Why attention to the quality of air we breathe in is so important?

Without water a human being can survive for a couple of days, without food up to several weeks, yet without air – a few minutes only. So we perfectly understand how important it is to breathe yet we tend to forget how important it is to breathe good quality air – clean and free from pollutants. This problem especially concerns various types of processing plants, where dust and other particles of dirt are of high concentration.

Clean air – meaning what air exactly?

According to an encyclopedic definition, the air is a mixture of diffrent kinds of gases and aerosols, which create the atmosphere of the Earth. The most significant component of the air that is so crucial for all living organisms is oxygen of course. Although it is not the main component of the air – only 21 %. The rest are gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon, helium and also steam. Air pollution are all kinds of substances such as gases, liquids and particles which do not constitute the natural composition of the air. Therefore, the pollution may be carbon dioxide which of course is a natural component of the air but if its level exceeds the natural level, for instance due to the industrial activities of men or due to the eruptions of volcanos, it becomes a pollutant. Among air pollutants are also microscopic dust particles which are created during processing various materials such as metal, cement or plastics. Their highest concentration is present at production and processing plants creating high risk for the people wroking there. Therefore, it is very important to equip such plants in adequate dust collecting systems.

Health consequences of air pollution

Apart from the obvious discomfort caused by the irritation of the mucous membranes, breathing polluted air may cause serious health problems of the respiratory system. The most common are:

• allergies,
• asthma,
• pneumoconiosis,
• lung fibrosis,
• lung cancer.

These kinds of diseases may develop quietly in a human body without showing any symptoms – unfortunately, it is very often too late to undertake preventive measures and only more invasive treatments can help. It is important to remember that even the lowest concentration of harmful dusts is devastating to our health and it is crucial to take measures to eliminate them completely. Otherwise, health and even life of the people working in such environment is put at serious risk.

Risk of explosion

Another serious danger that is caused by dusted air in closed spaces is the risk of explosion and fire. It does not take much for such danger to take place – it is enough when the level of dust concentration in the air is between its upper and lower explosivity limit. It is the moment when the explosive atmosphere is created, and it can ignite in the blink of an eye. As the only thing that is needed is the ingition source and that can easily generate from an electrostatic charge accumulated in operating machines or a short-circuit in electric installation. This situation is extremely dangerous for all the people present, as well as the machines and the entire plant.

How to cope with dusted air in production plants?

The only effective solution is to install an adequately selected and properly designed dust collecting system. When designing dust collecting systems one needs to consider several factors, such as the level of dust concentration, type of dust and the risk of explosive atmosphere occurence. As specialists in dust collecting, we offer you turn-key solutions for your processing plant and our experienced designers and specialists will provide you with all the knowledge and experience to make sure you have a reliable, safe and effective dedusting installation in your factory.