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Air Pollution: harmful particles

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Subido el 17 de julio de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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Launch of a new European anti-air pollution strategy The European Commission wants to reduce air pollution more in Europe. Although the situation has improved substantially over the last few decades, there are still significant areas of concern with regard to certain pollutants that are particularly harmful to human health (respiratory diseases) and damaging to the environment (acidification, eutrophication, etc.). The anti-pollution programme that the Commission is presenting today is the result of the “Clean Air for Europe” or CAFE programme that it launched in May 2001. Formation and impact of particles in the cross- channel region The story told in this film is that of a huge study carried out between 2002 and 2005 on air pollution in the cross-Channel area covering Nord-Pas de Calais, Sussex and Kent. Coordinated by the Université du Littoral of Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the European Interreg III programme, its main objective is to identify the sources and impact of air pollution in the region. One of the lessons drawn from this study is that it established the seriousness of the impact of particles on human health, particularly of those particles that show a volatile organic compound deposit characteristic of emissions caused by the petrochemical industry and by car transport in Dunkirk and its suburbs. The toxicological section of this study showed the lethal impact of these particles on human pulmonary cells. For further information: http://www.univ-littoral.fr/rech/prog_euro/inte_3a.htm In addition to interviews with the people responsible for this research project, the film also contains interviews with Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment; Dr Michal Krzyzanowski, with responsibility for air quality at the World Health Organisation.

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Air pollution has been a major preoccupation in Europe for decades. 00:00:00
The European Union attacked the problem by establishing minimum air quality norms, 00:00:06
and significant progress has been made. 00:00:11
The impact of the main atmospheric pollutants has been globally reduced, 00:00:14
and phenomena such as acid rain and ozone peaks have come down considerably. 00:00:18
However, the environment and health of Europeans is still adversely affected by air pollution. 00:00:23
Our analysis shows that in the year 2020, 00:00:30
air pollution and ground-level ozone will still cause about 300,000 premature deaths in Europe. 00:00:34
Air pollution can take very different forms from one geographic zone to the other. 00:00:45
Acidification problems are more prevalent in the north of Europe, 00:00:50
while phenomena linked to the ozone are more critical in the south. 00:00:53
The eutrophization of fresh water and the forest floor, 00:00:57
due to emissions of ammonia and nitrous oxides, 00:01:00
is however a general tendency, as is the presence of particles in the air. 00:01:03
The latter affect human health, 00:01:08
and constitute a major problem in the densely populated cities and regions of Europe. 00:01:10
Based on these observations, the European Commission has developed a new strategy, 00:01:16
whose objective is to further reduce the negative impact of air pollution on health and the environment 00:01:20
between now and 2020. 00:01:25
The fight against atmospheric particles, whose harmful effects are well known today, 00:01:29
is at the core of this new strategy. 00:01:33
The town of Dunkirk is located in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, 00:01:39
France's fourth largest economic region. 00:01:42
Here, intense traffic and industrial activity expose the region's 210,000 inhabitants 00:01:44
to a high degree of pollution. 00:01:50
The number of polluted sites represents more than 13% 00:01:52
of all the sites that have been measured in France. 00:01:55
Dust, soots and exhaust gases from clouds of toxic particles, 00:01:57
which spread into the atmosphere. 00:02:01
Because air pollution knows no frontiers, 00:02:06
since 2003, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region has been cooperating 00:02:08
with the southeast of the United Kingdom 00:02:12
in a research program supported by the European Commission. 00:02:14
The subject, find particles which are the most dangerous for our health. 00:02:17
Thanks to the industrial competition 00:02:23
and the competition of different European and national institutions, 00:02:26
and according to the regulations, 00:02:34
we have managed to reduce the large particles. 00:02:36
However, these large particles do not cause too much difficulty 00:02:39
from a health point of view. 00:02:43
On the other hand, the fine particles, 00:02:45
because of their size and composition, 00:02:48
are likely to penetrate our respiratory system 00:02:50
to the alveoli, 00:02:55
where the exchange with the blood system is perhaps easier 00:02:57
and, consequently, the distribution in the body is much easier. 00:03:01
To identify the particles, they are first collected in dust filters, 00:03:09
placed at strategic points along the main roads 00:03:12
for exhaust fumes from vehicles, especially diesel engines, 00:03:15
and along the coast, 00:03:18
where there is a concentration of industrial sites and port zones, 00:03:20
engendering heavy maritime traffic. 00:03:23
Fine particles are less than 2.5 millionth of a meter in size. 00:03:31
Some are directly emitted into the atmosphere, like microsuits, 00:03:35
produced by combustion in various different industrial processes. 00:03:38
Other particles form in the atmosphere by physical or chemical reaction 00:03:42
between gaseous pollutants 00:03:46
and are composed of sulfates, heavy metals or hydrocarbons. 00:03:48
Laurent Schlimpf, a research scientist, is also a top-level sportsman. 00:03:55
For some time now, he has been participating very physically 00:03:59
in a series of tests carried out by Dr. Tönnink. 00:04:02
During the short and intense period of hyperventilation on the running machine, 00:04:05
the toxins stored in the lungs of the runner are absorbed 00:04:09
as he breathes out into a particle filter placed in the mast. 00:04:12
By evaluating in the laboratory the quantity and composition 00:04:18
of the toxic particles in the lungs, 00:04:21
a correlation can be established, in due proportion, 00:04:23
with the level of intoxication of the population of Dunkirk. 00:04:26
The experiment has already confirmed certain fears on the health front. 00:04:30
We have seen an increase in asthmatic respiratory pathologies, 00:04:39
i.e. bronchial irritation. 00:04:42
I have been doing anesthesia for about 20 years now. 00:04:44
Another factor is the increase in the number of allergic or polyallergic subjects. 00:04:48
These respiratory problems affect the entire population. 00:04:55
But children, because of their metabolism, their small size 00:04:58
and their numerous outdoor activities, are particularly vulnerable. 00:05:02
Research also aims to trace the path of the particles as far as cell level. 00:05:07
On this picture we can see the layers of pollutants on the track here. 00:05:12
Here we see the same pollutants fixed deep into the lungs, 00:05:16
as far as the extremities. 00:05:20
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Idioma/s:
en
Niveles educativos:
▼ Mostrar / ocultar niveles
      • Nivel Intermedio
Autor/es:
The European Union
Subido por:
EducaMadrid
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
629
Fecha:
17 de julio de 2007 - 13:29
Visibilidad:
Público
Enlace Relacionado:
European Commission
Duración:
05′ 21″
Relación de aspecto:
4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
Resolución:
448x336 píxeles
Tamaño:
27.39 MBytes

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