4 and power stations fuelled by lignite, without taking sufficient account of the environmental impact and without taking all necessary steps to reduce this impact. 12. In support of its allegations, the MFHR supplies information on the level of pollution caused by lignite in the Kozani-Ptolemaida region (Eordea valley, prefecture of Kozani and Florina) in western Macedonia and in the Megalopolis region (prefecture of Arkadia) in the Peloponnese, and its impact on the health of their inhabitants. It argues that this pollution and its effects on the health of the population are the consequence of a number of actions and omissions of the Greek state, in violation of Article 11. i. Lignite pollution 13. With regard to the Kozani-Ptolemaida region, the MFHR refers to several studies conducted by independent researchers. The main studies were carried out by or in collaboration with Professor A.G. Triantafyllou of the Department of Geotechnology and Environmental Engineering at the Technological Education Institute of West Macedonia and head of the Environmental Physics and Technology Laboratory1. In response to the Government, the MFHR also refers to studies by Associate Professor C. Samara2 and Professor C. Petaloti of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory)3. 14. The MFHR cites the following data to support its allegation that total suspended particulates (TSP)4 have regularly or even, in certain cases, continually, over several years, exceeded the exposure limit values set by the European Union (EU) and, internationally, by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and that this pollution is mainly attributable to lignite mining, and the road traffic to which it gives rise. 1 Triantafyllou, A.G. (2000) "Patterns and Concentrations of PM10 in a Mountainous Basin Region", J. Air & Waste Management Assoc., 50: 1017-1022; Triantafyllou, A.G. (2002), “Respirable Particulate Matter at an Urban and Nearby Industrial Location: Concentrations and Variability and Synoptic Weather Conditions during High Pollution Episodes���, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, Volume 52, 289, Triantafyllou, A.G. (2003), ‘Levels and trend of suspended particulates around large lignite power stations’, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 89, 15-34. Triantafyllou, A.G. (2005), ‘Particulate matter over a seven year period in urban and rural areas within, proximal and far from mining and power station operations in Greece, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 159-165. 2 Samara, C. (2005) "Chemical mass balance source apportionment of TSP in a lignite-burning area of Western Macedonia, Greece", Atmospheric Environment 39: 6430-6443. 3 Petaloti, C. (2006) “Trace elements in atmospheric particulate matter over a coal burning power production area of western Macedonia, Greece”, Chemosphere, 2006. 4 Suspended particulates are made up of a mixture of organic substances and minerals, in liquid or solid form. They are classed according to size: PM10 (diameter < 10μm); PM2,5 (diameter < 2,5μm). The anthropogenic emissions of the particulates result in part from combustion processes.