China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Air and Water Pollution Monitoring and Control Through Bionanomaterial-Based Sensors
Published in Naveen Dwivedi, Shubha Dwivedi, Bionanotechnology Towards Sustainable Management of Environmental Pollution, 2023
Monika Singh, Doli, Amit Yadav, Sumit Kaushik, Namrata Gupta, Gyanendra Singh, Piyush Gupta
O3 is the most abundant element in the atmosphere. Ground-level ozone is produced by the chemical reaction of nitrogen and VOCs, as well as by anthropogenic activities, and is associated with an increased risk of lung disorders, including asthma (Gorai et al., 2014). These are considered to trigger lipid peroxidation of cellular membranes and macromolecules by increasing the quantity of free radicals. They also impact DNA, resulting in cellular dysfunction (McCarthy et al., 2013). Carbon monoxide is a dangerous gas that is produced when coal, wood, and other fossil fuels are burned incompletely. It has a far stronger affinity for hemoglobin than for oxygen, roughly 250 times stronger. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes severe headaches, nausea, and loss of consciousness, among other symptoms (Akyol et al., 2014). Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a highly reactive gas that is mostly released as a result of fossil fuel consumption, volcanic activity, and industrial processes. Skin and pulmonary disorders are more common in patients with lung diseases, babies, and persons who are exposed to SO2. Due to its water solubility, SO2 is responsible for acid rain and acidification of soils as a sensory irritant that can cause bronchospasms and mucus discharge in people.
Gases and vapours
Published in Sue Reed, Dino Pisaniello, Geza Benke, Kerrie Burton, Principles of Occupational Health & Hygiene, 2020
Noel Tresider, Kate Leahy, Aleks Todorovic
Even very low concentrations of carbon monoxide in air are dangerous. Discomforting effects are noticeable at 50 ppm, and even a short exposure to 2000 ppm will result in asphyxia and death. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include, progressively, headache, nausea, drowsiness, fatigue, collapse, unconsciousness and death. These states correspond to increasing percentages of blood carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb), from 10 per cent to 40 per cent. Smokers’ blood may contain between 5 and 10 per cent carboxyhaemoglobin.
Gases and vapours
Published in Sue Reed, Dino Pisaniello, Geza Benke, Principles of Occupational Health & Hygiene, 2020
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include, progressively, headache, nausea, drowsiness, fatigue, collapse, unconsciousness and death. These states correspond to increasing percentages of blood carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb), from 10 per cent to 40 per cent. Smokers’ blood may contain between 5 and 10 per cent COHb.
Driving on wood: the Swedish transition to wood gas during World War Two
Published in History and Technology, 2021
A significant number of people were acutely poisoned by wood gas; in 1940 there were 60 known cases, seven of which resulted in death, in 1941 there were 901 cases (17 deaths) and in 1942, a total of 1,135 cases were recorded (11 deaths). In addition, many people were affected by chronic poisoning from lower levels of carbon monoxide. This led to diffuse symptoms like fatigue, headache, vertigo, apathy and heart trouble, which were at first not recognized as consequences of gasifiers, but towards the end of the war circa 1,600 people were officially recognized as cases of chronic carbon monoxide poisoning. Moreover, a number of seemingly strange car accidents started occurring when experienced drivers would suddenly lose control of their cars and drive into the ditch or into oncoming cars. It turned out that these accidents were caused by the intoxication of drivers.33
Investigation of methane-air explosions and its destruction at longwall coalface in underground coalmines
Published in Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 2020
Yunfei Zhu, Wendong Zhou, Deming Wang, Zhenlu Shao, Chaohang Xu, Min Li, Zhang Yutao
Table 6 provides some data on the injury degree from a 10-g glass fragment impacting on a human body at various velocities (Eckhoff 2013). The only survivor in the UBB coalmine explosion stated, ‘All at once, everything went black, and it seemed like we were sitting in the middle of a hurricane. Debris was flying through the air, hitting the mantrip. The gas detector was alarming. Other members yelled for fellow workers to don their rescuers. I held my breath while donning my rescuer’. His eight partners died from carbon monoxide poisoning. In meteorology, wind with a speed of 32.6–37.0 m/s is named a typhoon or hurricane and can cause huge losses. The maximum peak velocity of the blast wave is about 320 m/s near the entrance of the 1# crosscut, and the peak velocity in most of the simulation domain reached 100 m/s. According to Table 6, most people in the simulation domain would be killed.
Progress towards the ideal core@shell nanoparticle for fuel cell electrocatalysis
Published in Journal of Experimental Nanoscience, 2018
James S. Walker, Neil V. Rees, Paula M. Mendes
As shown, ruthenium, with an average price of 76.40 $/oz in 2015–2018, is an exception to the rule in that it comes in at least 12 times cheaper than platinum, which has averaged 976.19 $/oz over the same period. Accordingly, researchers have looked to ruthenium as a very eligible candidate for M@Pt studies. In 2013, ordered Ru@Pt nanoparticles were synthesised using a new method which reportedly minimised the formation of crystal lattice deformations. These nanoparticles were subsequently tested in a fuel cell stack to measure their capacity for catalysing the HER at a PEFC anode. Significantly, the researchers tested their nanoparticles with a carbon monoxide-poisoned hydrogen stream and were able to demonstrate enhanced tolerance to poisoning when compared to commercial Pt/C. This effect was ascribed in part at least due to the chemical ordering engendered in the Ru–core following an annealing step at 450 °C [44]. This group once more highlighted the contribution that defined chemical ordering made to the activity and durability of their catalysts. This phenomenon has been further studied, with Cu@Pt–Ru nanoparticles tested as methanol and carbon monoxide oxidation catalysts in two successive works [45,46]. The authors noted in both cases that their nanoparticles demonstrated enhanced tolerance to carbon monoxide poisoning. The enhanced durability of each of the catalysts described highlights a unique property of alloyed Pt/Ru surfaces.