WHAT DO YOU BREATHE IN?
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Recently, there has been a discussion about our respiratory hygiene in the Med-Hive community, and we have come to realize that the environment we thrive in can pose a serious threat to our respiratory system. In a not too-distant post on the environment, I lamented how a neighbor located a pig pen right beside my apartment, with a fence in between, and the option of reporting such an individual to the government agency responsible for environmental protection.
During the course of my travel from Iloin, here in Kwara State, Nigeria, to Offa town, which is less than 80 miles away, yesterday, I came across an industry that is situated some fifteen minutes drive from the capital city. This brings me to the question below:
HOW DISTANT SHOULD FUME INDUSTRIES BE FROM RESIDENTIAL AREAS?
Fumes are smoke emitted from industries into the atmosphere that is most often harmful to humanity and nature. These fumes can also be exhaled in vaporized forms, which can be whitish or dark in appearance.
My attempt to discuss this topic will be based on my limited understanding as a medic and a nature lover. The atmosphere is constantly bombarded by toxic air pollutants that tend to destabilize the greenhouse gases in the air, thus posing a serious threat to humanity and nature.
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When fumes are exhaled into the atmosphere, the greenhouse gases—a combination of methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other fluorinated gases—become destabilized, and the earth’s natural greenhouse becomes compromised. The greenhouse gas is a protective earth covering that absorbs heat from the sun, keeping the earth warm and preventing it from becoming Iceland. It is thus one of the many reasons humanity is counseled to grow more trees for every cut tree.
Most fumes from industries contain a toxic gas known as carbon monoxide. This carbon monoxide is exhaled from the human body, while oxygen is inhaled. This is a reminder that carbon monoxide is unwelcome in the human body as well as in the environment. Sources of this gas thus need to be situated in distant places from residential areas.
Smoke-emitting objects are not limited to industries but could be as simple as the burning of tires in the neighborhood. The practice of burning tires and other objects capable of emitting toxic gases within residential areas has been unchecked by the government and well-meaning agencies, thus creating a conducive environment for these gases to be available for inhalation in the neighborhood.
Industries and the incineration of waste materials should be located in arrears where they cannot be easily sighted, or about 5–10 kilometers away. Despite efforts by the industries to locate their equipment far away, the people in the neighborhood are quick to turn the surroundings of the industry into urban settlements because of their frequent trades and at the expense of their health.
Industries that violate their location should be quickly reported to the environmental agencies for quick intervention. We must also be cautious to avoid locating our residential homes in significant proximity to industries. The burning of fume-emitting objects in the neighborhood should be frowned upon and steps taken to prevent future occurrences.
We must therefore exercise significant caution with what we breathe in.
Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions 🤗
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Well said... You've practically said it all. I also think industries like this should be far away from residential areas for people's safety.
If these gases are inhaled it can be very harmful.
Very correct.
I hope the government can bring policies to address such
Thank you sire
I hope you won't take offence to my response.
As a fellow nature lover I understand how awful it would be to have a pig farm beside your apartment. When I read about people burning tires I just wanted to scream about how awful that is for the air, other people, nature, and the soil.
However, I just wouldn't be me if I didn't share an opposing view. I'm sorry but there are just some points that left me going nooooooo
Be careful on this one. Canada has very strong laws regarding pollution and the rights of individuals to clean air for breathing. However, while agree that people should held responsible for breaking the law it can go too far. One parent was taken to court for attempted murder for smoking in their car with the child inside. It was reasoned that the parent was harming the child because the child couldn't escape the smoke that was attacking their lungs.
Also, the more regulations that get put into place the more and more difficult it is for the average person to comply with all of them. In that respect some people in Canada have taken to hiding their emissions from the government because doing it legally is so difficult.
The burning of fume-emitting objects in the neighborhood should be frowned upon and steps taken to prevent future occurrences.
In my opinion it should be banned or heavily restricted. Why should your smoke poison my lungs. There are ways to get rid of things rather than burning. If things MUST be burned there are ways to do it with much less pollution. (I personally love woodgas stoves and waste reburners...but those are topics for the future)
5-10km isn't nearly far enough depending on the type of fuel being burnt and volume being burnt. Right now there are forest fires in a neighboring province about 1200km away but the smoke is still very noticeable where I am. More important to make the distance away based on how much emission and what type of emission is going on.
Brutal Tire smoke is truly awful on so many levels. Recycle and retread but never burn.
NO
You are correct that Oxygen is inhaled. It is then carried around on hemoglobin through the bloodstream so it can be used to oxidize your food (remember the Kreb cycle from school?). The end result of the burning of food is Carbon dioxide and water vapour.
Carbon Monoxide is poisonous because is NOT exhaled from the body! When you breathe in Carbon Monoxide it irreversibly binds to hemoglobin leaving that hemoglobin unable to bind with oxygen that you breathe in. So with carbon monoxide poisoning you keep breathing as normal but without the oxygen getting on the hemoglobin you are suffocating while still breathing.
Slowly you become hypoxic and feel weak, tired and sick. If it persists you die.
Carbon Monoxide poisoning is bad news.
Okay. This paragraph I had big issues with.
How would I write that paragraph? Well, I'd write it in two parts:
First: Tires: Those are brutal when they are burnt. They release VOC's (think smoke) which smells bad, is bad for the environment and is overall just rough n the lungs. However, they also release benzene's, toluene's and other cancer causing and persistent toxic chemicals. Overall awful stuff.
Second: Pig waste (and other biological waste). Bad but in a different way. Urea has nitrogen in it. Protein and other excrement has Sulphur in it. Burn them together and you get VOC's but this time from unburns fatty acids and such so lots of particulates which are bad for the lungs. However, the sulphur comse out as H2S gas which mixes with water to for sulphuric acid which is bad for plants and the soil, it smells terrible (rotten eggs) and is irritating to mucos membrants. The Urea burns to form Ammonia which is direct irritant to mucos membranes and again awful for the body ...and also smells bad.
However, Pig waste is known for bacteria and viruses. Volatilized waste could carry bacteria like E. Coli and Salmonella which could certainly make people sick. The solid/liquid waste also gets into the groundwater...again making people sick.
I really don't want a poorly managed piggery nextdoor to me!
Third: Chloro and Fluorocarbons are overall persistent in the environment and toxic on many levels. Fluorocarbons also destroy the OZONE LAYER which is a protective shell around the earth with keeps out toxic UV Rays. Without that more skin cancer, more sunburns, more blind and burnt animals...generally all round bad.
Anyways, I'm not at home to fact check everything,
But I just couldn't let it slide.
Great idea.
Love the passion and agree something must be done ab0ut air pollution.
But a few of the facts left me wondering
Thanks and look forward to reading more posts from you.
Thank you for your in depth analysis. It's good to harvest points of view of another. Perhaps our routes differ a little yet, we have similar goal, a safer environment.
Thank you once again
Yes. Worlds apart (Canada is very different than Nigeria). Same goal. Better health, better environment, better living and of course not having to smell pigs or burning rubber next door.😎