Currently, in the early morning you will see the sky as foggy. But it is also possible that it is fine dust particles, exhaust gases, smoke, of factories in Ho Chi Minh City in general and Vietnam in particular. According to the Yale University Environmental Performance Index (EPI) study, Vietnam ranks among the top 10 countries with the most polluted air in the world. Top 10 of the world. That is a sad thing. So how to prevent dust particles, polluted smoke from entering our body? And how does Vietnam get Out of the Top 10 and ranked last in terms of pollution?

Causes of pollution environment air

The cause of air pollution comes from many sources, basically there are two main causes: man-made and natural.

Natural causes

Air pollution from volcanic eruptions: Volcanic eruptions carry large amounts of nutrients to the soil. However, a large amount of methane, chlorine, and sulfur gas generated during volcanic eruptions is the cause of serious air pollution.

Wildfires: These fires will produce a huge amount of Nitrogen Oxide. Moreover, forest fires also release a large amount of smoke and ash into the air.

Wind is an indirect cause of pollution: Not a direct cause, but wind is also an indirect cause of air pollution. Wind is the vehicle that carries dust, harmful gases from factories, natural disasters, etc. far and wide. This causes the pollution to spread rapidly.

Air pollution from storms: Storms produce large amounts of COx and fine dust, which further increases air pollution.

In addition to the above causes, the decomposition of animal carcasses, ocean waves or natural radiation are also causes of air pollution.

Man-made (man-made) causes

Humans are the victims of environmental pollution, but humans are also the main causes of environmental pollution. Many daily human activities contribute to air pollution.

Industrial and agricultural production activities

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Emissions from industrial plants (Image: hunufa.com)

 

This is the main cause, causing pain for the community and the state, not only in Vietnam but also in many developing countries. Smoke and dust from the exhaust pipes of factories and factories in industrial zones darkened the sky. They emit CO2, CO, SO2, NOx and some other organic substances, with extremely high concentrations.

These industrial zones not only pollute the air environment but also pollute the water environment, causing "cancer villages" to be formed.

Acid rain is also the result of industrial production activities that do not treat waste properly.

The abuse of pesticides, fertilizers or activities of burning straw, stubble, burning forests for farming are also causes of air pollution.

Transportation

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Exhaust smoke from motorbikes and cars (Image: hunufa.com)

 

This is the biggest cause of air pollution today. With a huge number of vehicles and constantly moving, the emissions from these vehicles are also terrible. Especially, for old cars, poor mechanical systems, the higher the emissions. Vehicles release toxic substances into the air such as: CO, VOC, NO2, SO2,... with extremely high and continuous concentrations.

This cause is second only to industrial activities, when the amount of emissions from vehicles discharged into the environment is very large. According to the  International Energy Agency  (IEA) report, transportation contributes 24.34% of carbon emissions per year.

Defense and military activities

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Photos of military operations (Image: hunufa.com)

 

 

War poisons, military studies have been and are having a great influence on human health. Although the war has long passed, the victims of Agent Orange are still very large.

In addition, the threat from nuclear bombs is always present every day, if they are leaked, millions of people will be affected.

Infrastructure construction activities

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Pictures of construction works (Image: hunufa.com)

 

 

Construction activities buildings, high-rise apartments or bridges always bring heavy air pollution environment. The focus is on Hanoi in mid-December, 2020 fine dust completely covers Hanoi, reducing visibility and greatly affecting people's health.

When transporting materials, even if carefully covered, dust will be scattered into the environment and cause pollution. Not to mention, in cases where it is not covered, materials will be dropped onto the road, causing danger and producing a huge amount of smoke and dust that can hinder vehicles traveling together on the road. Therefore, it is imperative to pay attention to properly shielding when transporting materials.

Garbage collection and treatment

The waste is discharged so much that the garbage collection areas cannot handle it all, causing the stench to come out. Or manual treatment methods such as burning cause serious air pollution.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Image of garbage collection (Image: hunufa.com)

In order to contribute to the quick collection and treatment of garbage, we need to properly classify garbage. Garbage segregation is a part, in addition, we need to limit the use of products that are difficult to decompose and switch to easy to destroy products such as products made from paper, products made from flour, etc. Currently, plastic products cannot be completely replaced, but we can recycle or dispose of our waste properly.

Consequences of air pollution

 

Air pollution causes a lot of consequences for animals, plants and people. They are responsible for the deaths of millions of people each year.

In recent years, Vietnam has received many storms and flash floods, especially in the central region. Causing great damage to people and property, The cause is partly due to the geographical location, but the cause of environmental destruction is not small leading to those natural disasters. Let's join hands to protect the environment and plant more trees.

 

Harm to plants and animals

Hazardous compounds such as SO2, NO2, CO... present in polluted air clog the trachea and reduce the animal's immune system.

In addition, HF compounds also cause fruit trees to lose their leaves in mass, gradually causing tree death, indirectly warming the earth with the greenhouse effect.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Image of dead trees due to polluted air (Image: hunufa.com)

 

Smoke and dust from industrial zones also cause acid rain, acid rain kills trees, pollutes water sources, and kills beneficial microorganisms in the soil. Causing farming to be affected, reducing production, losing crops...

Harm to humans

The consequences of air pollution for humans are very serious, air pollution is the main factor causing the rate of people suffering from respiratory diseases, cancer.... increasing.

According to WHO, air pollution causes 7 million deaths each year, of which Asia - Pacific accounts for about 4 million. They not only take the lives of millions of people, but also cause economic losses of nearly 5 trillion USD each year.

They also reduce the average life expectancy of each person by 2 years, and are the 4th leading cause of death in the world after: Hypertension, tobacco use and unhealthy diet.

Accordingly, fine dust pollution PM 2.5 is the culprit causing the most deaths. Because they are very small in size, it is easy to enter the cysts in the lungs causing respiratory diseases.

Fine dust (PM 2.5) combined with CO, SO2, NO2 in the air irritates the mucosa, hinders hemoglobin from combining with oxygen, causing oxygen deprivation in cells. Leads to impaired lung function and worsens asthma and heart disease.

Also according to WHO, air pollution is one of many culprits causing cardiovascular diseases, brain stroke up to 25%.

In addition, air pollution also aggravates asthma and lung cancer. They also affect the central nervous system, increasing the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, autism or irritability.

The above are just small numbers of the consequences of air pollution, in fact they cause a lot of diseases as well as silent death for millions of people around the world.

How to prevent fine dust from entering the body

 

For our country to immediately overcome the environmental pollution in general and fine dust in particular, it is a difficult thing to do right away. We need to have a long-term plan and gradually overcome it. To protect ourselves, the next thing we can do is wear a mask when going out. But not all masks can resist fine dust, contact HUNUFA immediately to choose the best anti-fine dust masks.

 

Solutions to overcome air pollution

In the face of increasingly serious air pollution, each of us needs to take action to protect our health as well as our planet. To overcome air pollution, we need:

Improve living habits

One of the most effective measures to overcome air pollution is to improve living habits. This can be done by properly disposing of waste, not incinerating waste or waste elements indiscriminately. This helps limit the amount of harmful emissions and dust that is pushed into the environment. Replacing burning fuels from coal, firewood, gas to modern electrical equipment, both safe and overcoming air pollution. Turn off unnecessary electrical equipment. Use public transport for commuting to reduce emissions from vehicles.

 

Proper treatment of industrial waste gas

In order to overcome environmental pollution in the production process, enterprises must comply with regulations on treatment and release of waste into the environment. Replace outdated machinery with modern and advanced production lines, limiting air pollution in particular and environmental pollution in general.

Use technical measures

The most effective and safest remedy for air pollution today is to use a system of machines, modern technology and biotechnology to filter and clean the air. The air after being cleaned of waste will be discharged into the environment. This contributes to a marked reduction in air pollution.

Planning and planting trees

In addition to the "remedial measures for air pollution" mentioned above, planting and developing artificial forests is also an extremely useful measure. Trees contribute to filter the air and prevent natural disasters. Plant trees in parks and sidewalks in big cities to reduce emissions, smoke and contribute to lowering temperatures and increasing air quality.

Air pollution  originates from many different causes and it also leaves serious consequences for the health of humans, animals, plants,... Therefore, each of us needs raise awareness of environmental protection further, and at the same time apply measures to improve air quality so that life is fresh and safe.