On 28-29 September 2023, at the Tarnowski Castle, the seat of the Historical Museum of the City of Tarnobrzeg, a Historical-Ecological Conference was held entitled 'The Tarnobrzeg Sulphur Basin – from the discovery of sulphur deposits to the miracle of ecology.

The 70th anniversary of the sulphur deposits discovery by Professor Stanisław Pawłowski's team". One of the partners in this event was PGI-NRI, represented during the conference by Deputy Director for Research and Development, Scientific Secretary dr hab. Piotr Szrek and Jakub Sokołowski, who delivered a paper on the occurrence of therapeutic sulphide waters in the Tarnobrzeg Lake area.

The conference was organised to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the discovery of native sulphur deposits in Poland and the establishment of the Tarnobrzeg Sulphur Basin. In 1953, a team led by Professor Stanisław Pawłowski, an employee of the Polish Geological Institute, discovered the world's richest native sulphur deposits near Tarnobrzeg. This discovery initiated the dynamic development of sulphur mining and processing in this region, as well as the development of Tarnobrzeg City itself, which from a small town of several thousand inhabitants grew to become one of the biggest industrial centres in Poland.

Despite the collapse of the sulphur industry at the end of the 20th century, the memory of sulphur mining in Tarnobrzeg is still alive, as evidenced by the City Council's proclamation of 2023 as the 'Year to Remember the Miners and Workers of the Tarnobrzeg Sulphur Mining Basin' and the organisation of this conference as part of its celebrations.

PGI-NRI delegation, third row from the right: Deputy Director for Research and Development, Scientific Secretary of PGI-PIB, Ph.D. Piotr Szrek; Jakub Sokołowski (photo: Leszek Kopeć, SIGMA BP PRESS)

During the two days, conference participants gathered in the Great Hall of the Tarnowski Castle had the opportunity to attend a dozen or so lectures grouped into several thematic sessions: historical, ecological, mining and geological. Experts from a number of scientific and research units dealing with, inter alia, geology and mining of sulphur deposits, the sulphur industry and ecology showed the path that the Tarnobrzeg City has passed through, from the discovery of sulphur deposits by Professor Stanisław Pawłowski's team, through the development of a huge sulphur industry and its impact on the development of the whole region, to the reclamation of post-mining areas. Particular attention was paid to Tarnobrzeg Lake, called a miracle of ecology, created at the site of the opencast sulphur mine 'Machów'.

Commemorative photo of conference participants

Among the speakers was also Jakub Sokołowski from PGI-NRI, who gave a paper entitled 'Sulphide waters as a natural therapeutic resource in the Tarnobrzeg Lake region. Prospects for intake and use'. This paper, prepared together with Tomasz Gągulski from PGI-NRI as well as dr inż. Robert Zdechlik and dr Katarzyna Wątor from AGH University of Science and Technology, presented the possibilities of using the potential of sulphide waters of the Tarnobrzeg region for healing purposes.

Jakub Sokolowski during the presentation of a paper on healing sulphurous waters 

The conference was at a high knowledge level and provided an opportunity to exchange views and experiences between geologists, miners, natural scientists from different scientific centres of the country, as well as to share the results of scientific research with the local community. All papers delivered by the lecturers will soon be presented in a special post-conference publication.

Text Jakub Sokołowski, Piotr Szrek
Photos: Leszek Kopeć, SIGMA BP PRESS