Many people dream of living in environmentally friendly conditions. However, not everyone has the opportunity to live in a place where the air is filled with freshness. Most people have to inhale dirty city air, which causes irreparable harm to the body. This problem is especially relevant for residents of industrial cities. Many factories emitting harmful substances into the atmosphere, a lot of cars emitting exhaust gases, cannot but affect the health of the population. Why is city air so dangerous?
First of all, a poor environmental situation negatively affects the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. People who regularly inhale harmful particles in the air develop hypertension. Research shows that even 10 weeks of exposure to hazardous substances is enough to predispose you to hypertension.
Polluted air contains substances that, when ingested by young people, provoke the development of various cardiovascular diseases. The risk of developing myocardial infarction and inflammatory heart diseases, leading to massive cell death of this vital organ, increases significantly.
When coal burns, microparticles of soot enter the air. Penetrating into the body, they often cause the development of venous thrombosis. Blood clots form in the veins of the lower extremities. When they come off, they migrate through the body with the bloodstream, leading to pulmonary embolism. This disease often causes death.
Ultrafine particles contained in dirty air easily enter the human body. They can cause increased platelet formation. These elements are responsible for blood clotting. However, with increased formation, they become the cause of plaques in the blood vessels. This disrupts normal blood flow to the heart muscle. As a result, oxygen starvation occurs and blood circulation is impaired.
Polluted air has a negative impact on the body of people suffering from diabetes mellitus, bronchial asthma, chronic diseases internal organs. Polluted air affects the blood, changing it physicochemical characteristics, compound. Regular inhalation of harmful particles causes disruption of protein, water and carbohydrate metabolism. Decay products remain in the body in large quantities, their gradual accumulation leads to disruption of the functioning of internal organs and systems. Dirty air affects appearance person. The skin loses its elasticity, becomes dry, and becomes covered with wrinkles. Young people look much older than their biological age.
Disturbed metabolism cannot but lead to disruption of the endocrine glands. The result is hormonal disorders that cause various diseases. The thyroid gland is most often affected.
Polluted air negatively affects the general condition of a person. With regular inhalation of dangerous microparticles, rapid fatigue, frequent headaches, hearing and vision impairment, and decreased mental performance, the emergence of a tendency to frequent allergic reactions and colds.
Today, there are devices that are used to purify indoor air. They are able to blow air through a system of filter elements, thereby cleaning it from harmful impurities. Depending on the technical characteristics Air purifiers have varying degrees of purification. Cheap devices remove only large mechanical particles from the air (household dust, animal hair, poplar fluff). More expensive and advanced models provide the function of neutralizing exhaust particles, tobacco smoke and other harmful impurities.
Household appliances use various filter elements. HEPA filters allow you to clean the air from mechanical contaminants. Activated carbon neutralizes unpleasant odors in room. The electrostatic filter collects particles of smoke, resins, and dust. The photocatalytic filter breaks down harmful substances into harmless ones (under the influence of ultraviolet light).
Household cleaners whose filter element is water are very effective. This device perfectly purifies the air, humidifies it, makes it lighter and fresher. Devices that combine the functions of air purification, humidification and ionization have proven their effectiveness. Negative ions that are released into the atmosphere have a positive effect on the health of people suffering from respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems. They strengthen human immunity.
The choice of air purifiers is quite wide. People who care about their health should definitely purchase such a device. After all fresh air- the key to good health.
Changes in the gas composition of the atmosphere are the result of a combination of natural phenomena in nature and human activity. But which of these processes predominates at present? In order to find out, we will first clarify what pollutes the air. Its relatively constant composition has been subject to significant fluctuations in recent years. Let's consider the main problems of controlling emissions and protecting the cleanliness of the air basin using the example of this work in cities.
Is the composition of the atmosphere changing?
Ecologists consider changes in its average indicators collected over a long period of observation. They occur as a result of many types of social influence on environment, as well as due to natural processes. For example, substances that pollute the air and change the gas composition of the atmosphere are formed as a result of respiration, photo- and chemosynthesis in the cells of living organisms.
In addition to natural, there is anthropogenic pollution. Its sources can be emissions from any production facilities, gaseous waste from the public utility industry, and vehicle exhaust. This is exactly what pollutes the air, threatens human health and well-being, and the state of the entire environment. The main indicators of atmospheric composition should remain unchanged, such as in the diagram below.
The content of some components in the atmosphere is insignificant, but it is taken into account when deciding which substances pollute the air and which are harmless to living organisms. The table located just below, in addition to the main ones, also includes permanent components of the air environment, the content of which increases during the process of volcanism, economic activity population and nitrogen, methane).
What doesn't pollute the air?
The gas composition of the atmosphere over oceans, seas, forests and meadows, and biosphere reserves changes less than in cities. Of course, substances also enter the environment above the above-mentioned natural objects. Gas exchange in the biosphere is constant. But in ecosystems the process that does not pollute the air predominates. For example, in forests - photosynthesis, over water bodies - evaporation. Bacteria fix nitrogen from the air, plants release and absorb carbon dioxide. The atmosphere over the oceans and seas is saturated with water vapor, iodine, bromine, and chlorine.
What pollutes the air?
Compounds dangerous to living organisms are very diverse; in total, more than 20,000 biosphere pollutants are known. In the atmosphere of megacities, industrial and transport centers there are simple and complex gaseous substances, aerosols, small solid particles. Let's list what substances pollute the air:
- carbon monoxide and carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide);
- sulfuric and sulfurous anhydrides (sulfur di- and trioxide);
- nitrogen compounds (oxides and ammonia);
- methane and other gaseous hydrocarbons;
- dust, soot and suspended particles, such as ores, at mining sites.
What are the sources of emissions?
Harmful, polluting atmospheric air substances enter the atmosphere not only in gaseous and vaporous states, but also in the form of tiny droplets and solid particles different sizes. Pollution coming from enterprises and transport is accounted for by specific compounds and their groups (solid, gaseous, liquid).
The concentration of constant and variable air components changes during the day and according to the seasons. When calculating the content of pollutants, they take into account Atmosphere pressure, temperature, since meteorological conditions affect the composition of the surface layer of the atmosphere. Changes in the concentrations of most components, e.g. carbon dioxide, occur not only throughout the year. There has been an increase in the amount of CO 2 in the last hundred years (greenhouse effect). In some cases, changes in the concentrations of substances are due to natural phenomena. These could be volcanic eruptions, spontaneous releases of toxic compounds from underground or water in certain areas. But more often human activity leads to unfavorable changes in the composition of the atmosphere.
What pollutes the air on Earth? Natural and anthropogenic sources of emissions of harmful compounds. The latter can be stationary (pipes of enterprises, boiler houses, fuel dispensers at gas stations) and mobile ( different types transport). We list the main objects from which air pollutants come:
- operating enterprises in many industries;
- quarries where mining is carried out;
- cars (they pollute the air when burning fuel obtained from oil, gas and other carbon-containing substances);
- gaseous and liquid fuel filling stations;
- boiler houses using fossil fuels and their products;
- landfills and landfills where air pollutants are formed as a result of rotting and decomposition of industrial and household waste.
Agricultural lands, such as fields, orchards, and vegetable gardens, also contribute to negative changes in the composition of the atmosphere. This is due to the operation of machinery, the application of fertilizers, and spraying with pesticides.
What is the main source of air pollution?
Many harmful compounds are released into the atmosphere during rocket launches, waste burning, and fires in populated areas, in forests, fields and steppes. In densely populated regions, the most significant contribution to changes in the composition of the surface layer of the atmosphere is made by motor vehicles. According to various estimates, it accounts for 60 to 95% of all gaseous emissions.
What pollutes the air in the city? The population of urbanized countries especially suffers from toxic products of combustion of fuel and fuel. Harmful emissions include solid particles, for example, soot and lead, liquid and gaseous compounds: sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and their derivatives.
Factories pollute the air industrial regions, where industries are developed that process metal ores, salts, oil, coal and natural gas. The composition of emissions varies depending on the set of industries in a particular region of the country. Polluted air in cities often contains many carcinogens, such as dioxin. Smoke appears as a result of forest, steppe and peat fires, burning of leaves and garbage. Most often, tree plantations and waste burn in the vicinity of cities, but it happens that even leaves and grass are set on fire directly on the streets.
What substances do industrial and transport emissions contain?
What pollutes the air in the city? Industrial, transport, utility and construction enterprises operate in industrial centers. Each object individually and collectively has a technogenic impact on the environment. Pollutants often interact with each other. Most often, non-metal oxides dissolve in water droplets - this is how “acid” fogs and rains are formed. They cause irreparable damage to nature, human health and architectural masterpieces.
Gross emissions of pollutants in cities reach hundreds and thousands of tons. The largest volume of toxic compounds comes from enterprises in the metallurgical, fuel and energy, chemical, and transport industries. Factories pollute the air with toxic substances: ammonia, benzopyrene, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, mercaptan, phenol. In the composition of emissions of large industrial enterprise contains from 20 to 120 types of compounds. To a lesser extent, harmful compounds are formed at food and light industry plants, in educational, healthcare and cultural institutions.
Are organic waste combustion products dangerous?
In cities, it is prohibited to burn fallen leaves, grass, branch cuttings, packaging, building materials and other industrial and household waste. Acrid smoke contains substances that pollute the atmospheric air. They harm human health and generally worsen the quality of the environment.
What is alarming is the lack of understanding by individual citizens and enterprise employees that they are violating the rules of landscaping, aggravating the already unfavorable environmental situation when they burn garbage heaps and manure on their sites, and set fire to waste in containers in the courtyards of multi-storey buildings. Very often present in garbage plastic bottles, film. This smoke is especially harmful due to the thermal decomposition products of polymers. IN Russian Federation There are penalties for burning waste within a populated area.
When parts of plants, bones, animal skins, polymers and other products of organic synthesis burn, carbon oxides, water vapor, and some nitrogen compounds are released. But these are not all air pollutants that are formed during the burning or smoldering of waste and household garbage. If leaves, branches, grass and other materials are wet, more toxic substances are released than harmless water vapor. For example, when smoldering 1 ton of wet leaves, about 30 kg of carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide) is released.
Standing next to a smoldering garbage heap is like being on the busiest street in a metropolis. The danger is that it binds hemoglobin in the blood. The resulting carboxyhemoglobin can no longer deliver oxygen to the cells. Other substances that pollute the atmospheric air can cause disruption of the bronchi and lungs, poisoning, and exacerbation of chronic diseases. For example, when you inhale carbon monoxide, the heart works harder because not enough oxygen is supplied to the tissues. In this case, it may worsen cardiovascular diseases. An even greater danger is the combination of carbon monoxide with pollutants in industrial emissions and transport exhausts.
Pollutant Concentration Standards
Harmful emissions come from metallurgical, coal, oil and gas processing plants, energy facilities, construction and utilities industries. Radioactive contamination from explosions at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and nuclear power plant in Japan has spread on a global scale. There is an increase in the content of carbon oxides, sulfur, nitrogen, freons, radioactive and other hazardous emissions in different points of our planet. Sometimes toxins are found far from the place where the enterprises that pollute the air are located. The situation that has arisen is alarming and difficult to resolve. global problem humanity.
Back in 1973, the relevant committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed criteria for assessing the quality of atmospheric air in cities. Experts have found that people's health depends 15-20% on environmental conditions. Based on many studies in the 20th century, it was determined permissible levels content of major pollutants, harmless to the population. For example, the average annual concentration of suspended particles in the air should be 40 μg/m 3 . The content of sulfur oxides should not exceed 60 μg/m 3 per year. For carbon monoxide, the corresponding average is 10 mg/m 3 for 8 hours.
What are maximum permissible concentrations (MPC)?
The resolution of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation approved the content of almost 600 harmful compounds in the atmosphere settlements. pollutants in the air, compliance with which indicates the absence of adverse effects on people and sanitary conditions. The standard specifies the hazard classes of compounds and their content in the air (mg/m3). These indicators are updated as new data on the toxicity of individual substances become available. But that's not all. The document contains a list of 38 substances for which a release ban has been introduced due to their high biological activity.
How is state control carried out in the field of atmospheric air protection?
Anthropogenic changes in air composition lead to negative consequences in the economy, people's health is deteriorating and life expectancy is shortening. The problems of increasing the flow of harmful compounds into the atmosphere are of concern to both governments, state and municipal authorities, and the public and ordinary people.
The legislation of many countries provides for before the start of construction, reconstruction, and modernization of almost all economic facilities. Standardization of pollutants in the air is being carried out, and measures are being taken to protect the atmosphere. The issues of reducing the anthropogenic load on the environment, reducing emissions and discharges of pollutants are being addressed. Accepted in Russia federal laws on the protection of the environment, atmospheric air, other legislative and regulatory acts regulating activities in the environmental sphere. State environmental control is carried out, pollutants are limited, and emissions are regulated.
What is MDV?
Enterprises that pollute the air must conduct an inventory of the sources of harmful compounds entering the air. Usually this work finds its logical continuation when determining The need to obtain this document is related to the regulation of anthropogenic load on the atmospheric air. Based on the information included in that MPE, the enterprise receives permission to emit pollutants into the atmosphere. Data on standard emissions are used to calculate payments for negative environmental impacts.
If there is no MPE volume and permit, then enterprises pay 2, 5, 10 times more for emissions from pollution sources located on the territory of an industrial facility or other industry. Standardization of air pollutants leads to reduction negative influence to the atmosphere. There is an economic incentive to carry out measures to protect nature from the entry of foreign compounds into it.
Payments for environmental pollution received from enterprises are accumulated by local and federal authorities in specially created budgetary environmental funds. Financial resources are spent on environmental protection activities.
How is air purified and protected at industrial and other facilities?
Polluted air is purified different methods. On boiler pipes and processing enterprises Filters are installed, there are dust and gas collection units. Through the use of thermal decomposition and oxidation, some toxic substances are converted into harmless compounds. The capture of harmful gases in emissions is carried out using condensation methods, sorbents are used to absorb impurities, and catalysts are used for purification.
Prospects for activities in the field of air protection are associated with work to reduce the flow of pollutants into the atmosphere. It is necessary to develop laboratory monitoring of harmful emissions in cities and on busy highways. Work must continue to implement systems for capturing solid particles from gaseous mixtures at enterprises. Need cheap ones modern devices for cleaning emissions from toxic aerosols and gases. In the field of state control, an increase in the number of posts is required to check and regulate the toxicity of vehicle exhaust gases. Energy industry enterprises and motor vehicles should be switched to less harmful, from an environmental point of view, types of fuel (for example, natural gas, biofuels). When they burn, less solid and liquid pollutants are released.
What role do green spaces play in cleaning the air?
It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of plants to replenishing oxygen reserves on Earth and trapping pollution. Forests are called “green gold”, “the lungs of the planet” for the ability of leaves to photosynthesize. This process involves the absorption of carbon dioxide and water, the formation of oxygen and starch in the light. Plants release phytoncides into the air - substances that have a detrimental effect on pathogenic microbes.
Increasing the area of green spaces in cities is one of the most important environmental measures. Trees, shrubs, herbs and flowers are planted in courtyards, parks, squares and along roads. The areas of schools, hospitals, and industrial enterprises are being landscaped.
Scientists have found that plants such as poplar, linden, and sunflower best absorb dust and harmful gaseous substances from industrial emissions and transport exhausts. Coniferous plantings emit the most phytoncides. The air in pine, fir, and juniper forests is very clean and healing.
It is known that a person can live without food for more than one month, without water - only a few days, but without air - only a couple of minutes. Our body needs it! Therefore, the question of how to protect air from pollution should occupy a high priority among the problems of scientists, politicians, statesmen and officials of all countries. To avoid killing ourselves, humanity must take urgent measures to prevent this pollution. Citizens of any country are also obliged to take care of cleanliness. It just seems that practically nothing depends on us. There is hope that through joint efforts we can all protect the air from pollution, animals from extinction, and forests from deforestation.
Earth's atmosphere
Earth is the only one known modern science planets on which life exists, made possible by the atmosphere. It ensures our existence. The atmosphere is, first of all, air, which must be suitable for breathing by people and animals, and not contain harmful impurities and substances. How to protect air from pollution? This is a very important issue that will have to be resolved in the near future.
Human activity
IN last centuries We often behave extremely unreasonably. Mineral resources are wasted in vain. Forests are being cut down. The rivers are drying up. As a result, the natural balance is disrupted and the planet gradually becomes uninhabitable. The same thing happens with air. It is constantly polluted by all sorts of things entering the atmosphere. Chemical compounds contained in aerosols and antifreezes are destroying the Earth, threatening global warming and related disasters. How to protect air from pollution so that life on the planet continues?
The main reasons for the current problem
- Gaseous waste from factories and factories, released into the atmosphere in countless quantities. Previously, this happened completely uncontrollably. And on the basis of waste from enterprises that polluted the environment, it was possible to organize entire plants for their processing (as they do now, for example, in Japan).
- Cars. Burnt gasoline and diesel fuel form which escape into the atmosphere, seriously polluting it. And if you take into account that in some countries there are two or three cars for every average family, you can imagine the global nature of the problem under consideration.
- Combustion of coal and oil in thermal power plants. Electricity, of course, is extremely necessary for human life, but extracting it in this way is real barbarity. When burning fuel, a lot of harmful emissions are generated, which heavily pollute the air. All impurities rise into the air with smoke, concentrate in clouds, and spill onto the soil in the form. Trees, which are intended to purify oxygen, suffer greatly from this.
How to protect air from pollution?
Measures to prevent the current catastrophic situation have long been developed by scientists. All that remains is to follow the prescribed rules. Humanity has already received serious warnings from nature itself. Especially in last years the world literally shouts to people that the consumer attitude towards the planet must be changed, otherwise - the death of all living things. What do we have to do? How to protect the air from pollution (pictures of our amazing nature are presented below)?
According to environmental experts, such measures will contribute to a significant improvement in the current situation.
The materials presented in the article can be used in a lesson on the topic “How to protect air from pollution” (grade 3).
Rarely does a person think about the fact that the air needs to be purified. But we consume approximately 15-18 kg per day of this vital substance. Water and food, for comparison, are 3-5 kg together.
The market today offers a lot of all kinds of air fresheners, but almost all of them only collect dust. Chemistry can be assembled perfectly activated carbon. But it picks up 7-10% of its weight in dirt and has no further effect. That is, the coal must be constantly changed, and this is expensive. If you do not change it, bacteria begin to multiply in it.To purify home air, it is better to use a natural mechanism, that is, fill the house with green plants. One of the most popular plants that perfectly purify the air - chlorophytum. This method is free and completely safe.
Of course, you can choose filters or entire air purification systems for your home. However, you need to choose equipment that, by its mechanism of action, resembles natural air purification. Filters must be cleaned and changed in a timely manner.
To ensure that the air always remains clean, it is important to ventilate the room and regularly wet cleaning. To inhale Fresh air Constantly, it is necessary to reduce the use of household chemicals as much as possible.
How to clean the air in a production area?
In order for the air to production premises has always been clean, it is important to purchase high-quality filters for air purification.Ozonation is also an excellent way to cleanse. Ozone, as is known, is an allotropic modification of oxygen. This substance is a highly oxidizing agent. Because of this, ozone can quickly decompose harmful chemical compounds into the simplest and safest elements. Ozonation not only purifies the air, but also disinfects and eliminates any unpleasant odors.
What purifies the air in nature?
In nature, air purification is mainly done by plants. When exposed to light they produce oxygen. Photocatalysis also occurs in green plants, during which harmful elements in the air are simply destroyed upon contact with special substances, photocatalysts.Also in nature during a thunderstorm small quantities ozone is produced, which eliminates harmful compounds.
According to the editors of the site, air purification should have no less priority than water purification.
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