Dutch inventors have unveiled what they called the world’s first giant outside air vacuum cleaner – a large purifying system intended to filter out toxic¹ tiny particles from the atmosphere surrounding the machine.

荷兰发明者公布了他们所谓的世界上第一台户外巨型真空吸尘器—一台旨在过滤周遭空气中有毒微粒的巨型空气过滤器。

"It's a large industrial filter about eight metres long, made of steel ... placed basically on top of buildings and it works like a big vacuum cleaner", said Henk Boersen, a spokesman for the Envinity Group which unveiled the system in Amsterdam.

“这是一台大型铁质工业过滤器，约八米长，一般来说放在建筑顶部，工作原理就和真空吸尘器一样。”在阿姆斯特丹公布此过滤系统的安飞尼迪集团发言人亨克.波尔森说。

The system is said to be able to suck in air from a 300-metre radius² and from up to seven kilometres upwards³.

该系统据说能过滤半径300米范围内，上至七公里高度范围内的空气。

It could treat some 800,000 cubic metres of air an hour, filtering out 100% of fine particles and 95% percent of ultra-fine particles, the company said, referring to tests carried out by the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) on its prototype.

安飞尼迪称，参照荷兰能源研究中心对他们的原型机做的测试，该系统能过滤大气中100%的细颗粒和95%的超细颗粒，处理速度约达80万立方米空气每小时。

A large column of air will pass through the filter and come out clear, Boersen told AFP on Tuesday, speaking on the sidelines of a major two-day offshore⁴ energy conference in Amsterdam.

“一大管空气可以经过过滤器随后净身而出。”波尔森在周二于阿姆斯特丹举行的海洋能源会议的间隙告诉法新社记者。此次会议为期两天。

Fine particles are caused by emissions⁵ from burning wood and other fuels as well as industrial combustion⁶, and have adverse⁷ effects on health, according to the European Environment Agency.

欧洲环境局称，细颗粒由燃木、燃料以及工业燃烧产生，对人体健康有害。

About 90% of EU residents are exposed to levels of such particles which can be carcinogenic above those recommended by the World Health Organisation⁸.

大约90%的欧盟居民会吸入这些致癌颗粒物，其危害等级超过了世界卫生组织的推荐标准。

As for ultra-fine particles, they are released by emissions from vehicles as well as aeroplanes, according to Envinity, and can damage the nervous system, including brain cells, and also cause infections.

而据安飞迪尼称，超细颗粒来自于汽车、飞机的尾气，并且会“损害包括脑细胞在内的神经系统，引起感染”。

Governments, businesses and airports were already interested in the project, Boersen said.

波尔森说，已经有政府、企业和机场表示对这个项目感兴趣。

Another air-purifying system called the Smog Free Tower was installed in Beijing in September and launched by the Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde.

另一个叫做雾霾净化塔的空气过滤系统已经于9月份在北京落成，并由其荷兰设计师达安.罗斯嘉德发布。

Using patented ozone-free ion technology, it is said to clean up to 30,000 cubic metres of air an hour as it blows past the tower, collecting more than 75% of the harmful particles, according to Studio Roosegaarde.

罗斯嘉德工作室表示，雾霾净化塔使用独家无臭氧离子技术，每小时能够净化3万立方米的塔周空气，过滤掉超过75%的有害颗粒。