more responsibility on the residents themselves, because most of the particulate emissions come from traffic and individual heating systems. For this reason, Trbovlje, Zagorje ob Savi and Hrastnik have adopted plans for improving the traffic situation, as well as a series of measures in the field of more efficient use of energy and supply to customers with heating. The effects can be seen in the overall quantity of pollutants in the air; however, it is still above the required limit. In addition, long-term exposure to polluted air has led to an above-average population incidence of certain diseases. Ambient air quality is better than it was at the beginning of the studied period but is still unsatisfactory and calls for further action.
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