Environmental safety of housing. Practical lesson "home ecology" lesson plan on the topic

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Ecology of home

home hygienic microclimate chemical

The problem of housing ecology is most pressing in the 21st century, at a time when people, in pursuit of fashion, use new, little-researched technologies and materials for their home, without even suspecting the harm they are doing to their health. As a city dweller, I am very concerned about problems related to the ecology of my home. Very often a person does not even suspect that his home is the source of chronic and many serious diseases.

Unsatisfactory living conditions - This is primarily overcrowding and lack of basic sanitary facilities. The need for corrective measures is beyond doubt, but due to economic reasons, no country has yet found an adequate solution to the question of how these basic defects in populated areas can be eliminated. More than a billion people around the world live in housing that does not meet hygienic standards, and it can be assumed that the situation will only worsen in the coming years.

It is extremely difficult to maintain personal hygiene in the absence of running water, and the lack of a public waste collection and disposal system leads to waste accumulation. The presence of dirt attracts fleas, ticks, lice and bedbugs into your home, which can be carriers of diseases. Poor housing conditions encourage the proliferation of mice and rats, which can also carry and transmit diseases, and the entry of flies and mosquitoes, ultimately leading to the spread of diseases such as trachoma, malaria, yellow fever and filariasis.

The need for good housing is a natural human need. Good housing is a material prerequisite that provides a person with a favorable living environment, helps maintain his health, and actively participate in industrial and social activities.

Favorable living conditions are defined by the concept of “housing comfort”. It is understood as optimal conditions for a family to settle in an apartment, a favorable internal environment of the home and optimal organization of everyday life, a rational architectural and planning solution for the home, the best living conditions for connecting the home with the surrounding urban environment and recreation area.

Housing is a complex system of natural and artificially created environments, where the influences of physical, chemical and biological nature are combined. Factors of physical nature include microclimate, insolation and illumination, electromagnetic radiation, noise, and vibration of man-made origin.

Chemical factors include exogenous air pollutants and pollutants of endogenous origin, which include anthropotoxins, household gas combustion products, polymer pollutants, aerosols of synthetic detergents and household chemicals, tobacco and kitchen smoke.

Hygienic requirements for housing concern the creation of:

· Favorable spatial parameters of the apartment (size of living space for 1 person, height of the room, utility rooms, apartment open spaces);

· Optimal microclimate, taking into account the seasons of the year and microclimatic regions of the country;

· Sufficient natural and artificial lighting, including indoor insolation;

· Favorable state of the indoor air environment in terms of quantitative and qualitative parameters (size of air cube per person, content of anthropotoxins and toxic substances, microorganisms, dust in the air);

· Favorable conditions for engaging in mental work, for rest and sleep of people in conditions of low noise background from city transport, street and apartment noise;

· Comfortable conditions for performing household functions of the family and raising children;

· Conditions for an aesthetic solution to the interior of a home.

In the air residential premises may contain pollutants of a bacterial and chemical nature, which is a consequence of human physiological metabolic processes, cooking, combustion of household gas, washing, and destruction of polymer finishing materials. Ultimately, the gas composition of the air in residential premises is determined by the gas composition of the supply air and pollutants released indoors. The contribution of atmospheric air to the total chemical load is 20-36%.

More than 100 volatile chemicals belonging to various classes of chemical compounds are simultaneously present in the air of an average apartment, and most of these substances are highly toxic. The greatest dangers to human health are benzene, formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide.

Factors influencing the environmental safety of a person’s home, refers to the quality of building materials - what the house is made of. The functional purpose of a residential building is to satisfy human housing needs. Depending on the type of material from which the main load-bearing elements of residential buildings are made and their structural design, buildings are grouped into groups.

Now in urban construction, the most widely used houses are made from a set of reinforced concrete products with brick-monolithic enclosing structures, with “wide steps”, with open-plan apartments and increased comfort, improved heat and sound insulation, fire resistance and architectural and construction solutions that meet modern requirements.

House dust is an exclusively anthropogenic substrate, which, in addition to sand and soil particles, includes textile fibers, human hair and epidermis, pet hair, as well as plant pollen, metabolites of synanthropic organisms, etc.

The composition and impact of ordinary household dust on human health is increasingly becoming the subject of scientific research and discussion at international symposia. Back in 1993, the journal “Biological Sciences” published a forecast from the World Health Organization - by the beginning of the 21st century, allergic diseases will be the most common. Now we see that this is true.

We can hardly control the air quality outside the walls of our apartment and we cannot always choose where to live, but we are able to create a comfortable microclimate at home. A modern apartment has a number of opportunities to significantly reduce the negative impact of the city and unfavorable environment - with the help of technical devices, selection of high-quality materials and compliance with all rules for caring for your home.

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9.2. Ecology of home

The principle “my home is my castle” remains and will always remain valid. Ancient cultures, judging by the evidence that has reached our time, paid great attention to housing. Thus, even a special philosophy of housing is known - the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui.

Being in the house most of the time, a person receives the greatest number of impacts, including those negatively affecting health, from his home. Old people and children spend especially a lot of time in their apartments. Thus, a person is most closely connected with his home. Housing is the human habitat. On the other hand, a person’s physiological needs are determined by the need to maintain his life and activities as a citizen and member of society.

Nowadays the terms “Ecology of housing” and “Eco-friendly housing” are increasingly used. What does it mean?

Ecology is literally the science of the house (“oikos” - house), now understood as the science of the relationships of organisms and communities of organisms with their habitat. Speaking about the ecology of the home, we should start from the basic concepts and laws of ecology that are currently known.

The central concept of ecology and the subject of its study is the ecosystem. We can assume that an apartment, a house where a person lives, is an ecosystem. Thus, all laws known and valid within this ecosystem apply to the home. The main link of this ecosystem in this case is a person who interacts with all its elements and is influenced by them. Some of these elements and factors can be dangerous.

The safety of residential and industrial premises has long been in the area of attention and study of specialists in various fields, primarily doctors and architects. The medical, or rather hygienic, aspects are closest to the task of analyzing the safety of housing as an ecosystem. In this area, the basic rules for the arrangement and use of housing have long been defined, which allow a person to feel more or less comfortable and confident regarding the health of himself and his children.

A person’s home must satisfy a number of requirements. It should be such that a person can live normally, work actively, have the opportunity to relax and create the desired interior, and comfortable conditions for running a household. An important condition is the satisfaction of psycho-emotional needs that correspond to the needs and lifestyle. A good home contributes to a person’s physical and mental health; it not only helps relieve nervous tension accumulated during work, but also makes it possible to achieve self-expression and spiritual harmony, and create a calm and favorable atmosphere in the family.

Housing requirements change over time. It is enough to compare the cave of a primitive man with modern cottages. The lifestyle of a person in a capital city or metropolis differs sharply from the lifestyle of a villager; accordingly, city dwellers have completely different requirements for housing. But this does not exhaust the variety of reasons. National household traditions, climate and landscape zone, social status and family composition, income and education - these are the main prerequisites that determine a person’s ideas about what his home should be like. Thus, housing requirements are developed in direct connection with the social needs and lifestyle of people.

However, there are some general guidelines. Based on the definition of the concept of “health” as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not just the absence of disease or physical defects (WHO definition), medical and hygienic requirements for housing can be divided into three groups:

satisfaction of basic physiological and psychological needs;

ensuring human protection from infections;

ensuring human protection from domestic accidents.

A favorable living environment must be ensured by compliance with hygienic requirements. From an environmental point of view, this means that the level of environmental factors, primarily the so-called limiting ones, must be optimal. These include the following:

sufficient provision of space;

thermal regime that provides optimal temperature conditions for humans;

good air quality, absence of environmentally hazardous pollutants in the air;

Normal lighting mode, which includes sufficient insolation - the entry of natural sunlight into the living space, as well as a comfortable artificial lighting mode;

general environmental safety, including the absence of harmful effects on humans through the environment, such as exposure to noise, electromagnetic radiation, the entry of environmentally hazardous (toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic) pollutants into the air of a residential premises, consumption of water and food of poor quality, which may cause harm to humans;

safety of the home in epidemiological terms, sanitary conditions that meet existing hygienic standards.

A number of requirements are provided for by various rules, sanitary and construction standards, which are already met during the construction of a house. They find expression in architectural solutions. The architectural space is planned taking into account the traditional, “healthy” lifestyle of a modern person, work, leisure, and the opportunity to spend free time at home. According to these rules, a modern home should be well-equipped and divided into functional areas of activity, providing thermal, light, and air comfort.

In recent years, in developed countries there has been a tendency towards increasing requirements and tightening standards for the parameters of the internal living environment. In the 80s, the idea of “eco-friendly housing” emerged, related to hygiene, technology and the use of environmentally friendly energy sources. “Eco-friendly housing”, proposed by specialists from Germany, is a four-story house in which all types of energy supply are provided through the use of “clean” energy sources: sun and wind. The layout of the apartments in such a house is oriented to the south; glazed greenhouses are located along the southern front of the house; fences and ceilings have appropriate structures.

Housing designed in Russia, according to the law, must meet existing hygienic standards and requirements. However, in practice, residential buildings and premises do not always provide comfortable living conditions, although they formally meet the requirements established by the documents. There are many reasons for this, but it is also important that the documents that regulate the parameters and characteristics of the living environment 1 establish only minimum requirements. At the same time, to guarantee human health, modern housing must meet the conditions that hygienists consider optimal.

However, existing hygiene rules do not completely guarantee environmental safety for a number of reasons. Among the medical and environmental risk factors, the main ones are pollution of the living environment.

It should be emphasized that pollution in the context of human ecology now means not only chemical pollution, but also other types of pollution: microbial, noise, electromagnetic and some others.

Microbial pollution used to be the subject of study by epidemiologists, but now this type of pollution has begun to be analyzed not only by doctors, but also by ecologists, classifying it as so-called “biological” pollution. As for the impact of the electromagnetic field on humans, far from everything has been studied, although in general it is quite obvious that the effects of such exposure are negative.

The state cares about the health of its citizens and passes laws that limit the entry of hazardous pollutants into the environment. However, despite the regulation of various types of pollution, the basis on which the regulation system is based - the principle of threshold harmful effects, cannot ensure the safety of all people. There are at least two reasons for this. Firstly, the standards adopted by law in all countries, including the Russian Federation, are the same for all citizens, while individual sensitivity, as is known, varies greatly among different people. What is not harmful to one person may be very dangerous to another. Secondly, the impact of multiple exposures, even if they do not exceed established standards, is unknown and may be dangerous. For example, contamination of food with nitrites that does not exceed standards, in the presence of a source of radioactive contamination, can lead to cancer.

Chemical pollutants form complex complexes, the impact of which on humans is almost impossible to predict and, therefore, it is impossible to take protective measures.

There are other reasons too. Existing and legally approved standards are established for the entire territory of the Russian Federation, although some fluctuations are provided for large regions, in particular for the northern and southern regions. More detailed climatic and geographical features are most often not taken into account. At the same time, the nature of nutrition, local characteristics of drinking water in combination with climate can significantly change the body’s ability to withstand the influence of adverse environmental factors, primarily man-made pollution.

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1 SNiP 2.08.01-89 “Residential buildings” and SNiP 2.04.05-86 “Heating, ventilation and air conditioning”.

Every person has real opportunities to create conditions in their home that are favorable from both a sanitary, hygienic and environmental point of view. Some problems can be solved by changing the environmental situation directly in the apartment. To do this, you need to know what environmental factors are most important in the home and what influences to which modern man is constantly exposed are dangerous to his health.

The most important environmental and sanitary-hygienic factors that ensure an environmentally friendly living environment and a healthy home, as well as specific requirements and numerical parameters of the corresponding indicators are discussed below. When analyzing the factors affecting a person in his home, special attention is paid to recommendations for minimizing the harmful effects of the environment.

We compare our home with a fortress with pleasure, satisfaction and joy. Immediately thoughts arise about reliability, protection, peace, comfort. And how painful it is to realize that our home in practice turns out to be not such a fortress. Our home not only does not protect us, but it itself becomes a cause of increased danger for everyone who lives in it. The fact is that many residential premises in Russia do not meet environmental safety criteria.

What can be done to turn our home into a comfortable and safe “fortress”? After all, even on the street the situation is often better than in apartments and houses. Outside there are green spaces, strong winds, all this is dissipated, which does not happen indoors.

In the West, where they take their health and the environment much more seriously, there has long been a service for checking the environmental friendliness of housing, which is most in demand at the time of purchasing residential real estate. The service includes checking air, microclimate, noise, water, radiation, etc. Based on the results of a comprehensive inspection and laboratory studies, specialists issue recommendations for eliminating the detected negative influences. Today in our country there are companies providing such services.

First of all, the environmental condition of a home is greatly influenced by the environment. After all, when ventilating an apartment, air both leaves and enters. A lot depends on the zone in which the building is located, since each district of the city, each street has its own specifics, and this depends not only on the presence of industrial enterprises and busy roads (especially intersections), but also on the natural background. If you are just at the stage of choosing housing, then look for it in the most environmentally friendly areas, i.e. where there are no factories or large traffic flows, but there are green spaces.

But what to do if you already live in an area that cannot be called environmentally friendly, and you cannot or do not want to change your place of residence? In this case, you need to try to protect your apartment as much as possible from pollutants. This can be achieved by ventilating rooms at certain hours, that is, when industrial enterprises are not operating and do not emit emissions into the atmosphere, and there is little transport on the roads. In addition, pay attention to ventilation in the bathroom and especially in the kitchen. When cooking with gas, combustion products are formed, and when frying meat, vegetables and anything else that can be cooked in oil, acrolein is released. For such cases, you can organize additional ventilation, then your apartment will have more or less clean air.

Electromagnetic radiation. Every apartment contains electromagnetic radiation, which is divided into two types: external and internal. External sources of such radiation are power lines, television and radio antennas, and cell phone towers. Unfortunately, such equipment has a very strong impact on the human body. Despite the fact that electromagnetic fields cannot be seen (they are detected only by special devices), anyone can roughly assess the danger by the presence of a large number of such equipment near their home. If a person experiences some kind of inexplicable ailment and suspects that this is caused precisely by the negative impact of such radiation, then it is recommended to contact a specialized laboratory that provides services for measuring the energy flux density of the electromagnetic field.

In the living room itself, dangers also await us. The greatest amount of electromagnetic radiation comes from microwave ovens (“microwaves”), cell phones, cordless phones, and CRT monitors. For example, when the microwave is turned on, the norm for safe electromagnetic radiation can be exceeded several times. In this regard, it is recommended not to be closer than one and a half meters from the switched on stove.

Noise. Also, many residents suffer from acoustic air pollutant - noise, despite the existence of sanitary standards introduced for daytime and nighttime. From 7:00 to 23:00 the noise should not exceed 55 decibels, the rest of the time - 40. To measure the noise level, special devices are used - noise and vibration analyzers.

Microclimate. Another important parameter of the environmental condition of a room is the microclimate, which includes: air speed, humidity and temperature. When there is no air movement in the room completely, then it is necessary to understand why natural ventilation does not work. And until it is restored, you should ventilate the room more often.

The normal temperature in the apartment is 18-22? C. If it is higher, it can cause fatigue, lethargy, and, in general, discomfort in residents. And in this case, the solution is to ventilate the rooms, as well as reduce the heat supplied to the room. If the temperature is higher, it is necessary to use additional heat sources.

Lighting. Also, the environmental friendliness of a home is influenced by such factors as lighting: natural and artificial. The first is measured during the day, the second - in the evening, for which experts use lux meters.

Lighting is most important in those parts of the apartment where a person reads, types on a keyboard, etc. If the illumination is below normal, you can experience serious vision loss over time. To ensure normal lighting in the workplace, it is necessary to supplement it with local lighting (wall or table lamp) or increase the power of the lamps in the chandelier.

Radiation. After the Chernobyl disaster, many people are concerned that there may be increased levels of radiation in their homes.

We must understand that background radiation exists constantly in nature; we were born and live in it. However, it may exceed the radiation safety standards established in our country. Increased radiation can come from finishing and building materials, especially non-certified ones, as well as imported ones, because in many countries these standards are less stringent compared to Russian ones.

External radiation factors include natural sources of radiation: from space, from natural radionuclides around us, etc. Internal factors mainly include low-quality building materials.

If we talk in more detail about the building materials from which, in fact, our homes are built, we note that the greatest danger can be posed by reinforced concrete structures, which include crushed stone, gravel and other natural materials, because they themselves emit radiation. Keep in mind that panel houses are more dangerous than brick buildings; the average background radiation in them is 19-24 microroentgen/hour (a level of up to 50 microroentgen/hour is considered safe). Sources of radiation can also be “harmless” wooden materials if the tree grew in a polluted environment, as well as earthenware and porcelain dishes, household appliances, etc.

Radiation levels can be measured with dosimeters - professional and household. We do not recommend particularly trusting the latter. It is better, of course, to invite professionals from a specialized organization; the measurement process itself takes 5-10 minutes, based on the area of the room.

Radon. When people talk about radiation, many people forget about the natural gas radon. It is heavier than air, so it is usually concentrated in basements and lower floors, as well as in the cellars of private houses. In addition, radon can enter the apartment through gas equipment, but here the number of floors no longer matters.

In unventilated areas, the concentration of radon may exceed the norm. Its danger to humans is that heavy particles of this radioactive gas remain in the lungs and can cause various diseases (in particular, lung cancer). Many people wonder why then there are radon baths, which are used in spa treatment. The fact is that no one takes radon baths all the time; very limited time is spent on these procedures, and the gas concentration in them is minimal. And we spend most of our lives in our apartment.

We cannot detect the presence of radon with our senses. Only a qualified specialist armed with a professional device (radonometer) can help out here. To do this, you will have to contact a specialized laboratory.

What can you do on your own to reduce the concentration of this gas? It is necessary to provide additional ventilation or ventilate the room more often - before going to bed and in the morning. It is necessary to inspect the floor, baseboards, joints near pipes for the presence of cracks and cement them.

If the organization you contacted for services is equipped with modern measuring instruments, then the environmental study will not take much time. The procedure itself usually goes as follows: you contact an environmental organization, and ecologists, together with specialists from the laboratory, come to your home, inspect everything and take certain measurements (this takes 30-60 minutes). After this, ecologists return to their office and begin to compile a report on those parameters that do not require lengthy research. When reports with missing parameters arrive from the laboratory (usually within a week or two), you can begin generating the final report.

The obtained figures are compared with sanitary standards, and if deviations are recorded, the experts will indicate in the conclusion what measures are recommended to be taken to improve the environmental friendliness of the premises.

From time immemorial, people have built dwellings or adapted caves, grottoes, etc. for housing. for protection from bad weather, animals, enemies. Over time, construction technologies improved and new materials were used. At the same time, in certain natural conditions, building materials adequate to them are used. Currently, people in developed countries spend 90% of their time indoors, including work and living spaces. Therefore, internal environmental pollution may be a more significant source of exposure than external pollution. Nowadays, relatively airtight buildings are being built in order to save energy and heat. Insufficient ventilation, the use of new building materials, and an increase in the number of mechanisms and equipment have created the problem of internal pollution of living and working premises. In fact, only 40% of pollutants are of external origin. WHO notes that about 30% of new and renovated buildings worldwide may be the source of health complaints that are related to the quality of the indoor environment.

At the end of the twentieth century, the term “sick building syndrome” (SBS) appeared. According to the definition of WHO experts, this is a symptom complex related to non-specific sensations associated with staying in some modern buildings. The symptom complex consists of nonspecific sensations in the form of poor health. All symptoms are nonspecific

Symptoms of SBZ:

Drowsiness.

Feeling of nasal congestion, runny nose,

Dry throat

Eye irritation or dryness,

Headache,

Pain in the back, neck, increased sensitivity to odors.

Housing is a complex system of natural and artificial environments, where the influence of physical, chemical and biological factors is combined.

The characteristics of environmental factors affecting a person in his home depend on:

1. Location of a residential building (impact of geopathogenic zones, noise, radiation, vibration, EMF, atmospheric air quality).

2. Type of building.

3. Location of the apartment in an apartment building.

4. Layout of the apartment (house).

5. Type of heating.

6. Water supply, sewerage.

7. Type of kitchen stove (gas, electric stove, oven).

8. Available space and family composition.

9. Isolation.

10. Interior.

11. Use of household appliances.

12. Use of household chemicals.

13. Smoking indoors.

14. Presence of plants and animals.

Environmental factors of the home:

1. Physical:

Microclimate (temperature, humidity, air movement, ionization, illumination),

Infrasound,

Vibration,

EMF (non-ionizing),

Ionizing radiation

2. Chemical:

Household dust,

Aroma compounds, terpenes,

Gas composition of air (oxygen, carbon dioxide),

Toxic substances,

Allergens

3. Biological:

Plants,

Insects,

Animals (fish, reptiles, mammals).

Fungi (mold),

Microorganisms (bacteria, viruses)

4. Psychosocial:

Accommodation in a dormitory,

Accommodation in a communal apartment,

Family composition,

Living space for 1 person,

Microclimate in the family,

Relationships with neighbors

Presence of bad habits among family members and neighbors.

Residential building location

In the past, the location for building a house was carefully chosen. For example, people watched where a flock of sheep (or other animals) would go to sleep for the night. They avoided places under which there were crossroads of water channels, because they knew that it was impossible to live in this place, otherwise everyone would get sick. To avoid this, a jug was placed upside down in the place chosen for construction (this was usually done in August). If droplets of water appeared on the walls of the jug early in the morning, it meant that it was possible to dig a well in this place, but it was impossible to live.

Currently, in large cities, when constructing houses and public buildings, they do not pay attention to geoenergy characteristics. In zones of favorable energy, industrial enterprises and other man-made structures can be built, and in former cemeteries and geopathogenic zones - residential buildings, hotels, hospitals (including children's hospitals and maternity hospitals). The location of a residential building affects health not only depending on its geoenergetic characteristics. In modern conditions of urban development growth, against the backdrop of an increase in the number of floors and building density, objects are located near residential buildings that adversely affect living conditions.

The location of the residential building assumes:

Remoteness of the microdistrict and quarter from industrial enterprises and transport

tailor's ways,

Type of residential area

The location of the house is in a residential area.

The location of a residential building affects:

Noise level in the apartment,

Air pollution in the apartment with harmful substances,

Noise in residential areas is determined by external sources, their location and the nature of their operation. The main share of noise comes from transport. Its distribution significantly depends on the structure of the first line of development. With open construction, traffic noise penetrates long distances (up to 200-250 m), creating a uniform, fairly high acoustic background in a residential area (daytime - 57-60 dB, at night - 50 dB). Frontally located buildings shield sound well: at a distance of 60 m from the highway, they reduce the noise level by 24 dB. End development along highways reduces noise, taking into account the landscaping of free space, by only 4-5 dB. Residential buildings located at an angle to the highway reduce the penetration of noise deeper into the neighborhoods. The largest zone of acoustic discomfort is located along highways with open-plan buildings with large gaps between the ends of neighboring buildings. The noise regime in the depths of the microdistrict depends mainly on intra-block noise sources and the population itself.

Apartment location

The location of the apartment affects: illumination (depends on the orientation of the windows and balcony in relation to the cardinal directions, the presence of closely located buildings and tall shading trees, glazed area),

Noise level (location of the apartment in relation to highways, airports, industrial enterprises, presence and proximity of an elevator, garbage chute, neighbors in a common vestibule)

Types of heating.

Heating (heating) of a home can be:

1. central,

2. autonomous,

3. closed and open (fireplace)

The use of coal and gas for heating and cooking increases the level of radiation in the apartment.

Water supply

Water supply can be:

1. central (controlled by SES according to GOST),

2. autonomous:

Water supply (individual well),

Well,

The type of cooker affects:

1. air ionization,

2. chemical air pollution.

In kitchens equipped with gas stoves, average concentrations of harmful substances in the air are higher than in residential premises. In kitchens equipped with electric stoves, the concentration of formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, and CO is lower than in rooms. At the same time, in almost all apartments of different types of buildings there is an excess of the maximum permissible concentration of substances for atmospheric air.

An electric stove contributes to the accumulation of positive aerophones in the kitchen air, while a gas stove can become a source of various chemical pollutants and also contribute to an increase in background radiation, since natural gas contains the radioactive gas radon.

The interior affects:

Noise level,

Air ionization,

Chemical air pollution (dust, formaldehyde)

Presence of allergens,

Psychological condition

Appliances

Using household appliances makes life easier, on the one hand, and can have adverse effects:

Vibration,

Ionizing radiation.

Residential microclimate has an important impact on the well-being and health of residents. A favorable microclimate is one of the most important elements that ensures comfort in the home. Different countries have their own attitudes towards assessing comfort. For example, in England, the temperature in residential buildings is maintained at 15-16. °C, since the British are used to wearing woolen suits in their apartments. For Americans who wear very light clothing indoors, the temperature in the house is 20-22 °C. Therefore, the British, coming to the USA, constantly complain about the heat, and Americans in England are constantly freezing.

The microclimate of a home is assessed by several indicators: temperature, air humidity. A prerequisite for a comfortable microclimate is relatively uniform air temperature throughout the room. Air temperature differences horizontally and vertically in the room should not exceed 2°C per 1 m height and 2°C from the window to the opposite wall.

Air temperature depends on:

External temperature.

Thermal insulation.

Ventilation.

Heating.

Cooling.

Room air temperature standards are determined by climatic conditions: 20-23°C for cold climates, 20-22°C for moderate climates and 23-25°C for hot climates. In rooms where residents can regulate the air temperature themselves, the opposite picture is usually observed. Thus, in areas with a cold climate in winter, residents prefer to maintain 22-24°C, and in areas with a hot climate in the summer - no higher than 16-18°C.

The relative humidity in the apartment depends on:

Absolute humidity and temperature outside,

Temperatures in the apartment.

Temperature difference outside and inside the apartment,

Number of rooms with high humidity (bathrooms, toilets),

Sources of constant humidity (water pipes)

A type of heater.

With a comfortable microclimate in the home, the relative air humidity is 40-60%. Its increase to 80 indicates poor waterproofing of building materials and dampness in the room.

The combination of relative humidity and temperature can be comfortable, uncomfortable or harmful.

Speed of air movement (air exchange).

The most important element of the indoor microclimate is an efficient ventilation system. Ventilation is characterized by the air exchange rate - the volume of air exchanged in 1 hour. In modern premises this value can reach 0.1 m/s. In old, poorly designed buildings, it can be equal to 4. For a comfortable feeling of heat, air mobility should not exceed 0.1-0.25 m/s. Properly installed ventilation helps combat dampness in rooms, helps create a favorable air environment, and prevents the spread of airborne infections.

Natural ventilation is carried out due to the difference in air temperature inside and outside the room due to wind pressure - wind pressure on the outer walls of the building.

Air infiltration occurs through the pores of the building material. Within an hour

The spirit in the room must be exchanged at least 1-1.5 times.

Modern apartments have a combined ventilation system: an artificial ventilation system in the kitchen and sanitary unit and a supply air system in the living rooms. Insufficient ventilation in gasified apartments leads to the accumulation of toxic gas combustion products in the air, an increase in air temperature and humidity, and an increase in the content of heavy ions. The ventilation system significantly affects the content of radon and its decay products in the apartment (house).

Air ionization

Aeroions are formed by ionization of air molecules due to the removal of electrons from them under the influence of cosmic, short-wave solar rays, soil radioactive radiation and other ionizing influences. The released electrons immediately join other molecules, forming positively and negatively charged molecules (light air ions) that have greater mobility.

Primary small (light) ions settle on suspended air particles and form secondary air ions. Secondary aeroins come in medium, heavy and ultra-heavy grades. In humid and polluted air, the number of heavy air ions increases sharply. The cleaner the air, the more light and medium air ions it contains. The predominance of heavy air ions in the air indicates the presence in it of a significant amount of suspended particles (moisture, dust, smoke, etc.).

Light ions are absorbed by room surfaces: furniture, materials and coatings (especially synthetic ones), clothing. Positively charged ions are formed in large quantities by operating televisions and computers.

In some poorly ventilated rooms, the concentration of positive air ions may increase, disturbing the normal ratio.

Sources of noise in the apartment:

1. External:

Industrial enterprises,

Transport routes,

Aerodrome,

Faulty car alarms,

Elevator, garbage chute,

Noise from neighbors.

2. Internal:

Appliances,

Water supply and sewerage,

Radio, TV,

Construction and repair work,

Sport equipment.

Conversation (shouting)

The noise level in the apartment depends on:

The location of the house in relation to its sources,

Internal layout of premises for various purposes,

Sound insulation of enclosing structures,

Engineering and technical equipment of a residential building (elevators, water pumps, garbage chutes, ventilation, etc. create noise levels in apartments up to 45-60 dB),

The presence of built-in institutions (shops, etc.) and their equipment in a residential building,

Own sources of noise (sound-receiving equipment, household appliances, musical instruments).

Sound vibrations occurring in buildings serve as a source of structural noise that travels over a long distance throughout the building. This occurs due to the low attenuation of sound energy in the materials from which modern city houses are built.

Fans, pumps, elevator winches and other building equipment also serve as sources of structural and airborne noise. This equipment, installed without appropriate sound and vibration insulation, creates vibrations that are transmitted to the walls of buildings.

The electrical equipment of a building makes the greatest contribution to the electromagnetic environment of residential premises.

Household electrical appliances.

All household electrical appliances are sources of EMF. The most powerful sources of EMF are microwave ovens, convection ovens, refrigerators with a “no-frost” system, cookers, and electric hoods. The actual EMF generated depends on the specific model (more modern models of household appliances are quite safe) of the electrical appliance and its operating mode.

EMF values are closely related to the power of the device: the higher the power, the greater the EMF during operation of the electrical device. In some devices, the source of EMF is an electrical network with an industrial frequency, in others, it is higher frequencies emitted by various units of the device.

Sources of ionizing radiation in residential premises:

1. Walls and ceilings (radionuclides, radon)

2. Natural gas (radon)

3. Water supply (radon)

4. Household appliances (phosphorescent elements, televisions and computers of old generations)

Home is a place of comfort and tranquility where we spend more than 60 percent of our time. After a long trip, we always strive to get home - to a corner where we can hide from the bustle of the city. Since ancient times, people have attached special importance to their home. In the Holy Scriptures, the word “house” is one of the most frequently used. Righteous Alexy Mechev said: “Every house is a home church in honor of those saints whose names are borne by those living in it.”

A special atmosphere and home comfort is created by the things and interior items that we choose for our home together with our loved ones, bring from various trips or receive as a gift.

“What our home looks like, the room where we spend most of our lives is very important for our salvation. Because all surrounding objects should attune us to the good, saving, divine and not lead us into temptation in any way, so that it does not ruin us spiritually. So Saint Nikon says: “Throw away everything that tempts you in your cell.” (Archpriest Valentin Mordasov)

In modern conditions, home often becomes a place of work. There are people whose professions involve remote work - so we can say that they spend most of their time in the house and feel safe in it.

When we go outside, we often pay attention to the environmental conditions around us - exhaust fumes, the level of air pollution in the city or the cleanliness of local water bodies. At the same time, we forget that the climate of our home is often also environmentally unsafe. Moreover, we consciously bring sources of pollution into our home, or create them in the process of life.

Recent air studies in cities have shown that the air in an apartment is often more polluted than outside the window, so doctors It is recommended to ventilate living spaces at least twice a day to reduce the concentration of harmful substances.

In this article we will look at what are the sources of hazardous substances in apartments and houses.

As a rule, when moving into a new home, the first thing residents encounter is repairs. And at this stage, it is most important to set a goal - to “create” a safe home, to make its microclimate environmentally friendly. To do this, it is necessary to choose safe finishing materials so that their fumes do not lead to allergies and other chronic diseases over time.

What do you need to know when choosing environmentally friendly finishing materials?

When purchasing any building material for interior decoration, make it a rule to check its hygienic certificate. Any large store should give it to you the first time you ask.

Remember that any hygiene certificate has a validity period, which you also need to pay attention to.

Important:

purchase materials only from large manufacturers;
carefully read the composition of the material, the most dangerous components are PVC, phenol, solvents, phenol-formaldehyde resin, lead, toluene, formaldehyde, chlorine-containing components, acetone;
follow the technology of applying the material and the drying time;
remember that it is better to move into a renovated apartment a month after the renovation, so the most dangerous substances will have time to be neutralized and evaporated.

How to safely decorate walls?

The safest for wall decoration are considered to be ordinary paper wallpaper or non-woven wallpaper. In the production of non-woven fabric, paper pulp is used, which is then compressed many times. Non-woven fabric is biologically inert and is even used in medicine as a biosoluble inert dressing material.

If you decide to paint the walls, then in this case you need to be more vigilant. Paints may contain potentially hazardous substances, such as volatile solvents or lead-based pigments.
Solvents used in the production of paints are highly volatile compounds that are harmful to humans if inhaled. Such unsafe paints, for example, are alkyd. Their distinctive feature is a pungent chemical smell.

How to determine whether paint is safe for health?

Water-soluble paints are safe. The most common of them are imported and quite expensive. Whether it is worth saving on your health, everyone decides for themselves.
Modern water-soluble paints contain practically no volatile organic substances, are persistent, durable and environmentally friendly.
In Russia, the content of solvents in paints is not regulated. However, before the paint hits store shelves, it must pass sanitary— epidemiological study, which Maybe identify her allergenic action.

The manufacturer indicates this information on the label, which must also contain:
- name of the paint;
— purpose and method of application (not all paints can be used for interior work);
— rules and conditions for safe storage;
— precautions during work;
— expiration date, batch number, release date, weight;
— contact details of the manufacturer;

- compound;

— the more natural components (vegetable oils, resins, mineral pigments) and the fewer organic solvents in the composition, the safer the product.

In accordance with new European regulations, interior paints are considered safe, If content highly volatile components Not exceeds 30 grams on liter;

What documents for paint can be requested in the store?

There are three documents that must be kept by sellers.

1. Certificate of state registration of Rospotrebnadzor
2. Declarations of conformity in the Russian GOST system - issued only for enamels, anti-corrosion primers and drying oils
3. Voluntary certificate of compliance with the requirements of 123-FZ “On Fire Safety Requirements”.

For modern paints, the criterion for paint safety may be the presence of quality certificates ISO 9001And/ orISO 14001, which the manufacturer indicates on the label. This is a kind of guarantee of paint quality. Almost all imported paints have these certificates.

What is the safest way to cover the floor during renovation?

Floor coverings often release toxic substances or contain allergens. There are environmental requirements for such coatings. According to the latest data, the safest materials for human health are:

natural wood
cork floor
laminate class E1
natural linoleum
parquet

At the same time, parquet and natural wood are often varnished to give a beautiful appearance and durability. When buying varnish, give preference to expensive and well-known brands.

Choosing high-quality linoleum

If you have chosen a relatively inexpensive linoleum for flooring, then you should remember that you need to require a hygienic certificate for it.

Certificate compliance

When considering an environmental certificate, you should pay attention to the labeling of the material, namely the emission class.
Emission classes determine the degree of formaldehyde emission from finishing materials. There are classes E1, E2 and E3, where E1 is the lowest level of formaldehyde emission. The safest class is E1. Class E2 and E3 linoleum can only be used in non-residential premises. When choosing linoleum, you should also pay attention to its smell. Safe linoleum has virtually no odor.

In general, linoleum is currently considered a non-ecological material. Initially, linoleum was patented based on natural vegetable oils. However, their high cost led to a change in production technology. The basis for it is currently unsafe polyvinyl chloride, which emits phenol and formaldehyde. Such substances are very harmful to health and can cause allergies and infertility.

Fortunately, many manufacturers are returning to the roots of producing linoleum based on natural ingredients for a safe home. This linoleum does not emit hazardous substances into the air, but it is also more expensive.

Choosing a quality laminate

Laminate consists of 80 percent wood chips and paper, and 20 percent synthetic resins, and we can say that it is practically safe for health. However, its surface is coated with resins, the production of which uses dangerous formaldehyde. Therefore, when choosing a high-quality laminate, you should also look at its emission class in the hygiene certificate.

Remember:

1. Laminate belonging to safety class E1 can be used in residential premises. Classes E2 and E3 only in non-residential premises.
2. When choosing a laminate, it is necessary to check the sanitary and epidemiological inspection report so that the level of formaldehyde does not exceed 0.12 mg per cubic meter.
3. Laminate made from acrylic resins is safer.

At first glance, everything described seems quite difficult to remember, however, it is worth remembering that we do not often come across repairs, and checking, for example, a hygiene certificate in a store is a matter of minutes, but we neglect it, thereby worsening the ecology of the house.

Purifying the air in the apartment

You can improve the environment in your home and clean the air with the help of. Of course, they will not eliminate dangerous formaldehyde and other chemicals. However, by assimilating carbon dioxide in the air, environmental plants synthesize oxygen. Such plants, for example, include chlorophytum, which purifies the air more effectively than technical air purifiers.

Biologists have found that within a day, chlorophytum is able to completely clean the air of an experimental chamber from all harmful impurities .

Chlorophytum multiplies very quickly and baby shoots appear on its stems; perhaps this fact is responsible for purifying the air.

Another such environmental plant is water hyacinth. A study of the water in the rivers where this plant grows showed a surprisingly low content of harmful substances in the water. Water hyacinth can be grown in garden plots, purifying the surrounding air.

The additional use of filters placed in the soil more effectively eliminates harmful impurities in the air. For example, activated carbon can be placed in a pot of soil, which enhances the cleansing properties of the plant as a whole.

Electrical appliances are dangerous sources of pollution

One of the sources of pollution in the house is also electrical appliances that emit electromagnetic waves.

Action electrical appliances on organism person

Electromagnetic waves are a stream of charged particles that affect the cells of our body. Under the influence of an electromagnetic field, phospholipids of cell membranes and proteins that have their own charge begin to oscillate, this causes the destruction of cellular structures.

Russian scientists have found that embryos are most susceptible to such radiation. It turned out that electromagnetic fields also affect nervous and muscle tissue and can provoke neurological disorders and insomnia, as well as disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract.

The largest number of electrical appliances are located in the kitchen. In a residential building, the most powerful radiation was recorded from microwave ovens, refrigerators with a “no-frost” system, electric stoves and mobile phones.

How to protect yourself from the influence of electromagnetic radiation?

“In residential premises, it is enough to arrange household appliances correctly: they should not include the bed, sofas, dining table, that is, those places where we spend a lot of time,” explains Dmitry Davydov, an expert at the independent environmental assessment company Ecostandard.

If you cannot give up technology, then try not to turn on all the devices at once and reduce the time you spend near the switched on devices to a minimum.

In a children's room, you should practically abandon the use of electrical appliances, since a growing child's body is most susceptible to the effects of a dangerous field.

When arranging sockets, you should pay attention to ensuring that they are as close to the floor as possible. Electric heated floors are a very strong emitter of electromagnetic energy, so it is better not to place them under the bed or in the nursery.

When you are not using electrical appliances, do not be lazy to unplug them, since even in standby mode they are a source of powerful radiation.

As for microwave ovens, it is very easy to check the seal quality of such an oven. If you carry a sheet of aluminum foil in front of the door of a working microwave oven, the absence of crackling sounds and sparks will confirm that everything is in order.

Garbage disposal

One of the keys to good ecology in the house is proper waste disposal. The well-known saying “Think globally, act locally” is perfectly suited in this case. Think about it, have you ever handed in batteries for recycling? We all throw them into the general trash. Statistics show that 15 million batteries end up in Moscow landfills every year.

The use and improper disposal of batteries has created many environmental problems due to the contamination of soil and air with toxic metals. These include lead, mercury, and cadmium.

How dangerous metals For person?

Lead accumulates in the kidneys and can cause brain disease.
Cadmium accumulates in the thyroid gland and can cause cancer.
Mercury is one of the dangerous poisons of the 1st hazard class, and causes diseases of the respiratory system.

Batteries are lethal if swallowed. For example, in a child’s body they can burn esophageal tissue due to alkali leaking from the battery. Therefore, it is recommended to prevent children from playing with devices containing batteries, and to hand over used batteries for disposal and recycling. Looking at the AA battery, you will see a distinctive sign.

It means that the battery should not be thrown into general trash. You can return your used batteries absolutely free of charge to large electronics stores or special recycling companies. There are similar collection points in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Tula, Chelyabinsk.

The topic of separate waste is especially relevant now all over the world. In Russia there are still very few containers with separate waste collection. By the way, we all throw away garbage and don’t think about what happens to it in the future.

Garbage dumps have filled all suburban areas of large cities. For example, in the Moscow region there are 59 landfills and only two of them comply with environmental standards. Moscow and large cities are now on the verge of a garbage crisis. Separate waste collection allows you to separate recyclable materials from it. These are plastic, glass, paper, aluminum.

Products that are useful in everyday life are obtained from recycled materials. But the world, as they say, is not without kind people who are not indifferent to this problem. And today, collection companies and volunteer organizations have appeared to organize the collection of people who want to throw away garbage separately. More detailed information is available on the Internet. A map of waste collection points is now available frommovement "Separate Collection". For example, the Russian Railways company joined this movement in 2014 and introduced separate waste collection at all stations in the country. In this problem, the main thing is to start, and this can be done small. For example, if possible, do not buy a drink in a plastic bottle. If you’ve already bought it, don’t throw it away right away, but use it for something. If you decide to throw a plastic bottle into the general trash, then you need to crush it, releasing the air. Thus, they will take up less space in the garbage truck, and it will be able to transport more garbage at a time, while using less gasoline and releasing less exhaust gases into the air.

Very often we buy things in bright packaging. You can later reuse it for children's crafts, if it is cardboard or paper. Or wrap a children's gift in it, as children really like bright holiday packaging. It is very convenient to reuse bags from stores for waste collection.

Household chemistry - sourcebad ecology V home

A social survey company conducted a study on whether household chemicals are safe. Two-thirds of Russians surveyed between the ages of 20 and 65 answered that they had never thought about it. Household chemicals include washing powders, dishwashing and plumbing detergents, and various polishes. Russian scientists have found that 1.9% of the total amount that gets on the skin during washing dishes “settles” in the brain alone, and 0.6% in the liver. Surfactants have a chemical affinity for certain components of human cell membranes and accumulate on them, covering the membranes with a thin layer. Reaching a certain concentration, surfactants cause disruption of biochemical processes and the very integrity of the cell.

Let us remind you that the most dangerous are ionic surfactants (cationic and anionic). They are used as an active ingredient in detergents and cosmetics.

If possible, choose detergents containing non-ionic surfactants. If V composition contained cationic or anionic Surfactant, That content their Not must be more 5 percent. For washing dishes, you should give preference to products based on natural ingredients, such as straw and bran; they often have an environmental label on the packaging. If such products are expensive for you, you can wash dishes with natural soap, soda and citric acid. You don’t need to use dishwashing detergent if you fill the sink with water and just soak the plates, then you can just rinse them or wipe them with a sponge and laundry soap.

hazardous to the environment

Of course, it is impossible to completely abandon the use of household chemicals, because they were invented to make our lives easier. Recently the film “Habitat. Household chemicals". The filmmakers set up a simple experiment. They tried to wash the T-shirt using natural products. In this case, 1 kg of lemons and an hour and a half of hard physical effort were used.

Health issues, of course, must be taken seriously, however, in the modern world it is very difficult to give up all the benefits of civilization. There is an exit. You just need to learn to read labels on detergents. For example, when choosing a washing powder, you should give preference to phosphate-free products. Phosphates are very dangerous to human health and also pollute wastewater. Rostest advises choosing powders containing zeolites - they have replaced phosphates and are safe for health and the environment. To better remove stains, enzymes and polymers are added to modern environmentally friendly powders.

Choose washing powder For children's linen

Baby powder should not contain enzymes, phosphates and zeolites, or bleaches.

By the way, all children's washing powders sold in large stores contain dangerous phosphates, and their content is more than 5 percent. Japanese and Korean phosphate-free children's washing powders have now become available.

High-quality baby powder dissolves perfectly and quickly in water, it does not form lumps, does not leave marks on clothes, and practically does not foam.
Be sure to check the integrity of the packaging and expiration date.
The use of fabric softeners on newborns is prohibited.
If the powder is imported, the packaging should contain instructions and composition in Russian, as well as all information about the manufacturer.

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Creating a safe home is an investment in the health of the whole family. By using the tips in this article, we can help our home become eco-friendly. This means that each of us will take a step not only towards the cleanliness of our own homes, but also towards improving the ecology of our planet as a whole.