Masks are not helping. After Russian attacks and the fires they cause, large amounts of toxic substances enter the air and soil, many of which are carcinogenic and mutagenic, says Tetiana Tymochko, head of the All-Ukrainian Environmental League, UkrInform reports.
A massive strike involving 500 drones and missiles blanketed Kyiv in a thick black smoke cloud on 4 July, severely degrading air quality. Local authorities urged residents to keep their windows shut due to the dangerous level of smoke in the air.
“Primarily, these include nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur oxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzopyrene, and vapors of sulfuric and hydrocyanic acid,” she explains.
According to Tymochko, masks do little in this case. They can only trap solid particles from the incomplete combustion of certain substances and materials. Toxic substances also enter the environment as a result of large fires caused by strikes. All of this, she says, has a very negative impact on human health.
“Substances like benzopyrene and formaldehyde have carcinogenic and mutagenic effects,” she continues.
Nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, colorless gases, are released into the environment and then into the respiratory system. Once released, they cause coughing, choking, and raised blood pressure. People with cardiovascular conditions are also affected.
“There’s little advice one can give in such a situation. Ideally, stay indoors where these pollutants aren’t present,” Tymochko says.
She adds that children should be evacuated from cities that have been attacked, if possible. The toxins in the air settle and contaminate the soil.
“Even if several days have passed after such strikes, air masses can carry these toxic substances from vegetation or soil,” she notes.
The pollution also disrupts plant root nutrition and leads to stunted growth or even plant death.