Hazardous chemicals contained in cigarettes

Hazardous chemicals contained in cigarettes - Do you include people who have great concern with health problems? If yes, then this article is very useful for you. We know, without us knowing it, the environment around us, including items of daily needs that we use, can negatively impact the health of our bodies. Unconsciously we have inhaled harmful chemicals that come from objects that are contained in which we live. Here are the authors describe some of the harmful chemicals that often are contaminated with our body without us knowing it. Although the levels of chemicals that go into the air have not exceeded the permitted threshold, but in case of exposure in a long time and can continue to affect our health.

1. Asbestos

Asbestos is mineral fiber silica that is flexible, durable and non-flammable. Asbestos was widely used as an electrical conductor and a good conductor of heat. Asbestos was widely used as a heat insulator and the sewer pipe household waste, and materials of the roof. Asbestos was widely used in building materials. If the bond in the compounds loose asbestos, the asbestos fibers will enter into the air and survive for a long time.

2. Bioaerosol

Biological contaminants such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, mosses, insects or plant pollen. Biological contaminants if blown by the wind will get into the air and pollute the clean air.

3. Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a simple aldehyde. Formaldehyde gas is colorless and is emitted from building materials, household or industrial combustion processes. Formaldehyde is also found in pressed wood products, boards, wall boards, textiles (as in carpet and clothing).

Formaldehyde can enter the air due to erosion and evaporation occurs due to high heat.

4. Ingredients pertikulat

Pertikulat known as the flying dust in the air. Particulates can also be found in the form of metals asked which if inhaled by humans will lead to disease.

5. Volatile organic compounds

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) volatile at room temperature. VOCs are often found in aerosol form contained in cleaners, paint, varnish, wood products that are pressed, pesticides, and polish.

6. Carbon monoxide (CO)

Carbon monoxide or CO is a gas that is colorless, odorless and tasteless. CO gas can be liquid at temperatures below 129oC. CO gas comes mostly from burning of fossil material with air, the gaseous effluent. Large dense city traffic will generate a lot of CO gas so that the levels of CO in the air relatively high compared to rural areas. Addition of CO gas can also be formed from industrial processes. Naturally CO gas can also be formed, although relatively few, like the gases of volcanic activity, biological processes and others. 

In general CO is a gas formed through the following process:

1. The burning of fossil fuels.

2. The high temperature reaction between carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon C producing CO gas.

3. At high temperature, CO2 can be decomposed back to CO and oxygen.

Deployment of CO gas in the air depending on the circumstances. For urban areas that many industrial activities and traffic was dense, the air is much polluted by CO gas. While the down town or village, relatively little contamination of CO in the air. It turns out that are still open lands where there are no buildings on it can help the absorption of CO gas. This is due to microorganisms present in the soil can absorb CO gas contained in the air. Wind can reduce the concentration of CO gas at a place because of shifting to another place.

Carbon monoxide (CO) if inhaled into the lungs will join the blood circulation and will prevent the ingress of oxygen that will be needed by the body. This can happen because the CO gas is toxic metabolism, involved in metabolism reacts with blood. Like oxygen, CO gas reacts with the blood (hemoglobin):

Hemoglobin + O2 -> O2Hb (oxyhemoglobin)

Hemoglobin + CO -> COHb (karboksihemoglobin)

CO gas concentration to 100 ppm is still considered safe if the contact time only briefly. CO gas is inhaled as much as 30 ppm when humans for 8 hours will cause dizziness and nausea. Influence of carbon monoxide (CO) of the human body was not the same as humans to each other. CO gas concentration on a space in the room will go up if there are people who smoke. People who smoke will smoke cigarettes containing CO gas with a concentration of more than 20,000 ppm which then become diluted approximately 400-5000 ppm for smoked. High concentrations of CO gas in cigarette smoke causes the content of COHb in the blood of people who smoke increases. This situation is certainly very dangerous to the health of people who smoke. People who smoke in a long time (heavy smokers), in their blood have COHb concentration of about 6.9%. This is why heavy smokers susceptible to heart attacks.

Effect of CO gas concentration in the air up to 100 ppm of the plant with almost nothing, especially in higher plants. When the concentration of CO gas in air reaches 2000 ppm and the contact time of more than 24 hours, then kana affect the ability of nitrogen fixation by free bacteria that exist in the environment mainly found in plant roots.

Reduced consciousness, causing many accidents, the function of neural control systems go down as well as the function of the heart and lungs decreased even cause death. The residence time of CO in the atmosphere approximately four months. CO can be oxidized to CO2 in the atmosphere is HO and HO2 radicals, or oxygen and ozone. Soil microorganisms are a material that can remove CO from the atmosphere.

From the research it is known that air containing 120 ppm of CO can be removed for 3 hours by contacting the soil with 2.8 kg (Human, 1971), thus the microorganisms can also remove compounds from environmental CO, which play an active role so far is a fungus Penicillium and Aspergillus.