Our Breathing Air
The air we breathe in and out every day, about 11,000 liters of it, consists of a multitude of different components. Unfortunately, some of these are harmful to health at certain concentrations.
Many of these harmful components have been enriched in the atmosphere due to human activities. Science and politics tend to look at these substances individually, publishing limit values or recommendations for individual components. However, it must not be overlooked that these components do not occur isolated in the breathing air. Even if the concentration of a single substance does not yet cause harm, a combination of different substances can already be harmful at much lower concentrations than a single substance would be. Therefore, legal limit values are only of limited significance, as they often do not take into account the simultaneous presence of other pollutants.
Main components of the air we breathe
| Name | normal | unhealthy above |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen N2 |
78% | |
| Oxygen O2 |
21% | 50% |
| Argon Ar |
0,93% | |
| Carbon dioxide CO2 |
0,04% (400 ppm) | |
| Neon Ne |
0,0018% (18ppm) | |
| Helium He |
0,0005% (5 ppm) | |
| Methane CH4 |
0,0002% (2 ppm) | |
| Krypton Kr |
0,0001% (1 ppm) | |
| Hydrogen H2 |
0,00005% (0,5 ppm) | |
| Xenon Xe |
0,000009% (0,09 ppm) | |
| Ozone O3 |
0,000004% (0,04 ppm) | 0,00001% (0,1 ppm) |
| Nitric oxide NO |
0,000002% (0,02 ppm) | 0,00002% (0,2 ppm) |
| Sulfur dioxide SO2 |
0,000002% (0,02 ppm) | 0,00001% (0,1 ppm) |
| Ammonia NH3 |
0,000001% (0,01 ppm) | 0,0025% (25 ppm) |
| Carbon monoxide CO |
0,0001% (1 ppm) | 0,0009% (9 ppm) |
| Nitrogen dioxide NO2 |
0,000002% (0,02 ppm) | 0,00002% (0,2 ppm) |
| Hydrogen sulfide H2S |
0,0001% (1 ppm) | 0,001% (10 ppm) |
| Radon Rn |
0-40 Bq/m³ in Luft 0-100.000 Bq/m³ im Boden |
4 pCi/L (148 Bq/m3) |
| Volatile Organic Compount VOC |
||
| PM 1 | ||
| PM 2.5 | ||
| PM 10 |
Impacts on our health
It is particularly noticeable that the most toxic gases can have an effect on our health even in the smallest amounts.
In addition to well-researched short-term effects, there are also many long-term effects of excessively high pollutant concentrations.
While short-term, significantly elevated concentrations of most substances are perceived as irritation of the respiratory tract, headaches, dizziness, and possibly burning eyes, the symptoms of chronically slightly elevated levels are much more inconspicuous and can easily be confused with other diseases.
The Problem with Threshold Values
Scientific studies have shown that concentrations of 1000 ppm CO2 can already have health effects on many people. Not only temporary effects such as concentration difficulties and fatigue should be considered, but also long-term physical damage, such as inflammatory reactions and a weakening of the immune system.
However, it is important to note that health impairments do not necessarily occur only at concentrations of 1000 ppm. With prolonged exposure and depending on individual predisposition as well as possible other air pollutants, the first symptoms and health damages can occur at lower concentrations. The values mentioned in studies only indicate thresholds from which damage is generally expected, not the point at which individual problems begin.
Therefore, we consider it problematic when the government sets limits that suggest no health problems are to be expected up to this point. It seems unlikely that many people would develop verifiable health problems at a concentration of 1000 ppm, while at 999 ppm no effects are recorded and the situation is considered safe.