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60-496: Dolna Odra Power Station has three flue gas stacks : one with a height of 250 metres (820 ft), one with a height of 200 metres (660 ft), and one with a height of 170 metres (560 ft). A second 250 metres (820 ft) tall flue gas stack was demolished in a non-explosive way after construction of a smoke cleaning facility, which uses the mentioned 200 metres (660 ft) tall stack. On 24 January 2010, an explosion of coal dust killed one employee and injured three. Part of

120-490: A compilation of air pollutant emission factors for a wide range of industrial sources. The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and many other countries have published similar compilations, as well as the European Environment Agency . An air pollutant is a material in the air that can have many effects on humans and the ecosystem. The substance can be solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases, and often takes

180-768: A faster rate of breathing than a child engaged in sedentary activity. The daily exposure must therefore include the amount of time spent in each micro-environmental setting as well as the kind of activities performed there. The air pollutant concentration in each microactivity/microenvironmental setting is summed to indicate the exposure. For some pollutants such as black carbon , traffic related exposures may dominate total exposure despite short exposure times since high concentrations coincide with proximity to major roads or participation in (motorized) traffic. A large portion of total daily exposure occurs as short peaks of high concentrations, but it remains unclear how to define peaks and determine their frequency and health impact. In 2021,

240-657: A health environment is not maintained. Even at levels lower than those considered safe by United States regulators, exposure to three components of air pollution, fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, correlates with cardiac and respiratory illness. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, and the individual's health status and genetics. The most common sources of air pollution include particulates and ozone (often from burning fossil fuels), nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Children aged less than five years who live in developing countries are

300-549: A legal definition of air pollution, 31 percent lack outdoor air quality standards, 49 percent restrict their definition to outdoor pollution only, and just 31 percent have laws for tackling pollution originating from outside their borders. National air quality laws have often been highly effective, notably the 1956 Clean Air Act in Britain and the US Clean Air Act , introduced in 1963. Some of these efforts have been successful at

360-482: A link between air pollution levels and longevity. The WHO estimates that in 2016, ~58% of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths were due to ischaemic heart disease and stroke. The mechanisms linking air pollution to increased cardiovascular mortality are uncertain, but probably include pulmonary and systemic inflammation. India and China have the highest death rate due to air pollution. India also has more deaths from asthma than any other nation according to

420-415: A mixture of natural and human sources. There are also sources from processes other than combustion : Air pollutant emission factors are reported representative values that aim to link the quantity of a pollutant released into the ambient air to an activity connected with that pollutant's release. The weight of the pollutant divided by a unit weight, volume, distance, or time of the activity generating

480-518: A plant's coal supply system has been damaged. This article about a Polish building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a power station is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Flue gas stack A flue-gas stack , also known as a smoke stack , chimney stack or simply as a stack , is a type of chimney , a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to

540-426: A spectrum of clinical disorders that include emphysema , bronchiectasis , and chronic bronchitis . COPD risk factors are both genetic and environmental. Elevated particle pollution contributes to the exacerbation of this disease and likely its pathogenesis. The risk of lung disease from air pollution is greatest for infants and young children, whose normal breathing is faster than that of older children and adults;

600-563: A total of 460,000 deaths in the US were attributed to coal PM 2.5 . The largest cause of air pollution is fossil fuel combustion  – mostly the production and use of cars , electricity production, and heating. There are estimated 4.5 million annual premature deaths worldwide due to pollutants released by high-emission power stations and vehicle exhausts. Diesel exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to combustion-derived particulate matter air pollution. In several human experimental studies, using

660-794: A well-validated exposure chamber setup, DE has been linked to acute vascular dysfunction and increased thrombus formation. A study concluded that PM 2.5 air pollution induced by the contemporary free trade and consumption by the 19 G20 nations causes two million premature deaths annually, suggesting that the average lifetime consumption of about ~28 people in these countries causes at least one premature death (average age ~67) while developing countries "cannot be expected" to implement or be able to implement countermeasures without external support or internationally coordinated efforts. The US EPA has estimated that limiting ground-level ozone concentration to 65 parts per billion (ppb), would avert 1,700 to 5,100 premature deaths nationwide in 2020 compared with

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720-494: A year and fine particulate (PM 2.5 ) pollution around another 2.1 million. The scope of the air pollution crisis is large: In 2018, WHO estimated that "9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants." Although the health consequences are extensive, the way the problem is handled is considered largely haphazard or neglected. The World Bank has estimated that welfare losses (premature deaths) and productivity losses (lost labour) caused by air pollution cost

780-510: Is a significant risk factor for a number of pollution-related diseases , including respiratory infections , heart disease , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke , and lung cancer . Growing evidence suggests that air pollution exposure may be associated with reduced IQ scores, impaired cognition, increased risk for psychiatric disorders such as depression and detrimental perinatal health. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect

840-410: Is an approximation because it assumes that the molar mass of the flue gas and the outside air are equal and that the pressure drop through the flue gas stack is quite small. Both assumptions are fairly good but not exactly accurate. As a "first guess" approximation, the following equation can be used to estimate the flue-gas flow-rate induced by the draft of a flue-gas stack. The equation assumes that

900-851: Is associated with nearly one in three strokes (29%) worldwide (33.7% of strokes in developing countries versus 10.2% in developed countries). In women, air pollution is not associated with hemorrhagic but with ischemic stroke. Air pollution was found to be associated with increased incidence and mortality from coronary stroke. Associations are believed to be causal and effects may be mediated by vasoconstriction, low-grade inflammation and atherosclerosis . Other mechanisms such as autonomic nervous system imbalance have also been suggested. Research has demonstrated increased risk of developing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from increased exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Air pollution has been associated with increased hospitalization and mortality from asthma and COPD. COPD comprises

960-459: Is introduced with the use of air fresheners , incense , and other scented items. Controlled wood fires in cook stoves and fireplaces can add significant amounts of harmful smoke particulates into the air, inside and out. Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using pesticides and other chemical sprays indoors without proper ventilation. Also the kitchen in a modern produce harmful particles and gases, with equipment like toasters being one of

1020-658: Is nitrogen dioxide and other nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted by road vehicles. Across the European Union , air pollution is estimated to reduce life expectancy by almost nine months. In a 2015 consultation document the UK government disclosed that nitrogen dioxide is responsible for 23,500 premature UK deaths per annum. There is a positive correlation between pneumonia -related deaths and air pollution from motor vehicle emissions in England. Eliminating energy-related fossil fuel emissions in

1080-459: Is part of a steam-generating boiler, and its evolution is closely linked to increases in the power of the steam engine. The chimneys of Thomas Newcomen ’s steam engine were incorporated into the walls of the engine house. The taller, freestanding industrial chimneys that appeared in the early 19th century were related to the changes in boiler design associated with James Watt ’s "double-powered" engines, and they continued to grow in stature throughout

1140-695: Is possible to use a cooling tower as a flue gas stack. Examples can be seen in Germany at the Power Station Staudinger Grosskrotzenburg and at the Rostock Power Station . Power plants without flue gas purification would experience serious corrosion in such stacks. In the United States and a number of other countries, atmospheric dispersion modeling studies are required to determine the flue gas stack height needed to comply with

1200-408: Is strong evidence linking both short- and long-term exposure to air pollution with cardiovascular disease mortality and morbidity, stroke, blood pressure, and ischemic heart diseases (IHD). Air pollution is a leading risk factor for stroke, particularly in developing countries where pollutant levels are highest. A systematic analysis of 17 different risk factors in 188 countries found air pollution

1260-797: Is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. It is also the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment either by chemical, physical, or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere. There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases (including ammonia , carbon monoxide , sulfur dioxide , nitrous oxides , methane and chlorofluorocarbons ), particulates (both organic and inorganic) and biological molecules . Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and crops, and may damage

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1320-411: The early industrial chimneys began to disappear from the industrial landscape. Building materials changed from stone and brick to steel and later reinforced concrete, and the height of the industrial chimney was determined by the need to disperse combustion flue gases to comply with governmental air pollution control regulations. The combustion flue gases inside the flue gas stacks are much hotter than

1380-404: The stack effect and dispersion of pollutants. When the flue gases are exhausted from stoves, ovens, fireplaces, heating furnaces and boilers, or other small sources within residential abodes, restaurants, hotels, or other public buildings and small commercial enterprises, their flue gas stacks are referred to as chimneys. The first industrial chimneys were built in the mid-17th century, when it

1440-454: The world economy $ 5 trillion per year. The costs of air pollution are generally an externality to the contemporary economic system and most human activity, although they are sometimes recovered through monitoring, legislation, and regulation . Many different technologies and strategies are available for reducing air pollution. Although a majority of countries have air pollution laws , according to UNEP , 43 percent of countries lack

1500-526: The 75 ppb standard. The agency projected the more protective standard would also prevent an additional 26,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and more than a million cases of missed work or school. Following this assessment, the EPA acted to protect public health by lowering the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone to 70 ppb. A 2008 economic study of

1560-945: The American Lung Association; the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 2012; and the US Environmental Protection Agency 2012a. Indoor contaminants that can cause pollution include asbestos, biologic agents, building materials, radon, tobacco smoke, and wood stoves, gas ranges, or other heating systems. Radon (Rn) gas, a carcinogen , is exuded from the Earth in certain locations and trapped inside houses. Building materials including carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde (H-CHO) gas. Paint and solvents give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead paint can degenerate into dust and be inhaled. Intentional air pollution

1620-614: The USA under the Clean Air Act and in Europe under numerous directives (including the Air "Framework" Directive, 96/62/EC, on ambient air quality assessment and management, Directive 98/24/EC, on risks related to chemical agents at work, and Directive 2004/107/EC covering heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air). The risk of air pollution is determined by the pollutant's hazard and

1680-499: The United States would prevent 46,900–59,400 premature deaths each year and provide $ 537–$ 678 billion in benefits from avoided PM 2.5 -related illness and death. A study published in 2023 in Science focused on sulfur dioxide emissions by coal power plants (coal PM 2.5 ) and concluded that "exposure to coal PM 2.5 was associated with 2.1 times greater mortality risk than exposure to PM 2.5 from all sources." From 1999 to 2020,

1740-514: The Victorian period. Decorative embellishments are a feature of many industrial chimneys from the 1860s, with over-sailing caps and patterned brickwork. The invention of fan-assisted forced draft in the early 20th century removed the industrial chimney's original function, that of drawing air into the steam-generating boilers or other furnaces. With the replacement of the steam engine as a prime mover, first by diesel engines and then by electric motors,

1800-460: The WHO halved its recommended guideline limit for tiny particles from burning fossil fuels. The new limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) is 75% lower. Growing evidence that air pollution—even when experienced at very low levels—hurts human health, led the WHO to revise its guideline (from 10 μg/m to 5 μg/m ) for what it considers a safe level of exposure of particulate pollution, bringing most of

1860-402: The WHO reported that outdoor air pollution was estimated to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019. The global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE; similar to YPLL ) from air pollution in 2015 was 2.9 years, substantially more than, for example, 0.3 years from all forms of direct violence. Communities with persons that live beyond 85 years have low ambient air pollution, suggesting

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1920-743: The World Health Organization estimated that every year air pollution causes the premature death of 7 million people worldwide, 1 in 8 deaths worldwide. A study published in 2019 indicated that in 2015 the number may be closer to 8.8 million, with 5.5 million of these premature deaths due to air pollution from anthropogenic sources. A 2022 review concluded that in 2019 air pollution was responsible for approximately 9 million premature deaths. It concluded that since 2015 little real progress against pollution has been made. Causes of deaths include strokes, heart disease, COPD , lung cancer, and lung infections. Children are particularly at risk. In 2021,

1980-778: The World Health Organization, these may be defined as asbestosis, lung cancer, and peritoneal mesothelioma (generally a very rare form of cancer, when more widespread it is almost always associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos). Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates. Pets produce dander, people produce dust from minute skin flakes and decomposed hair, dust mites in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and micrometre-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, mold forms on walls and generates mycotoxins and spores, air conditioning systems can incubate Legionnaires' disease and mold, and houseplants, soil and surrounding gardens can produce pollen , dust, and mold. Indoors,

2040-563: The World Health Organization. In 2019, 1.6 million deaths in India were caused by air pollution. In 2013, air pollution was estimated to kill 500,000 people in China each year. In 2012, 2.48% of China's total air pollution emissions were caused by exports due to US demand, causing an additional 27,963 deaths across 30 provinces. Annual premature European deaths caused by air pollution are estimated at 430,000 to 800,000. An important cause of these deaths

2100-445: The air when primary pollutants react or interact. Ground level ozone is a prominent example of a secondary pollutant. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants. Pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by human activity include: Secondary pollutants include: There are many other chemicals classed as hazardous air pollutants. Some of these are regulated in

2160-399: The ambient outside air and therefore less dense than the ambient air. That causes the bottom of the vertical column of hot flue gas to have a lower pressure than the pressure at the bottom of a corresponding column of outside air. That higher pressure outside the chimney is the driving force that moves the required combustion air into the combustion zone and also moves the flue gas up and out of

2220-704: The amount of exposure to that pollutant. Air pollution exposure can be measured for a person, a group, such as a neighborhood or a country's children, or an entire population. For example, one would want to determine a geographic area's exposure to a dangerous air pollution, taking into account the various microenvironments and age groups. This can be calculated as an inhalation exposure. This would account for daily exposure in various settings, e.g. different indoor micro-environments and outdoor locations. The exposure needs to include different ages and other demographic groups, especially infants, children, pregnant women, and other sensitive subpopulations. For each specific time that

2280-411: The body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system . Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, and the individual's health status and genetics . Air pollution is the largest environmental risk factor for disease and premature death and the fourth largest risk factor overall for human health. Air pollution causes

2340-404: The chimney. That movement or flow of combustion air and flue gas is called "natural draft", "natural ventilation" , "chimney effect", or " stack effect ". The taller the stack, the more draft is created. The equation below provides an approximation of the pressure difference, Δ P , (between the bottom and the top of the flue gas stack) that is created by the draft: where: The above equation

2400-559: The design of chimneys and stacks (notably, the ASME codes). The design of large stacks poses considerable engineering challenges. Vortex shedding in high winds can cause dangerous oscillations in the stack, and may lead to its collapse. The use of helical strake is common to prevent this process occurring at or close to the resonant frequency of the stack. Some fuel-burning industrial equipment does not rely upon natural draft. Many such equipment items use large fans or blowers to accomplish

2460-663: The extensive use of asbestos in industrial and domestic environments in the past has left a potentially very dangerous material in many localities. Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the tissue of the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing materials in structures. Those with asbestosis have severe dyspnea (shortness of breath) and are at an increased risk regarding several different types of lung cancer . As clear explanations are not always stressed in non-technical literature, care should be taken to distinguish between several forms of relevant diseases. According to

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2520-470: The form of an aerosol (solid particles or liquid droplets dispersed and carried by a gas). A pollutant can be of natural origin or man-made. Pollutants are classified as primary or secondary. Primary pollutants are usually produced by processes such as ash from a volcanic eruption. Other examples include carbon monoxide gas from motor vehicle exhausts or sulfur dioxide released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in

2580-508: The health impacts and associated costs of air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley of Southern California shows that more than 3,800 people die prematurely (approximately 14 years earlier than normal) each year because air pollution levels violate federal standards. The number of annual premature deaths is considerably higher than the fatalities related to auto collisions in

2640-630: The international level, such as the Montreal Protocol , which reduced the release of harmful ozone depleting chemicals, and the 1985 Helsinki Protocol , which reduced sulfur emissions , while others, such as international action on climate change , have been less successful. There are many different sources of air pollution. Some air pollutants (such as nitrogen oxides) originate mainly from human activities, while some (notably radon gas) come mostly from natural sources. However, many air pollutants (including dust and sulfur dioxide) come from

2700-1014: The lack of air circulation allows these airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise occur in nature. Air pollution has both acute and chronic effects on human health, affecting a number of different systems and organs but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Afflictions include minor to chronic upper respiratory irritation such as difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing, asthma and heart disease , lung cancer , stroke , acute respiratory infections in children and chronic bronchitis in adults, aggravating pre-existing heart and lung disease, or asthmatic attacks. Short and long term exposures have been linked with premature mortality and reduced life expectancy and can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency department visits, more hospital admissions and premature death. Diseases that develop from persistent exposure to air pollution are environmental health diseases, which develop when

2760-475: The local air pollution regulations. The United States also limits the maximum height of a flue gas stack to what is known as the "Good Engineering Practice" (GEP) stack height. In the case of existing flue gas stacks that exceed the GEP stack height, any air pollution dispersion modelling studies for such stacks must use the GEP stack height rather than the actual stack height. Air pollution Air pollution

2820-401: The molar mass of the flue gas and the outside air are equal and that the frictional resistance and heat losses are negligible:. where: Also, this equation is only valid when the resistance to the draft flow is caused by a single orifice characterized by the discharge coefficient C. In many, if not most situations, the resistance is primarily imposed by the flue stack itself. In these cases,

2880-422: The most vulnerable population to death attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution. Under the Clean Air Act , U.S. EPA sets limits on certain air pollutants, including setting limits on how much can be in the air anywhere in the United States. Mixed exposure to both carbon black and ozone could result in significantly greater health affects. Estimates of deaths toll due to air pollution vary. In 2014

2940-494: The natural environment (for example, climate change , ozone depletion or habitat degradation ) or built environment (for example, acid rain ). Air pollution can be caused by both human activities and natural phenomena. Air quality is closely related to the Earth's climate and ecosystems globally. Many of the contributors of air pollution are also sources of greenhouse emission i.e., burning of fossil fuel . Air pollution

3000-596: The outside air. Flue gases are produced when coal, oil, natural gas, wood or any other fuel is combusted in an industrial furnace, a power plant's steam-generating boiler, or other large combustion device. Flue gas is usually composed of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and water vapor, as well as nitrogen and excess oxygen remaining from the intake combustion air. It also contains a small percentage of pollutants such as particulate matter , carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides . The flue gas stacks are often quite tall, up to 420 metres (1,380 ft), to increase

3060-742: The pollutant is how these factors are commonly stated (e.g., kilograms of particulate emitted per tonne of coal burned). These criteria make estimating emissions from diverse sources of pollution easier. Most of the time, these components are just averages of all available data of acceptable quality, and they are thought to be typical of long-term averages. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants identified pesticides and other persistent organic pollutants of concern. These include dioxins and furans which are unintentionally created by combustion of organics, like open burning of plastics, and are endocrine disruptors and mutagens . The United States Environmental Protection Agency has published

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3120-468: The premature deaths of around 7 million people worldwide each year, or a global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE) of 2.9 years, and there has been no significant change in the number of deaths caused by all forms of pollution since at least 2015. Outdoor air pollution attributable to fossil fuel use alone causes ~3.61 million deaths annually, making it one of the top contributors to human death . Anthropogenic ozone causes around 470,000 premature deaths

3180-574: The resistance is proportional to the stack height H. This causes a cancellation of the H in the above equation predicting Q to be invariant with respect to the flue height. Designing chimneys and stacks to provide the correct amount of natural draft involves a great many factors such as: The calculation of many of the above design factors requires trial-and-error reiterative methods. Government agencies in most countries have specific codes which govern how such design calculations must be performed. Many non-governmental organizations also have codes governing

3240-504: The same area, which average fewer than 2,000 per year. A 2021 study found that outdoor air pollution is associated with substantially increased mortality "even at low pollution levels below the current European and North American standards and WHO guideline values" shortly before the WHO adjusted its guidelines. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study , air pollution is responsible for 19% of all cardiovascular deaths. There

3300-483: The same objectives, namely: the flow of combustion air into the combustion chamber and the flow of the hot flue gas out of the chimney or stack. A great many power plants are equipped with facilities for the removal of sulfur dioxide (i.e., flue-gas desulfurization ), nitrogen oxides (i.e., selective catalytic reduction , exhaust gas recirculation , thermal deNOx, or low NOx burners) and particulate matter (i.e., electrostatic precipitators ). At such power plants, it

3360-462: The subgroup is in the setting and engaged in particular activities, the exposure to an air pollutant must integrate the concentrations of the air pollutant with regard to the time spent in each setting and the respective inhalation rates for each subgroup, playing, cooking, reading, working, spending time in traffic, etc. A little child's inhaling rate, for example, will be lower than that of an adult. A young person engaging in strenuous exercise will have

3420-437: The walls of the furnace, much like a domestic chimney. The first freestanding industrial chimneys were probably those erected at the end of the long condensing flues associated with smelting lead . The powerful association between industrial chimneys and the characteristic smoke-filled landscapes of the industrial revolution was due to the universal application of the steam engine for most manufacturing processes. The chimney

3480-525: The world—97.3 percent of the global population—into the unsafe zone. A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where people often spend the majority of their time. Indoor air pollution can pose a significant health risk. According to EPA reports, the concentrations of many air pollutants can be two to five times higher in indoor air than in outdoor air. Indoor air pollutants can be up to 100 times higher in some cases than they are inside. People can spend up to 90% of their time indoors, according to

3540-535: The worst sources. Carbon monoxide poisoning and fatalities are often caused by faulty vents and chimneys, or by the burning of charcoal indoors or in a confined space, such as a tent. Chronic carbon monoxide poisoning can result even from poorly-adjusted pilot lights . Traps are built into all domestic plumbing to keep sewer gas and hydrogen sulfide , out of interiors. Clothing emits tetrachloroethylene , or other dry cleaning fluids, for days after dry cleaning. Though its use has now been banned in many countries,

3600-421: Was first understood how they could improve the combustion of a furnace by increasing the draft of air into the combustion zone. As such, they played an important part in the development of reverberatory furnaces and a coal-based metallurgical industry, one of the key sectors of the early Industrial Revolution . Most 18th-century industrial chimneys (now commonly referred to as flue gas stacks ) were built into

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