Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

‘Health problems caused by pollution'

VIJAYAWADA: Everyone is susceptible to health problems caused by various forms of pollution. The importance of awareness about the impact of various types of pollution on individual and public health is growing, according to experts at a day-long seminar on “Environment, Health and Sustainable Development” conducted by The Hindu in association with the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) and the Dr. Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Foundation on Tuesday.

Head of general medicine N.V. Krishna Rao dealt in depth with the damage ‘air pollution' could do to one's health. Listing the ways in which various air pollutants compromised the different systems in the body, Dr. Rao said children were more susceptible to air pollution.

ENT head P.S.N. Murthy in a presentation on ‘Environmental pollution and various allergies' said there was a perceptible increase in allergies. While 33 per cent of Americans suffered from one form of allergy or other, there was a 200 per cent increase of asthma (caused by allergy) in children.

He said the propensity of a person to develop allergy depended on the parents.

The new science of environmental medicine was concerned with treatment using minimum use of drugs, reducing exposure to allergens (substances that cause allergies) and improving immunity of the body, he added.

Director of research U. Satyanaryana explained the use of bio-technology in healthcare and in monitoring and reducing pollution. The use of genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) for cleaning up pollutants was in an experimental stage because full impact of introducing GEMs into the environment was still not known.

The mass production of in vitro meat (IVM) could be another way to reduce pollution in future, but it was not viable at this stage, he said. Community medicine associate professor K. Rajagopala Rao said that water pollution would have a tremendous effect on the health of human beings because 70 per cent of earth's surface was covered by water. In India, 1,000 children were dying everyday because of water pollution.

He explained in detail the various types of water pollutants and the diseases caused by them. ENT assistant professor Y. Ajay Kumar, speaking on noise pollution, said according to a survey by the Indian council of Medical Research (ICMR), noise was the cause of deafness in 11 per cent of the cases. It was possible to prevent deafness by taking safety measures.

Community medicine head S.A. Katekari said dust of size less than three microns could cause several types of diseases. Community medicine assistant professor K. Srikaruna Murthy spoke on the impact of food pollution on public health.

The seminar ended with a brief presentation on the radiation emitted by mobile phones and safety measures that one could take to minimise exposure to them, by The Hindu Regional General Manager K. Chandrasekaran.

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