On 5 June 2020, on the occasion of World Environment Day, the French Institute of Vietnam in Hanoi - L'Espace, the Institute of Research for Development (IRD) and the non-governmental organisation Live & Learn organised a round table entitled Fine particle pollution: the dark side of human activity with the participation of the speakers: Ms Nguyen Thi Nhat Thanh, Associate Professor at the National University of Hanoi, Faculty of Information Technology & Centre for Integrated Multidisciplinary Technologies for Field Monitoring (FIMO); Mr Xavier MARI, Biogeochemist at the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanology (MIO)/IRD and Ms Do Nguyet Van, Director of the Live & Learn organisation.
https://www.facebook.com/EspaceHanoi/videos/726326824859775/
Presentation of the round table :
While we talk a lot about fine-particle air pollution and worry about its effects on our health, are we really sure we know what we're talking about? Do we even know what pollution means? Do we know the full extent of the impact of these fine particles, which we only discuss when the air quality index on our mobile phones goes into the red? Are we aware that, as well as representing a major health risk, these fine particles also alter the climate system and pollute ecosystems? Is this a new phenomenon, and what could the future hold?
Fire has been with us since prehistoric man domesticated it nearly 500,000 years ago. Fire is live combustion that generates a flame, in other words a highly exothermic (heat-producing) chemical reaction between a fuel and oxygen. Combustion is used for the energy (heat) it produces, but also to get rid of undesirable fuels (waste). These combustion reactions are part of our daily lives and, without us always being aware of it, ensure the functioning of human societies. However, as well as producing energy, these combustion reactions emit waste, in particular the gas carbon dioxide (CO2), and various combustion aerosols, such as Carbon Soot (or Black Carbon). The waste produced during combustion has negative effects. CO2 has an impact on the climate system, while combustion aerosols affect the climate, health and ecosystems. As emissions of these pollutants are linked to the amount of energy generated during combustion, they have grown steadily, first with the slow increase in the human population and its energy needs, then abruptly with the use of fossil fuels that marked the start of the industrial revolution from the 19th century onwards, and enabled the demographic explosion of the human population.
This round-table addressed the concept of pollution, raised public awareness of the problem of combustion aerosols (the main contributors to air pollution), and presented current knowledge of these fine particles (origins, life cycle, impacts on health, climate and ecosystems, emission hotspots, historical variations and emission prospects). Although fine-particle air pollution is a global issue, the round-table discussion focused on South-East Asia, a region which, because of its rapid economic growth and industrialisation, and the associated growing energy needs, has seen a sharp increase in air pollution in recent years.