Knowledge base

Microclimate measurement is addressed where employees experience heat, cold, draughts, dry air or significant differences between parts of the workplace. During measurement we evaluate temperature, humidity, air movement and related operating conditions so that the workplace environment, thermal or cold load and suitability of technical or organisational measures can be assessed objectively.

A fee return in the air field does not arise on its own. It is based on operating records, emission measurement, emission calculations, fuel and raw material consumption, operating hours, and data stated in the operating permit.

The ARAMIS project brings new professional bases for air quality assessment, emission balances, dispersion modelling, pollution source identification, and emission calculation. For operators, designers, investors, and municipalities, outputs on emission factors, construction dust, recycling lines, greenhouse gases, and source significance under the Air Protection Act are especially important.

A lighting measurement report is often needed for building approval, change of use, KHS inspection or verification of workplace conditions. It is not enough that new luminaires are installed in the building.

Insufficient workplace lighting is often addressed only when employees complain of eye strain, poor visibility, glare, or unsuitable working conditions. The same problem also arises at new workplaces, during reconstructions, building completion, or regional public health authority inspections.

Emission measurement can be complicated by poorly designed exhaust, missing measurement ports, short straight duct sections, turbulence, poor access or unsafe working conditions. The operator should address the measurement location already when designing technology, replacing filters, modifying the exhaust or preparing authorised emission measurement.

Emissions can in some cases be determined by calculation, for example using an emission factor, mass balance, specific production emission, or data on fuel, raw material, and solvent consumption. Calculation is not always enough, however.

From 2026, ISPOP for one-time emission measurement covers not only the measurement date but also notification of the report. The operator must ensure correct notification of the measurement date, and prepare the source, exhausts and operating regime.

Aggregation rules for air pollution sources determine whether multiple partial technologies are assessed for capacity separately or jointly. The outcome can change source classification under Annex 2 to the Air Protection Act, the obligation to hold an operating permit, expert opinion, dispersion study, emission measurement, or operating rules.

An expert opinion under the Air Protection Act is not addressed only for new sources. In some cases it must also be submitted when changing an existing listed stationary source, especially if designed output, capacity, or emissions increase, or if an operating technical condition replacing a specific emission limit is being set.

From 2026, the practical method of notifying dates and submitting data from protocols for one-off emission measurement is changing. The measurement date is now notified via ISPOP and data from the measurement protocol are reported by the authorised person using the PROTOKOL form.

The amendment to the Air Protection Act and related methodological guidance from the Ministry of the Environment have raised a new practical question: which sources must be additionally permitted or brought into compliance with new requirements? The topic concerns especially sources that were previously only mentioned in a permit, were treated as related activity, or newly fall under Annex No.

An operating parameter serves to demonstrate on an ongoing basis that emission reduction technology or emission reduction measures are actually working. It may involve temperature, pressure, flow rate, filter pressure drop, sorbent dosing, or wetting operation.

2026 is important for air protection mainly because of the practical impact of the amendment to the Air Protection Act No. 42/2025 Coll.

A measurement location on the exhaust is not just a technical detail for the laboratory. If authorised emission measurement is to be carried out in future, the exhaust must be accessible, safe and suitable for representative sampling.

Emissions and immissions are two different perspectives on air pollution. Emissions describe what a source releases through a stack, exhaust, or technological area.

A quick project assessment is only possible when basic information is available on the building, technology, capacity, exhausts, operating hours, transport, and the authority's requirements. Complete project documentation is not always needed immediately, but the materials must make it possible to determine whether measurement, a noise study, a dispersion study, an expert opinion, EIA, JES, operating rules, or other environmental documentation will be required.

A catalogue value for equipment noise is a useful orientational input, but on its own it usually is not enough for professional noise assessment. What matters is whether the manufacturer states sound power level or sound pressure level, at what distance the value was determined, under what operating regime, with what directivity, and with what uncertainty.

For industrial and technical projects, resolving only the building and technology part is not enough. Already in an early phase, exhaust placement, noise sources, traffic routes, protective setbacks, and operating capacity may decide the outcome.

Permitting an industrial operation from an environmental perspective usually does not address just one area. Depending on the type of project, it may be necessary to assess air quality, noise, waste, water, EIA, the unified environmental opinion, operating rules, expert reports and dispersion studies.

Automotive operations combine many technologies that can affect the work environment, air emissions, and noise in the surroundings. Painting, bonding, component covering, PUR foams, flame lamination, welding, chemical substances in workplace air, VOC, dust, metals, and technological noise are typically addressed.

Wood-processing operations are typical sources of dust, sawdust, noise, and emissions of total suspended particulates (TSP). During cutting, planing, sanding, milling, or production of chips and pellets, wood dust arises that matters both from a work environment perspective and from an air protection perspective.

Landfills and waste facilities are among projects where not only waste management itself is usually addressed. Capacities, instantaneous capacity, waste types, operating rules, noise, air, water, traffic, EIA, and for larger facilities also IPPC are important.

A construction waste recycling centre can be a sensitive project from a permitting perspective, even though its purpose is material recovery of waste. Crushing, sorting, loading, and transport generate noise, dust, and increased traffic load, which must be assessed already at the project preparation stage.

A backup diesel generator appears in practice at industrial sites, waterworks, hospitals, data centres, office buildings, logistics centres, or technological operations where power supply must be secured during electricity outage. At first glance it may be equipment that runs only exceptionally.

For boiler plants and gas boilers, practice often raises the question of whether measurement of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions is mandatory. What matters is not only that it is a gas boiler, but especially total rated thermal input, fuel type, source classification, and operating permit conditions.

A welding shop can be a significant workplace from the perspective of employee health protection and air protection. During welding, welding fumes, fine particles, metal oxides, and other substances arise, whose composition depends on welded material, filler material, welding method, and extraction effectiveness.

From an air-protection perspective, a paint shop is often a significant source of VOC emissions — volatile organic compounds. The operator must address not only painting itself, but also consumption of organic solvents, filtration, exhausts, VOC balance, operating records, emission measurement and, where applicable, an operating permit.

The scope of measurement of chemical substances in workplace air cannot be determined from the name of the operation alone or from a general request to "measure chemicals". What matters is the technology used, safety data sheets, work procedure, exposure duration, ventilation method, PEL and NPK-P limit values, and whether sampling should be personal or stationary.

Workplace dust is not just visible mess in the air or on the floor. From the perspective of employee health protection, what dust arises, what particle sizes it contains, and whether it contains crystalline silicon dioxide, for example, is important.

Job categorisation is the basic tool for assessing health risks in the workplace. In practice, the question often arises when expert assessment is sufficient and when workplace environment measurement must be documented.

Summary operating records are not just an administrative form in ISPOP. Data in the report must match the operating permit, actual source operation, emission measurements, emission calculations, fuel and raw material consumptions, and any fee obligations.

The regional hygiene station may require workplace environment measurement especially when it is necessary to verify employee exposure to risk factors of work. Chemical substances, dust, noise, vibration, microclimate, lighting or documentation for job categorisation are most often addressed.

A noise study or noise measurement report contains terms that may be difficult for the client to read: LAeq, LAFmax, day and night periods, protected outdoor area of buildings, or measurement uncertainty. Correct interpretation is important because not every high number automatically means limit exceedance.

Heat pumps, outdoor air-conditioning units, roof-mounted HVAC units, fans and chillers are among the common noise sources addressed before building completion and after the building is put into operation. The problem usually arises not only from the noise level of the equipment itself, but also from its location, night-time operation, reflections from façades, simultaneous operation of several units, and distance to the nearest protected areas.

The amendment to the Air Protection Act introduces a minimum distance requirement for selected stationary sources that may significantly affect the surroundings through dust or odour. The new rules are important especially when siting new sources, when making changes in spatial planning, and when preparing expert reports and operating rules.

The unified environmental opinion, abbreviated JES, consolidates multiple environmental statements, binding opinions, and decisions into a single basis for permitting a project. For projects subject to EIA, it is important to decide correctly whether JES should be addressed together with the EIA process, or only subsequently after the EIA opinion is issued.

A noise study and noise measurement are not the same thing. A noise study usually assesses in advance by calculation what noise a project, technology, facility, transport, heat pump, or HVAC unit will produce after implementation.

Complaints about noise from an industrial facility should be addressed substantively and in good time. First, it is necessary to establish where the noise actually comes from, what operating regime the facility runs under, and whether the problem may occur during the day or at night.

An expert opinion under the Air Protection Act is an important document when permitting new stationary sources, changing operation, and communicating with the regional authority. It is typically addressed for sources listed in Annex No.

A dispersion study assesses how emissions from a stationary source, traffic, or other project will manifest in surrounding air quality. In practice it is addressed especially when permitting new sources, operational changes, capacity increases, significant related traffic, or in proceedings where the regional authority needs to assess immission contributions of the project.

The amendment to the Air Protection Act carried out by Act No. 42/2025 Coll.

Operators of boiler plants, paint shops, technological lines, and other stationary sources often face the question of whether they must commission authorised emission measurement, or whether another expert supporting document is sufficient for the given situation. What matters most is the type of source, operating permit conditions, technology change, and the purpose for which the output is to be documented.