Residents of the metropolis know the value of fresh air

We are used to - in order to "breathe the air", you need to go somewhere. But this does not always work out, and you have to spend most of your time in the city: work, study, business. But it turns out that you can breathe fresh air. Without leaving the city...

If you ask any person what he thinks about the air of the metropolis, which he breathes every second, then the answers will be the same: “poison”, “poison”, “carcinogen”. In a modern big city, one can only dream of truly clean air ... Street air in a metropolis carries a whole cocktail of pollution: dust, exhaust gases, emissions from enterprises, harmful substances. Of particular danger to health is the so-called technogenic dust - a mixture of the smallest particles of asphalt and car tires. Sometimes this is mixed with road reagent left over from the winter and not washed off by rains. Buses, utility vehicles and construction vehicles drive through the streets of the city, throwing out terrible exhaust clouds, which are diesel aerosols. Experts from the World Health Organization, according to the results of research in 2012, attributed diesel exhaust to substances that cause cancer.

Unfortunately, the air in the room where we spend 90% of the time cannot be called clean either. Their indoor counterparts are added to the street ingredients of the "harmful cocktail" - substances emitted from the floor, walls, windows, furniture, tobacco smoke from smoking neighbors through exhaust ventilation, combustion products from cooking. The air in the apartment, as a rule, is stagnant, and bacteria and viruses live and multiply perfectly in it. Therefore, we get sick so often, just being indoors - at home and at work.

We try to ventilate the premises, but if you open the window ... - this has already been said above. And there is simply no permanent supply ventilation in most Russian homes and offices.

Children suffer the most from polluted air. Their breathing is more frequent than in adults, and their immunity is much weaker. Therefore, polluted air causes them more harm. Street dust and particulate matter that enters the room through partly opened windows injure sensitive airways and provoke infectious diseases and reduced immunity in children. Hence problems with the functioning of the lungs, a tendency to develop asthma, bronchitis and acute respiratory infections.

Most home settings are powerless

When in Moscow in the summer of 2010 there was literally hell from the smoke of forest fires and peat bogs, residents swept all air conditioners off the shelves in an attempt to save them. Many people still think that an air conditioner purifies the outside air and then cools it down to a comfortable temperature. However, it is not. The air conditioner cools only the air that is in the room, and does not take it from the street. Those expensive models that are able to supply at least some air from the street trap dust and large particles, while exhaust gases and other combustion products enter the room. You can draw an analogy with water: after all, no one puts water in the refrigerator to purify it - everyone uses filters.

The air purifier and air washer also do not cope with the problem. The dust that is in the room, such a device will clean. But new dust constantly flies into the room through the windows. And you have already inhaled harmful substances and exhaust gases that have already entered the room, even if the room appliance has neutralized some of them.

What to do with dirty air?

The answer is simple - clean. Moreover, to detain all contaminants at the entrance, preventing them from entering the room. After all, it is quite obvious to us that, for example, in a car engine, you need to regularly change the air filter, otherwise the engine will break. In exactly the same way, everyone knows that you need to pass tap water through a special filter - without this it is simply unsafe to drink it. We drink 2-3 liters of water a day, and inhale 15 liters of air - and it is mostly polluted.

If we are unlikely to be able to influence the outdoor air in the foreseeable future, then a constant flow of clean air into the room can be ensured. To do this, there is a special class of devices called breathers.

Breezer is a supply unit with an air purification function. Sometimes such devices are called ventilators or supply air cleaners.

Breezer creates a constant flow of air into the apartment. The air is renewed, ceases to be stagnant and will no longer be a favorable environment for the reproduction of bacteria and viruses. Due to the constant influx, all “household” harmful substances and unpleasant odors will be removed through exhaust ventilation in the kitchen and bathroom. Since the windows in the presence of such a device can be kept closed, there will be no drafts in the apartment and none of the household will catch a cold.

The most important thing is the characteristics of the device. And among them, the most important is the cleaning class. Often such installations are equipped with dust filters of class F5, F7 or F9. This means that they trap large dust, and small particles pass through such a filter unhindered. The lungs have alveoli, vesicles at the end of branching tubules. This fine dust clogs there, settles and is harmful to health, provoking lung diseases.

Thus, when choosing a device, you need to look for a device with the highest filtration class. Today, there are breathers on the market with a medical grade of filtration, up to H11 and even H12. Such filters are used in clean rooms of medical institutions, for example, in operating rooms. The presence of such a filter ensures that even the smallest dust, viruses, bacteria, mold spores and pollen will remain outside the walls of your home.

Another necessary function of the breather is climate control. In our climate, most of the year the air needs to be heated, and the device should allow you to do this as conveniently as possible. If the breather does not have the function of maintaining the set temperature, then at best the adjustment will have to be selected according to the sensations, and at worst, if it gets sharply cold on a winter night, you can easily catch a cold in the morning.

Breezer will provide you and your family with an environmentally friendly, comfortable and safe stay in the apartment. The main rule is not to save on your health and change filters regularly.

The main ways to reduce and completely eliminate air pollution are as follows: the development and implementation of purification filters, the use of environmentally friendly energy sources, waste-free production technology, the fight against vehicle exhaust gases, landscaping, architectural and planning measures, and the establishment of sanitary protection zones.

Cleaning filters are the main means of combating industrial air pollution. Cleaning of emissions into the atmosphere is carried out by passing them through various filters (mechanical, electrical, magnetic, sound and others), water and chemically active liquids. All of them are designed to capture dust, vapors and gases.

The efficiency of treatment facilities is different and depends both on the physical and chemical properties of pollutants, and on the perfection of the methods and apparatus used. With coarse cleaning of emissions, from 70 to 84% of pollutants are eliminated, with medium cleaning - up to 95-98% and fine - up to 99% and more.

Purification of industrial waste not only protects the atmosphere from pollution, but also provides additional raw materials and profits for enterprises. The capture of sulfur from the gas waste of the Magnitogorsk Combine provides sanitation and the production of many thousands of additional tons of cheap sulfuric acid. At the Angarsk cement plant, treatment facilities capture up to 98% of cement dust emissions, and filters of one aluminum plant - 98% of previously lost fluorine, which gives 300 thousand dollars of profit per year.

It is impossible to solve the problem of protecting the atmosphere only with the help of treatment facilities. It is necessary to apply a set of measures, and above all, the introduction of waste-free technologies.

Zero Waste Technology is effective if it is built by analogy with the processes occurring in the biosphere: the waste of one link in the ecosystem is used by other links. Cyclic non-waste production, comparable to cyclical processes in the biosphere, is the future of industry, an ideal way to preserve the cleanliness of the environment.

One way to protect the atmosphere from pollution is to transition to the use of new environmentally friendly energy sources. For example, the construction of stations that use the energy of ebbs and flows, the use of solar plants and wind turbines. In the 1980s, nuclear power plants (NPPs) were considered a promising source of energy. After the Chernobyl disaster, the number of supporters of the wider use of atomic energy has decreased. This accident showed that nuclear energy sources require increased attention to their safety systems. Academician A.L. Yanshin, for example, considers gas to be an alternative source of energy, which in the future can be produced in Russia about 300 trillion cubic meters. m3/year.

As private solutions air protection from vehicle exhaust gases you can point to the installation of filters and afterburners, the replacement of additives containing lead, the organization of traffic, which will reduce and eliminate the frequent change of engine operating modes (road junctions, widening the roadway, building crossings, and so on). The problem can be radically solved by replacing internal combustion engines with electric ones. To reduce toxic substances in the exhaust gases of cars, it is proposed to replace gasoline with other types of fuel, for example, a mixture of various alcohols. Gas-balloon cars are promising.

Greening cities and industrial centers: green spaces through photosynthesis free the air from carbon dioxide and enrich it with oxygen. Up to 72% of suspended dust particles and up to 60% of sulfur dioxide settle on the leaves of trees and shrubs. Therefore, in parks, squares and gardens, the air contains ten times less dust than in open streets and squares. Many types of trees and shrubs emit phytoncides that kill bacteria. Green spaces largely regulate the microclimate of the city, "extinguish" the city noise, which brings great harm to people's health.

Maintaining clean air is essential city ​​planning. Factories and plants, transport routes should be separated from residential areas by a buffer zone consisting of green spaces. It is necessary to take into account the direction of the main winds (wind rose), the terrain and the presence of water bodies, to locate residential areas on the leeward side and on elevated areas. Industrial zones are best placed away from residential areas or outside the city.

Legal protection of the atmosphere- the implementation of the constitutional rights of the population and norms in the environmental sphere has led to a significant expansion of the base of legislative regulation in the field of atmospheric air protection. The main legislative and other normative legal acts regulating the issues of environmental protection are the following.

* Law on Environmental Protection (January 10, 2002). Basic law of environmental legislation.

* Law on the Protection of Atmospheric Air (April 2, 1999). Its tasks are to regulate public relations in this area in order to keep clean and improve the condition of atmospheric air, prevent and reduce harmful chemical, physical, biological and other impacts on the atmosphere.

* Air Code of the Russian Federation (February 19, 1997). It sets special requirements for the state of flight technology, regulation of engine operation to reduce atmospheric pollution.

The Federal Law "On the Destruction of Chemical Weapons" (April 25, 1997) establishes the legal basis for carrying out a set of works to ensure environmental protection.

The Criminal Code (July 24, 2007) has a number of articles relating to the nuclear industry, contains a definition of "environmental crimes".

Federal Law "On Radiation Safety of the Population" (January 9, 1996). In order to implement it, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted a number of resolutions that relate to the rules for the placement of radioactive substances and radioactive waste, their storage and transportation.

Federal Law "On the Use of Atomic Energy" (October 20, 1995; amendments and additions were made in February 1997).

The State Committee for Ecology of Russia has reviewed and approved several regulatory and legal documents relating to the protection of the atmosphere, in particular, on the methodology for calculating emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere.

GOST (1986) “Nature protection. Atmosphere. Rules for air quality control in settlements.

Many of us are seriously thinking about how to improve the quality of perception of life and try to change not only the world around us, but also the air that we breathe, in connection with which the actual question arises: how to make the air cleaner?

To solve this problem today there are two main ways: one is to breed at home, and the other - supplementing or replacing the first - air purifying devices around us through ionization and other technologies, supported by large-scale advertising campaigns, commercials and tempting discounts, which turn into almost a panacea for all possible ills.

Today we will consider them in detail ...

It would seem that,

What kind of air do we breathe at home

The air that we breathe is not at all like the one described by smart books and encyclopedias. In addition to the main composition, it contains hundreds of impurities, thousands of smells and aromas, useful and not very ...

For example, indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air, and the degree of pollution can exceed these figures by several times. And, as a rule, the average person spends fifty to sixty percent of their entire life indoors.

We do not see all this, but our body feels it very well, we begin to “think worse”, we feel tired, and our internal organs are slowly and steadily poisoned by our own “exhaust” exhalations.

Therefore, it is very important to ensure that you periodically ventilate the room where you are, live, work, sleep. A portion of street air with its not quite pure composition is even more useful than the air filled with our “exhalations”.

It becomes clear to the naked eye that in order to be healthy, it is necessary to change something, and this “something”, first of all, air around us.

Here is the time to remember about air conditioners and other air purifiers, the purpose of which is the direct creation of a microclimate in the room and air purification.

Devices that make the air cleaner

1. Air conditioners

2. Air purifiers for home

The basic functions of air cleaners include dust removal, elimination of flower allergic pollen, purification of the air from tobacco smoke, destruction of viruses and bacteria, elimination of unpleasant odors and odors, decomposition of harmful substances, filtering of small particles(animal fur, for example). Sounds tempting, doesn't it? But all this information applies only to quality! air purifiers. Otherwise, we are threatened with too zealous saturation of the air around us with both nitrogen and ion, and, as you know, what is excessive is no longer healthy ...

Besides air purifiers are several types - photocatalytic And filter.

Photocatalytic air purifiers

It is considered the most effective photocatalytic air purifiers. The air in them becomes cleaner according to the principle of photo catalysis, harmful substances contained in the air decompose under the influence of ultraviolet radiation to absolutely harmless. The level of purification is constant and consistently high and reaches ninety-five percent. But, such an air purifier definitely cannot cope with exhaust gases. In order to somehow rehabilitate this shortcoming, manufacturers of such devices confidently declare that their purifier will certainly cope with viruses and gases. There is an opinion that the efficiency of a photocatalytic purifier is five hundred times higher than an ordinary filter. The service life of such a cleaner is from four to seven years.

Filter Air Purifiers

Based on the name, we already understand that the principle of operation of such a purifier is based on the use of filters, which can be quite different. Eg carbon filter(its main component is activated carbon) performs deodorizing and adsorption functions, does an excellent job of removing odors and gas impurities. mechanical filter, looks like a fine mesh, does an excellent job of filtering the air for dust and wool. Nero filters- this is already more serious, created on the basis of fiberglass, capable of clear the air from the smallest impurities by almost ninety-nine percent. And here electrostatic filters do their job very well clean the air from fine dust particles(in the operation of such a filter, the principle of attraction of oppositely charged and polar ions is used). The filters in these air purifiers are replaced several times a year.

The operation of any air purifiers, of course, is limited by the corresponding technical characteristics, but as a rule:

• - the performance indicator is from one hundred and eighty to four hundred and twenty cubic meters of clean air per hour (we consider the cubic capacity of the room to be the product of length by width and height, in meters);
• - limited area of ​​​​action - thirty-five square meters.

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. So it is necessary for our body! Therefore, the question of how to protect the air from pollution should be at the forefront of the problems of scientists, politicians, statesmen and officials of all countries. In order not to kill itself, 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 by joint efforts we can all protect the air from pollution, animals from extinction, forests from deforestation.

Earth's atmosphere

The Earth is the only planet known to modern science on which life exists, which was made possible thanks to the atmosphere. It ensures our existence. The atmosphere is primarily air, which must be breathable for people and animals, free of harmful impurities and substances. How to protect air from pollution? This is a very important issue to be resolved in the near future.

human activities

In recent centuries, we have often behaved extremely unreasonably. Minerals are being squandered. Forests are cut down. The rivers are drying up. As a result, the natural balance is disturbed, the planet gradually becomes uninhabitable. The same thing happens with air. It is constantly polluted with all sorts of things that get into the atmosphere. Chemical compounds contained in aerosols and antifreeze destroy the Earth, threatening global warming and catastrophes associated with it. How to protect the air from pollution so that life on the planet continues?

The main causes of the current problem

• Gaseous waste from plants and factories, emitted into the atmosphere in countless volumes. In the past, this has happened out of control. And on the basis of the waste of enterprises that polluted the environment, it was possible to organize entire plants for their processing (as they do now, for example, in Japan).
• Cars. Gasoline and diesel fuels that are burned are released into the atmosphere, seriously polluting it. And if we take into account that in some countries there are two or three cars for each average family, one can imagine the global nature of the problem under consideration.
• Combustion of coal and oil in thermal power plants. Electricity, of course, is essential for human life, but extracting it in this way is real barbarism. When fuel is burned, a lot of harmful emissions are produced that greatly pollute the air. All impurities rise into the air with smoke, concentrate in clouds, 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. It remains only to follow the prescribed rules. Humanity has already received serious warnings from nature itself. Especially in recent years, the surrounding world literally screams to people that the consumer attitude to the planet needs to be changed, otherwise - the death of all life. What do we have to do? How to protect the air from pollution (pictures of our amazing nature are presented below)?

According to environmentalists, such measures will contribute to a significant improvement in the current situation.

The materials given in the article can be used in the lesson on the topic "How to protect air from pollution" (Grade 3).

Mankind throughout its existence has had an impact on the environment, and this impact has not always been positive. At first, the negative impact of man on nature was not particularly noticeable, but with the growth of civilization and the development of technological progress, the role of the anthropogenic factor in environmental pollution began to grow rapidly.

Today, industrial enterprises, cars, smoking dumps of household waste emit a large amount of toxic substances into the atmosphere. The amount of these harmful emissions is constantly increasing, so the problem of maintaining clean air is becoming more acute.

The first serious step towards improving the environmental situation on a global scale was the Kyoto Protocol, which provides for large restrictions on harmful emissions into the atmosphere on a global scale. This protocol has been signed by 192 countries, including Russia.

The Kyoto Protocol has Annex B, the countries that have signed this annex undertake not to exceed certain limits on emissions of toxic and greenhouse gases. If any of the Annex B countries does not use the limits granted to it in full, then it has the right to sell them as unused quotas. Also, this protocol provides for a reduction in the use of hydrocarbon raw materials with its gradual replacement with biofuels. This is a very timely agreement, the forecasts of environmentalists say that the immoderate burning of hydrocarbon raw materials can lead to the fact that in 50-70 years there will be no practically healthy people left on earth.

Clean air is the key to longevity, the main condition for increasing the life expectancy of people is to solve the problem of air pollution. Based on statistical data, Hong Kong scientists proved that in the 12 years that have passed since the tightening of requirements to reduce the content of sulfur oxides in car exhausts, average life expectancy has increased by 2 years.

Forests play a particularly important role in maintaining clean atmospheric air; it is not for nothing that they are called the lungs of the planet. They are the main source of oxygen, so it is necessary to fight uncontrolled deforestation and protect them from destruction. Today, tropical forests are in great danger. Every minute, the area of ​​equatorial tropical forests is reduced by 23 hectares.

A large contribution to air pollution is made by burning dumps of household and construction waste; when burned, they emit toxic substances hazardous to health. For example, when burning particle boards, phenol, formaldehyde and other harmful components are released. In order to limit this source of pollution as much as possible, it is necessary to fight unauthorized dumps, a ban on burning household waste within the city is also necessary, and a ban on burning fallen autumn leaves would not be superfluous. One of the main ways to solve this problem is the construction of modern waste processing plants.

One third of the total air pollution is accounted for by road transport. The number of cars is constantly increasing, they burn a huge amount of fuel, with exhaust gases a lot of harmful substances enter the environment. Currently, many experimental models of electric and solar-powered vehicles are being developed, but most of these models are still far from perfect and cannot yet play a significant role in solving the problem of atmospheric pollution. At this stage, a more effective method is the transition to new fuel standards with fewer harmful substances in the exhaust.

Another significant step in solving the problem of reducing harmful emissions into the atmosphere is the modernization of production using a closed cycle and the introduction of the principle of waste-free production, and where this is not possible for any reason, the construction of a new type of treatment plant.

Preservation of clean air is one of the priority tasks of our time, if we can do it now, our descendants will be grateful to us.