The quality of the air we breathe has a great impact on our health. Air pollution is the change in this air composition or the mixing of substances that should not normally be present in the air in a way that disrupts human health or environmental balance. With the arrival of the winter months, air pollution has become even more threatening to public health. The main pollutants that have a harmful effect on public health are particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methane, carbon black (soot) and mercury. As these pollutants increase in the air, the oxygen level, which is important for living things, decreases, the life of humans, plants and animals is negatively affected, physical damage and economic losses occur.
Due to the health problems caused by air pollution, approximately 20,000 people die every day around the world. the person is dying. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicts that outdoor air pollution will be the first cause of deaths due to environmental conditions worldwide in 2050. Approximately half of the deaths due to air pollution are caused by outdoor air pollution such as traffic pollution, coal-fired power plants, domestic heating, forest fires, excavations and desert sands. In addition, air pollution has been classified as one of the most important environmental factors that cause cancer.
Air pollution values in Turkey are well above the standard limit values set by the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the protection of health. . According to data, Turkey appears to be one of the countries with the highest rate of premature deaths due to air pollution in Europe. According to European Environment Agency (EEA) data, 97.2% of the population living in cities in Turkey is exposed to particulate matter (PM) above the limit values, and in 2010, approximately 28,000 people lost their time due to exposure to particulate matter and ozone in the outdoor environment in Turkey. He passed away before. Iğdır, Batman, Afyon, Osmaniye, Gaziantep and Siirt, T.R. According to the data of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and WHO, it draws attention as the 6 most polluted provinces of Turkey. Although the threshold value for air pollution is 20 pg/cubic meter, this value is even above 100 units in these 6 provinces.
Air pollution has a significant impact on human health. It has been proven by various studies that it damages the human body to varying degrees and by affecting different organ systems. It has significant effects especially on the respiratory, cardiac and circulatory systems, reproductive system and nervous system. Considering its effects on the respiratory system, it can be listed as airway irritation, decrease in lung function, upper and lower respiratory tract infections, respiratory deaths, exacerbations in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hospital admissions and hospitalizations due to these chronic diseases, and an increase in the risk of lung cancer. . Its effects on the heart and circulatory system can be listed as heart rhythm disturbance, chest pain (angina pectoris) that develops as a result of the heart not being fed enough, complete blockage in the coronary vessels feeding the heart and heart attack, and increase in blood pressure (hypertension). Acute and chronic effects (ranging from a few hours to a few days) triggered by inhaled pollutants may occur.
Some of the measures that can be taken to reduce the Effects of Air Pollution on Health are; Using low-sulfur fuel for heating, thermal insulation of buildings to reduce the need for heating, regulating heating hours in cities, training individuals on energy saving and fuel use, reducing the pollution levels of fuels, improving combustion systems, expanding the use of central heating and natural gas, These include the use of chimney filter systems in buildings, increasing green areas, expanding the use of unleaded gasoline, and the use of catalytic convectors that reduce exhaust emissions.
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