Last week, we enjoyed the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2012 in Sheffield, UK. I’m actually a huge fan of this sport, although I lost the chance to watch closely and warmly support my favorite skater; for the 7th time European Champion Evgeni Plushenko! However, having searched almost everything in the internet about this exciting sport, I surprisingly came across with some not so green information.
It seems that several air contaminants in indoor ice arenas have been detected. Mainly, CO and NO2 are produced during ice resurfacing, causing health problems with most popular asthma diseases. Harvard University released a paper back in 1993, stating the problem by presenting amounts (percentages) of the measured air pollutants produced by fuel-resurfacing engines. To put icing on the cake, they concluded there were no trivial solutions to overcome the difficulties of cleaning the air unless to stop using these equipment.
At present, EPA has clearly stated one of her priorities to be the protection of indoor air quality by using measures to remove or reduce the air pollutants. In the last 5 years, EPA has obliged the ice arenas to meet the air quality standards through improved ventilation, air filtration, and frequent equipment maintenance. It is expected that hydrocarbon emissions will be reduced by 71 percent, nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 percent, and carbon monoxide emissions by about 57 percent. Eventually, these standards will help avoid respiratory ailments.
Ice skating is such a beautiful sport that never crossed my mind (I bet neither yours!) that amateur skaters and especially professionals, who practice every day, may suffer important health problems due to the ineffectual environment. Let’s hope that nothing can steal the magic of the ice!
elen