Particles that pose a health risk: we must think carefully when opening a window

Transport Minister Marius Skuodis repeated that last week.

However, as Irena Taraškevičienė, Head of the Public Health Safety Division of the National Center for Public Health (NVSC) pointed out, these data are not completely accurate.

Violeta Kaunelienė, head of the Department of Environmental Technology at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), points out that our country’s air quality is not good in the context of developed countries.

Led by discrepancy

In the 15/15 program, I.Taraškevičienė stated that such leadership of Lithuania according to the most painful indicator was determined by the discrepancy of certain available statistics.

The calculation method used is based on epidemiological studies showing that, due to ambient air pollution, mortality increases with a certain progression.

The interviewee says that mortality is higher where there is higher ambient air pollution.

The method used is based on a general mortality rate, which calculates how many people have died in the past because they lived in polluted air and have developed certain diseases.

Two sets of data are calculated: the overall mortality rate for certain individuals in the age group, minus external causes of death, and ambient air pollution.

“I can say right away that according to the ambient air pollution, if you take the OECD report, you can see that Lithuania is definitely not among the leaders. But sadly, like other countries of the new European Union, we have a high overall mortality rate.

Finally, all that said, we have a lot of those premature deaths due to ambient air pollution. However, as we can see, there is some discrepancy in the data available for these available statistics. However, air pollution is not the worst compared to other countries in the context of that organization’s data, ”said I.Taraškevičienė.

But, as V. Kaunelienė pointed out, in the context of developed countries, the air quality in our country is still not good.

He said this is due to the heavy use of individual cars in transportation and, to a large extent, the burning of solid fuels.

As a result, the increase in the concentration of particulate matter is directly related to the incoming cold.

“Burning particularly solid fuels in individual boilers, which are known to have no cleaning equipment and low stacks, causes pollution to spread at low altitudes and has a huge impact on our health. The fact that fuel combustion is an important factor is also demonstrated by the difference in concentration in winter and summer, when it can vary several times. In winter it is higher than in summer. This is due to the burning of solid fuels.

We have conducted an investigation in the city of Kaunas, measured air pollution with particulate matter in different districts of the city of Kaunas, differing by the boundaries of the buildings and the way in which houses are heated. We also surveyed the suburbs, which are dominated by gas heating, apartment buildings, sleeping areas, which are heated by central gas stations, and compared them to the center, Žaliakalnis, where a lot of fuel is burned in individual houses.

In fact, during our measurement, the concentration differs up to several times more precisely when comparing the cleanest areas, in the suburbs, where gaseous fuel is burned, compared to the center ”, said the interlocutor.

V. Kaunelienė points out that this naturally affects our health as well, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, people are even more affected.

I.Taraškevičienė also stated that due to high ambient air pollution, some people developed chronic respiratory diseases, and the coronavirus is more dangerous in those people.

“The World Health Organization has already reported that these people develop more serious forms of the disease. And there is also evidence that air pollution by particulate matter improves conditions for the transmission of the virus from person to person,” said one NSVC spokesperson.

In general, on the effect of particles on health, I.Taraškevičienė said that it depends on the size of the particles, although in any case they have a negative effect.

According to her, the larger particles are not so dangerous because they persist in the upper respiratory tract, causing symptoms of irritation of the mucous membranes.

Fine particles with long-term adverse effects are more dangerous to human health.

“Small particles smaller than 2 micrometers penetrate deeper into the respiratory system, enter the bloodstream and can affect some internal organs. And here the impact is already more serious. It can cause diseases of the circulatory system, cancers, “said the interlocutor about the danger.

V.Kaunelienė also noted that even when we are at home, we are exposed to indoor air pollution, which is caused by furniture, various activities, and by ourselves.

“We don’t just want to ventilate the rooms, we run a high risk of injecting a large amount of pollution from outside when opening a window. We have to think carefully about when we can open that window ”, warned the head of the Department of Environmental Technology of KTU.

But I.Taraškevičienė emphasized that regardless of the air pollution outside, it will remain lower than indoors, so the ventilation of the premises is very important, especially if there is a solid fuel boiler room or a stove in the house.

The interlocutors appealed to the conscience of those neighbors that they should pay attention to what is heating the house, thus contributing to the increase in the concentration of particulate matter.

V. Kaunelienė emphasizes that people should not only be demanding with the state regarding the possibilities of alternatives, but also be demanding with themselves and try to implement systems as clean as possible.

Watch the full 15/15 show here: