The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Pollution impact on respiratory disorders to come under scrutiny

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Pollution impact on respiratory disorders to come under scrutiny

By M. Dinesh Varma

CHENNAI, JULY 5. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board is considering a study to determine the impact of air pollution on the incidence of respiratory disorders in Chennai.

The PCB will tie up with medical institutions for the epidemiological study, which will primarily investigate the correlation between vehicular pollution and respiratory orders. The role of other sources of air pollution such as indiscriminate burning of solid waste will also be examined.

While the Board will monitor the air quality, the medical institutions will assess the health impact. The collaborative data obtained by the air quality-respiratory illness study is expected to identify the areas where the incidence of respiratory disorders is high and form the baseline for planning pollution reduction strategies.

The air quality assay will be on the lines of the Chennai Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme carried out under the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme. It is proposed to establish at least 40 air quality monitoring stations as part of the study, the modalities of which are currently being worked out, PCB officials said.

Previous surveys of the Board indicate that the levels of Respirable Dust Particles and Particulate Matter are quite high during peak traffic hours. The level of these pollutants has been found to be considerably high at the T. Nagar traffic intersection and Vallalar Nagar commercial zone.

The action-plan drafted by the PCB to control air pollution in Chennai notes that the traffic congestion had been gradually increasing and leading to deterioration of the environment in the city. Emissions from vehicles have been the major source of air pollution.

According to PCB data, the over 10 lakh vehicles on the city roads in 2000-2001 contributed to a carbon monoxide emission of 88,000 tonnes, 44,000 tonnes of hydro carbons and 17,000 tonnes of oxides of nitrogen and 4,000 tonnes of particulate matter.

The number of vehicles has increased and so have the pollution levels. Latest estimates show that Chennai has over 15 lakh vehicles, of which more than 10 lakhs are two-wheelers.

The emissions from the burning of solid waste are another important source of atmospheric pollution. Previous surveys have shown an alarming increase in levels of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), which is a combination of respirable dust, sulphur-di-oxide, oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide. The survey of pollutant levels on a typical Bhogi day two years back featuring widespread burning of rubber tyres, waste cloth and other discards, had shown high presence of suspended particulate matter in the atmosphere.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu

News Update

Stories in this Section

Pollution impact on respiratory disorders to come under scrutiny

School children's safety `paramount'

Early morning fire devastates slum colony

Rs. 42.6 lakhs for Tambaram taluk hospital renovation

`Environmental sciences must not be confined to classrooms'

Indo-Norwegian project to develop disease-resistant shrimps

`Ensure full citizenship to disabled children'

Robbery case solved

Human resource excellence award

Jayalalithaa orders reconstruction of temple

Boy's body found

Focus on rainwater harvesting

Chamber head

Around the City

In Chennai Today