AIR POLUTION

AIR POLUTION & & WE,WE, OURSELVES OURSELVES

DR. AVINASH BHONDWE DR. AVINASH BHONDWE PRESIDENT, PUNE IMA PRESIDENT, PUNE IMA

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The quality of air we inhale determines not only the health of our lungs, but also of our entire body.

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On a daily basis, each one of us inhales around 10,000 Litres of air to extract 300 litres of Oxygen that is crucial for our functioning and survival. Ideally fresh air comprise of 79% nitrogen, 20% oxygen and 0.1% carbon dioxide.

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CULPRITS
Rapid Urbanization Increasing number of Industries Motor vehicles on the road,

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Air that we inhale mainly comprises of Dust, Bacteria, Viruses, Various gaseous air pollutants and a large numbers of Tiny Particles,

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The quality of air that we breathe has deteriorated so badly over the recent years that it is now taking a heavy toll on our health.,

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Harmful Effects

Babies born to mothers who were exposed to high levels of air pollution during the third trimester, experienced greater symptoms of cough, wheeze and ear pains during the first year of their life

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Harmful Effects
Babies

are smaller for weight and are more likely to get airway infections and pneumonias that require hospitalization.

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As the child grows in the polluted environment, he inhales more air pollutants than what adults do. This is because children breathe in much more amounts of air per Kg body weight than adults.

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Moreover, their lungs are very immature, the defence systems are not established and the cellular structures are very susceptible to the harmful chemicals and particles that are inhaled.

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As a result, the airways become hyperresponsive which increases their risk of developing asthma. There is now overwhelming evidence from studies conducted in different parts of the world that children living in areas with poor air quality have an increased prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis and respiratory infections.

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Their lung growth and lung capacity is also much smaller.

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As the child grows further and starts attending school he/she gets exposed to air pollutants on the road and to the air pollutants that enter into the school

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Travelling by the PMT bus exposed one to the least amount of gaseous air pollutants and travelling by the autorickshaws exposed one to the greatest amount.

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Children going to the school by the autorickshaws may therefore be at the greatest risk of inhaling more air pollutants.

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Children who live in homes and study in schools situated next to busy roads are more likely to develop asthma, allergies and respiratory tract infections than those who live further away.

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Lung growth seems to be dramatically affected in growing children if they are exposed to high levels of particulate matter air pollution. Particulate matter are very tiny particles that are less than 10 microns in diameter that can easily enter inside the lungs. The major source of these tiny particles in most cities are diesel exhaust and resuspended dust from the roadside.

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What

is interesting about these diesel exhaust particles is that they can increase the allergenicity of different allergens.

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As the levels of particulate matter increase, the risk of Asthma and COPD exacerbations increases markedly. This has been shown in over 300 published studies from different parts of the world

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A research study in England and Sweden shows, where exposed young college going students were exposed to low levels of diesel exhaust (levels that we would easily find if we walk on Laxmi or Karve road) for one hour in a specially designed exposure chamber.

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Six hours later bronchoscopies were performed, obtained tiny pieces of bronchial biopsies and dissected them out at the cellular and molecular level to see what changes are produced. It showed single hour exposure to diesel exhaust elicited a very strong cellular and mediator inflammatory response in the bronchial tissue. .

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What was even more concerning was that these students suffered no symptoms and had no changes in their lung function, suggesting that this inflammatory response remains silent. How many of us experience symptoms of cough when we travel through Karve road or Laxmi road, Even if we dont, there is a significant silent damage already occurring inside the lungs.

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more serious is the harmful effects that these air pollutants have on the other organs. The size of the diesel exhaust particle is 7080 nanometers and they can therefore easily diffuse from the alveoli and enter into the blood circulation and reach other organs.

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The first organ that it would encounter would be the heart. There is some very good evidence from research studies that exposure to air pollution has a significant harmful effect on the heart as well.

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A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine a few years ago demonstrated that elderly subjects (>60 years of age) who have an underlying ischemic heart disease, when spend 1 hour in busy traffic have a stronger risk of developing myocardial infarction than that caused due to cigarette smoking or even high levels of circulating blood cholesterol. Exposure to air pollution therefore can contribute to the development of heart attacks.

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It can also increase the risk of development of stroke Atherosclerosis. increase the viscosity of blood. Very recently, a study from Sweden demonstrated that 1 hour exposure to diesel exhaust can change the brain EEG patterns, thereby indicating that even the brain gets affected by air pollutants.

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The World Health Organization has estimated that 300 million people die every year due to adverse effects of air we breathe.

INDIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, PUNE BRANCH

Essentially, it is a "people's event", with colorful activities such as Street Rallies, Bicycle Rallies, Green concerts, Essay competitions in schools, Tree Planting, Recycling and Clean up campaigns.

INDIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, PUNE BRANCH

As mostly cities are expanding it means greenery is affected so to make ECOLOGICAL balance we should grow more trees to develop more green areas.

INDIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, PUNE BRANCH

Awareness Camps For Auto Rikshaw Drivers For Truck Drivers For PMP Drivers

INDIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, PUNE BRANCH

Use of bicycles should be encouraged maximum for shorter distances.

INDIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, PUNE BRANCH

Encouragement to be given for common car poolling or for Public transport system