Archive for January, 2010
Your Health and your Car
Air pollution is one of the well known types of pollution. Doctors and researchers point it out as the main cause of respiratory illnesses. Such pollution is derived from factories, appliances, engines, and cars, or anything that secretes harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, suspended particles less than 10 microns in size, benzene, formaldehyde, and polycyclic hydrocarbons. And among auto parts, the exhaust system excretes these pathogens.
In a research, it was found out that nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide can cause cancer.
Ninety-five percent of pollution related sulfur oxide emissions are in the form of sulfur dioxide (SO2), a heavy, colorless gas with an odor like a struck match. This gas combines easily with water vapor, forming aerosols of sulfurous acid (H2SO3), a colorless, mildly corrosive liquid. This liquid may then combine with oxygen in the air, forming the even more irritating and corrosive sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
Exposure to high concentrations for a short period of time can constrict the bronchi and increase mucous flow, making breathing difficult. Children, the elderly, and those with chronic lung disease and asthma are especially susceptible to these effects. Sulfur dioxide can also:
• Immediately irritate the lung and throat at concentrations greater than 6 parts per million (ppm) in many people.
• Impair the respiratory system’s defenses against foreign particles and bacteria, when exposed to concentrations less than 6 ppm for longer time periods.
• Apparently enhance the harmful effects of ozone. (Combinations of the two gases at concentrations occasionally found in the ambient air appear to increase airway resistance to breathing.)
Bad headaches and nausea are caused by benzene.
Most formaldehyde exposures occur by inhalation or by skin or eye contact. Formaldehyde is absorbed well by and destroys the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and skin.
Lastly, according to the same research, polycyclic hydrocarbons can cause cancer.
The automotive industry is one major contributor to air pollution. To combat air pollution it is important for car owners to keep their vehicles in shape, as badly maintained vehicles are more likely to contribute to air pollution. Auto parts, especially the exhaust system must be regularly checked and worn or damaged parts immediately replaced with quality parts like the Borla exhaust system.
Hanna Racey
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/your-health-and-your-car-96449.html
Smoke Is Poison Ad – Benzene
Cancer Research UK advert about the harmful chemicals in cigarettes, featuring Donald Macintyre
Duration : 0:0:40
Benzene Is A Carcinogen Found In Gasoline / Chemical Safety PSA
Benzene Is A Carcinogen Found In Gasoline / Chemical Safety PSA. Public domain video courtesy of NIH.
Gasoline contains benzene, depending on the source of gasoline, and countries, ranges of concentration of benzene in gasoline have been reported as 1 to 6%. Gasoline is also used as an industrial solvent and workers commonly experience inhalation and skin exposure. In my practice, it is not unusual to hear from workers that “I washed my hands with gasoline to remove paint daily” or “the smell was so strong that I got dizzy”, demonstrating substantial exposure to gasoline ongoing on a daily basis. Since benzene is a known human carcinogen, it would be expected that gasoline will be also a hematopoietic toxic and cancer causing agent as well. Indeed, Aksey et al as early as 1928 reported aplastic anemia, and in 1941, Machele et al reported thrombocytopenia from gasoline intoxication. Other hematopoietic malignancies have been reported as a result of gasoline exposure. Epidemiological studies of workers and filling station attendees have shown genotoxic effects at very low benzene from gasoline vapor exposure. Brandt et al have demonstrated genotoxic effects in workers exposed to low levels of benzene from gasoline. Santos-Mello et al have shown chromosomal deletions in lymphocytes of workers exposed to gasoline as attendants. Infante et al reported hematopoietic malignancy in petrol exposed workers. Similar exposures to gasoline in garage mechanics and filling stations have been reported. What are the health effects of exposure to gasoline vapors? Gas cans emit pollutants such as hazardous air pollutants (HAP) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). These pollutants can contribute to health problems that may affect homeowners, their families, and the community. VOC can produce ozone, which may cause respiratory problems for those with cardiac or respiratory diseases. Chemicals in these substances can also react in the air to form ground-level ozone (smog), which has been linked to a number of respiratory effects. EPA has developed a Web site related to ground-level ozone. Benzene: Exposure to benzene may cause irritation of the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract as well as blisters due to dermal exposure. Long-term exposure to benzene may cause blood disorders, reproductive and developmental disorders, and cancer. EPA has collected extensive information on the health effects of exposure to benzene. When gasoline vapors collect in a closed environment such as a non-ventilated shed or garage, the potential for an explosion increases. Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon that is produced by the burning of natural products. It is a component of products derived from coal and petroleum and is found in gasoline and other fuels. Benzene is used in the manufacture of plastics, detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals. Research has shown benzene to be a carcinogen (cancer-causing). With exposures from less than five years to more than 30 years, individuals have developed, and died from, leukemia. Long-term exposure may affect bone marrow and blood production. Short-term exposure to high levels of benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and death.
Duration : 0:0:30
A question on manufacture of cigarettes?
First of all, I know cigarettes are bad for you but why don’t they minimise the damage? I mean, for starters, why do they have to put chemicals into cigarettes (like cyanide, benzene, etc.) when tobacco does not contain any of these compounds? Tobacco is a plant and should not have harmful ingredients in it other than nicotine. Why is it impossible to sell cigarettes containing nothing but tobacco? I understand that these chemicals will make the ciggies burn faster and other tricky things but I’m sure if those additives weren’t there in the first place then cigarettes would be nowhere near as harmful. So it should be nicotine and the carbon dioxide/monoxide only that poisoning us. In addition, they could put some vitamins and minerals into cigarettes so that at least some good can be inhaled with the bad.
David C, thanx for the explanation on combustion but I’m very aware of this subject. Combustion of a plant on its own wouldn’t produce cyanide, Polonium, etc. Oxides of Nitrogen are, yes, bad for you, but you’d get them from car fumes or just at your bankholiday Monday barbeque!
you are so correct, if they would take out some of the bad things then cigarettes would be ok (i think) to smoke. i have been off them for 14 months but i still wish i could smoke, if they did what you are suggesting, i and many more would be able to enjoy one again (i think) thanks for the nice thought, have a good day.
How Second Hand Smoke Threatens Your Health
Secondhand smoking, breathing in of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is also called passive smoking. It is when a person breathes in smoke given off into the environment by other people.
Secondhand smoke or ETS is a combination of side stream smoke coming straight from the burning tobacco and the mainstream smoke that is exhaled by the smoker. It comprises of over 4000 chemical constituents, a large proportion of which are the inducers of respiratory illnesses and around 40 are known or suspected carcinogens.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified ETS as a class A (known human) carcinogen along with other known carcinogens such as arsenic, asbestos and benzene etc.
ETS is unfiltered, thus the levels of carcinogens in it are much more than in smoke inhaled directly by an active smoker. Smoking of a cigarette produces smoke from two major places, mainly from the tip of cigarette and from the rest of the cigarette as the hot vapors liberated through the cigarette and its filter.
About 70% to 80% of ETS is from the burning tip of cigarette and comprises of the highest levels of nicotine, carbon monoxide, tar and various other carcinogens. Therefore, a constant exposure to an ETS is apparently even more injurious than directly smoking a cigarette for an equivalent period.
Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
Immediate effects:
Immediate effects of secondhand smoking comprise of eye irritation, cough, sore throat, headache, nausea and dizziness.
Long-term effects:
Lung cancer: The major cause of lung cancer among non-smokers is secondhand smoke. One of the studies revealed that hospitality workers who were exposed to secondhand smoke became three times more prone to lung cancer.
Cardiovascular problems: ETS can induce short-term and long-term harm to the heart by decreasing its functional capacity and lowering the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. Some of the chemicals in secondhand smoke can block or harden the arteries, causing problems like atherosclerosis, hypertension and later heart attack. In one of the studies, it was found that secondhand smoking enhances the risk of a heart attack by at least two times.
Stroke: Non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke run at least 80% more risk of stroke than do the non-exposed people.
Asthma: One of the studies revealed that the non-smokers exposed to ETS at work showed at least twice the risk of asthma than the non-exposed people did. Those who were exposed to ETS at home as well, showed as much as five times greater risk for asthma than the non-exposed people did. In individuals who already suffer from asthma, exposure to ETS can
significantly decline their lung function.
Breast Cancer: Some of the recent studies have revealed ETS to increase the risk of breast cancer among women.
Effects on the fetus:
Smoking by a pregnant woman can have various serious consequences on the developing fetus.
- Babies born to women who smoked during their pregnancy have a low birth weight and are often born prematurely.
- Their organs, chiefly the lungs, are smaller than of other babies and these babies are more susceptible to cot death.
- They are more prone to illness all their life and are more likely to become addicted to the tobacco later in their life.
Effect on Children
- Kids that are exposed to secondhand smoke from either parent during the first year of their lives are far more likely to be afflicted with asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchiolitis and other respiratory problems than kids who were not exposed.
- Secondhand smoking may also predispose children to the impairment of the blood circulatory system, behavioral problems and olfactory (nasal) problems.
- It also increases their susceptibility to develop cancer during their adulthood.
John Pawlett
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/how-second-hand-smoke-threatens-your-health-91101.html