Air quality and its influence on human health
Sources of air pollution are primarily industry, road traffic, agriculture, emissions from the generation of electrical energy, but also the well-known heating with solid fuels. Although European countries are trying to take various steps to combat these pollutants, air quality is improving very slowly.
Millions of people in Europe breathe toxic air every day, which poses a non-negligible risk to their health. According to a study by the European Environment Agency (EEA), almost half a million Europeans die every year as a result of air pollution. If we look at current air pollution using the EAA measurements, we see a clear trend that shows significantly worse air quality in Central and Eastern Europe.
Source: https://airindex.eea.europa.eu/
The impact of air pollution on human health has been documented in detail in many studies and research, and that is why it is rightly considered one of the greatest invisible health threats.
What contaminants are in the air and how can we classify them??
Air pollutants come in solid and liquid states. In general, solid contaminants in the air can be referred to as dust, as long as the way in which it was created does not play an important role.
As you already read in our article on Filter label could read, this dust can be divided according to particle size:
If dust is inhaled into our respiratory system, it only depends on the size of the particles and the ability of the body to deposit the particles. Particles with a diameter of less than 10 μm are deposited in the upper respiratory tract. Particles smaller than 10 μm can already pass through the throat. Particles with a diameter smaller than 2.5 μm can travel into the lungs and particles smaller than 1 μm can enter the bloodstream, thereby attacking other internal organs and causing fatal diseases.
So how can we try to reduce the inhalation of this harmful particulate matter?
Unfortunately, this cannot be completely avoided because this particulate matter is all around us outside, we just don't see it and its concentration also varies depending on the geographical location. The fine dust concentrations in Beijing will be different from those in Munich, and we will find completely different fine dust concentrations in small villages or in isolated locations on the edge of the forest.
The universal solution is a filter of a high filter class
However, if we have a ventilation system at home, we have the opportunity to significantly reduce this fine dust as far as the indoor climate in our apartment or house is concerned, with the help of an air filter with a high filter class. This is the only way we can effectively prevent this harmful fine dust from entering our indoor climate and thus threatening our health.
We spend more and more time in our homes and it is all the more important to ensure a clean and balanced indoor climate, especially in these rooms.
If we look at the diameter of dust particles present in the air, the most dangerous particles have a particle size smaller than 2.5 µm; these are also referred to as PM2.5 and PM1.
Our air filter RUKATECH SafeLuft Premium can separate up to 80% of these pollutant particles. So take a step in the right direction and replace your existing air filter with an air filter with a higher filter class. Create a better indoor climate and support your family's health by giving them the opportunity to breathe better air at home.
Literature and sources used
RUKATECH, sro : Internal documents
Zehnder Group Deutschland GmbH: Publicly accessible documents