One of the biggest environmental problems of the citizens of the Greater Toronto Area is road dust, being a highly industrialized city in the Ontario province. Road dust is the major source of fine particulate matter in our air and originates mainly from asphalt and rubber tire. This fine particulate matter (PM) is actually considered to be a toxic substance by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and is known to be a major cause of poor air and smog.
It is also said to be a cause of water pollution.
Fine particulate matter is seldom found more than 3 meters above ground level unless acted upon by a force such as strong winds. Thus, people who are walking, cycling, running, driving or standing on the area's ground level are greatly exposed to this toxic substance. We shouldn't take this too lightly; the number of premature deaths and respiratory hospitalizations due to exposure to PM is relatively high and many children have died due to bronchitis. This is a very serious dilemma for us all.
Many are not aware, but health consequences due to particulate matter exposure are more associated with pulmonary and cardio-vascular problems than respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer. Road dust can be removed by rain events or flushing but it is not that of use for rainy days that seldom come. But thanks to cutting edge technology, we do not have to worry that much about this toxic substance.
GTA wants its citizens to be healthy and, of course, wants to make sure that the air we breathe does not contain fine particulate matter, so they purchased these road sweeping machines. This road sweeping machine is called a road sweeper or mechanical sweeper. It is basically a vehicle that has the ability to clean the air. They can flush road dust from the road's surface and is used in designated public land and highways in an either daily or weekly basis depending on the area.
There are three basic types of such road sweeping tool; mechanical broom sweepers, vacuum-assist sweepers and regenerative-air sweepers. Mechanical Broom sweepers are analogous to brooms and dustpans; there is basically a broom for fetching dusts and a container for collecting dusts. Vacuum-assist and regenerative-air sweepers, on the other hand, are similar to the vacuum cleaners we use in household.
Regenerative-air sweepers have the ability to re-circulate air supply, so it's the best among the three. Study says that regenerative-air sweepers has more than 90% removing efficiency, leaves 0.7% material deposit on sidewalks and has the lowest PM air contamination concentrations. Because of these road sweeping machines, air quality has improved and the number of health problems due to particulate matter exposure is reduced.
Yet, these road sweeping tools are not that godly in eliminating road dust and are not enough to finally stop air pollution. The new road sweeping device is said to remove up to 98% of the particulate matter in a road surface. But, as we all know, the manufacturer's claims are not to trust always. Stopping air pollution is our still in the hands of everybody. You can help stop air pollution in your own simple way. One simple thing you can do to help is reducing your energy use. Or probably, if you are to go somewhere not far from where you are, try using a bicycle instead of a car. Sounds bad, but it will greatly help cleaning the environment.
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