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Fresh Air for Free
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Fresh Air For Free
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Each of us inhales about 20,000
litres of air every 24 hours. That’s 14 litres every minute and this
number increases if we do any physical exercise. When we inhale, our
lungs extract oxygen from the air and this oxygen is transferred to our
bloodstream and transported around our bodies to keep us alive. We
breathe in and out without thinking about it and use the air that
surrounds us – we do not have a choice. Air is fundamental to life
and, if deprived of it, we would die in seconds.
Air is invisible and so are most
air pollutants. Therefore, to protect our health, we should be aware
of what pollutants pose a risk and what are the levels of such
pollutant in the air. We should also strive through our lifestyles to
reduce our contribution to air pollution.
The main air pollutants (and sources) of concern are
- Oxides of sulphur – from the burning of fossil fuels
- Oxides of nitrogen – from engine exhausts and power stations
- Particulate matter - from the burning of coal and oil
- Benzene - from burning petrol in engines
- Lead – from burning leaded petrol
- Carbon monoxide - from motor vehicles
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – from motor vehicles and other combustion sources
- Arsenic – from coal burning, preserved timber and metal smelting.
- Nickel – from burning oil and coal, waste incineration and the metal industry.
- Mercury – from coal burning and from waste incineration.
- Ozone at ground level – from the action of sunlight on other air pollutants.
These pollutants, alone or in combination, can cause a range of illnesses and so they need to be regulated and monitored to ensure that levels remain within safe limits.
Levels of air pollution are
measured at a number of locations around the country. Much of the
measurements are made in real-time, updated hourly and can be viewed
on-line at www.epa.ie/whatwedo/monitoring/air/data.
The good news is that air quality
in Ireland is generally very good. This is partly an accident of
history, as we missed the industrial revolution of the 19th century, and partly because Ireland is situated on the western edge of Europe with prevailing winds from the Atlantic ocean.
Urban traffic exhaust emissions
give rise to elevated levels of particulate matter and oxides of
nitrogen on occasions and climatic conditions have led to elevated
ozone levels from time to time.
We can play our part by minimising our car usage and switching to cleaner fuels, such as natural gas, for domestic heating.
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