The electrode industry emits large amounts of tar substances to the air, especially harmful to the environment. Sądeckie Zakłady Elektro-Węglowe (currently Polgraph Ltd), a company classified as one of the eighty worst-polluting plants in Poland was an example of this. Thanks to environmental investments, emissions of harmful compounds have been reduced by 97—99 per cent. This decrease has considerably improved air quality in the Nowy Sącz Basin.