Pollution causing Ahmedabadis major health problems

AHMEDABAD: Last week when oxygen kiosks were set up by the Ahmedabad police at several big traffic junctions in the city, people jostled and elbowed their way to steal a breather.
With pollution levels breaking all barriers of the permissible limits, and standards disappearing in the smoke, winter this year is choking Amdavadis’ lungs like never before.So much so that oxygen, which was limited to emergency wards of hospitals, is now becoming a requirement for the healthier lot as well.
Experts say Ahmedabad’s pollution problem is not as much about higher levels of noxious gases like CO, CO2, NOx and SOx as it is about suspended particulate matter (SPM) and respirable particulate matter (RPM).
As per national standards, the maximum permissible levels of SPM and RPM are 200 and 100 particles per million (PPM) respectively. But the SPM levels in Ahmedabad during the last week have remained at an alarming high — varying between 416 to 581 PPM — two to three times higher than the prescribed limits.
And it’s not just the soaring SPM levels that are frightening the experts. Their much finer version, RPM, which can prove more dangerous due to their smaller size, have remained between 132 PPM to 203 PPM!
Such high pollution levels can give rise to problems like cough, cough with expectoration, feeling of tightness of chest, recurrent respiratory tract infection, fatigue, headache and giddiness, besides many other symptoms.
But what’s causing all these? "Vehicular fuel emissions are the culprit. There are a lot of suspended pollutants in the air because of them. This is simply worsened by the poor quality of fuel — adulteration," says Gujarat Pollution Control Board chairman K V Bhanujan.
He blames kerosene-driven rickshaws, diesel vehicles and other factors for the pollution problem in Ahmedabad.
"The problem here is quite a mammoth one in size, difficult to be dealt with by routine solutions. We need a radical solution to solve the pollution problem in Ahmedabad. Routine checks about pollution levels and fuel adulteration will not help. We need a solution like that in Delhi," he quipped.
The GPCB had forwarded an action plan to the authorities about curbing air pollution levels in several cities in the state, after it held a seminar in June 2001.
Deputy director of the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) Dr T S Patel, who also heads the air pollution unit, believes, "The pollution problem is only worsening day by day. However, it is also being recognised as a major problem now, and so you have oxygen booths. Because of the increasing levels of pollution, people are also feeling the pinch as condition is getting aggravated."
He points out the 1.3 million vehicles that ply on the city roads guzzling several lakh litres of fuel every day. Besides, the network of the roads, carrying capacity of the area, condition, maintenance and age of the vehicles — all these factors are responsible for the pollution problem, he adds.
But exactly how are vehicular emissions responsible for air pollution? "The emissions get settled by the roadside. As more vehicles pass, they get re-suspended and add to the problem," says Patel. The experts are now looking to cleaner fuel options like CNG and LPG for cities like Ahmedabad which are fast turning dangerous.