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| A citizen is using a masker to protect herself from dangerous air pollution. Source: http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/C244/production/_92623794_facemask.jpg |
Based
on an article with the same title posted by BBC on November 23, 2016
There are approximately 467.000 people killed due to
air pollution in Europe every year. The victims are mostly from urban areas in
which vehicles are usually used and industrial activities are operating. In
fact, the air has been contaminated by fine particulate matter (PM2.5 &
PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ground-level ozone (O3), which may jeopardize
the citizens. They become vulnerable to heart disease and respiratory disruption.
PM2.5 and PM10 are both particulate fine matter
formed by human industrial processes or natural causes like forest fires. They are
differentiated from each other by the size of each diameter in microns. They are
so small that they can go through human respiratory system or even blood vessels.
According to European Environment Agency (EEA), the level of air pollution is still
high despite the improvement in air pollution between 2006 and 2014. There are
three countries which have produced air pollution the most, and they are
Bulgaria, Poland, and the Czech Republic
I think it is the right time for citizens to take part
in overcoming air pollution issue. We do not need to be experts to decrease the
level of contaminated air. We can simply decline to use private vehicles, start
to plant a tree, and avoid smoking. It is very important to do, but it is not
as easy as we thought. As a result, good cooperation between the government and
its people is needed to tackle air pollution.
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