ASSESSMENT OF OXYGEN CONCENTRATION REDUCTION NEAR THE HIGHWAY - IMPORTANCE FOR HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Abstract

Oxygen content is one of the most important indices of the atmospheric air quality, on which the health and working capacity of the population depend. Many researchers do not consider a constant decrease in oxygen concentration to be dangerous for human health. Nevertheless, a local drop in the oxygen content in the air near the highways can cause negative consequences for human health. Undoubtedly, the constant growth of motorization in Tashkent leads to intensive oxygen absorption from the urban atmosphere to realize the fuel combustion processes. The purpose of this study is to assess the decrease in oxygen concentration in the air of Tashkent city near the highways due to the motor transport traffic. As was experimentally determined, a decrease in the oxygen concentration in the atmospheric air was observed near the highways; and the intensity of the decrease was related to the intensity of vehicle traffic. During rush hours, oxygen concentration near the highways could reach the values that are hazardous to humans, up to 19.6 - 19.5% O2. A modified Kitsenko equation was proposed to perform an express assessment of the oxygen concentration; the authors have introduced the coefficients of irregularity of movement into this equation. The proposed method will make it possible to assess the oxygen content by an indirect indicator (traffic intensity) and timely inform the population about the air quality.

Keywords

• urban air
• traffic flows
• oxygen concentration