EXPLORE!

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster - Air Pollution

  1685 Views

Dr KK Aggarwal    30 October 2020

With input from Dr Monica Vasudev

1122: IMA-CMAAO Webinar on “COVID-19 and air pollution”

24th October, 2020, 4-5pm

Participants: Dr KK Aggarwal, President CMAAO, Dr RV Asokan, Hony Secretary General IMA, Dr Ramesh K Datta, Hony Finance Secretary IMA, Dr Jayakrishnan Alapet, Dr GM Singh, Dr Brijendra Prakash, Dr S Sharma

Faculty: Dr Tushar Joshi, Former Director, Center for Environmental Research

Key points from the discussion 

  • Air pollution is not a new phenomenon. Of all the pollutants, particle pollutants are the best studied.
  • Air pollution has become the most significant environmental health risk in India.
  • We need air for oxygenating our body, which is important for the function of our cells. Brain requires the most oxygen for its optimal functioning.
  • We cannot live without air for more than a few minutes, even though we can live without food for a long time and without water for a few days. Food and water are voluntary, whereas breathing is involuntary and automatic.
  • We can survive at oxygen levels lower than 21%. Death is likely at concentrations of 10%. Mental impairment occurs at around 16% and permanent damage to the cardiovascular system can occur at around 12%.
  • 5-10 are inhalable, not respirable. PM2.5 will not arrest in the nose, it will pass down and go to the end of the lung, i.e., the alveoli.
  • It is not easy to define air pollution. All man-made emissions in the air can be called air pollution as they alter the chemical composition of the natural atmosphere.
  • Natural events such as forest fires, dust storms, volcanoes also increase pollution.
  • There are three types of air pollution: Household (biomass burning in rural areas, crop residues, etc.), indoor (cigarette smoke, incense sticks, dhoop batti, mosquito coils, insecticide sprays, air freshners, etc.) and outdoor or ambient (industry, transportation and burning of trash).
  • It is the heart which suffers the most and not lungs.
  • The sources of air pollution are: gaseous hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulates and lead.
  • Ambient air pollution causes around 4.2 million deaths every year due to stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and chronic respiratory diseases (WHO).
  • Around 3.8 million deaths occur every year as a result of household exposure to smoke from biomass burning.
  • Low and middle income countries bear the maximum burden of air pollution particularly in WHO Western Pacific and South East Asia regions.

 

 

  • A study done by IIT Mumbai and the Health Effects Institute (HEI) in 2015 found that particulate matter accounted for around 1.1 million deaths or 10.6% of the total deaths in the country. Residential biomass burning is the single largest contributor to the disease burden in India.
  • Residential biomass caused almost 25% of the deaths attributable to PM2.5; coal combustion 15.5% and open burning of agricultural residue 6.1%.
  • In the next few decades, air pollution will kill far more people than both malaria and access to clean drinking water. By 2050, about 130 Indians out of every million are likely to die prematurely from exposure.
  • Lung cancer trends in the UK show that in the early 20thcentury, lung cancer was rare. Today, it is associated with the highest death rate in both males and females.
  • The impact of air pollution in the womb is transgenerational.
  • Children, elderly and individuals with pre-existing diseases are of special concern and need special care. What makes some people have different presentations is still not well understood yet.
  • A recent study, which examined non accidental mortality in 72 urban communities across the US, found evidence of association between mortality and organic carbon matter, silicon, elemental carbon and sodium ion. Some constituents of PM2.5 may be more toxic than others.
  • Under the National ambient air quality monitoring programme, most monitoring stations monitor four air pollutants - SO2, NO2, suspended particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Meteorological parameters such as wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity and temperature were also integrated with air quality monitoring.
  • Coal is the largest source of SO2. All thermal plants that use coal are closed down; brick kilns cannot use coal and must use the zigzag system to reduce air pollution.
  • Diesel smoke has been identified as an independent carcinogen.
  • There has been a decline in SO2 levels; this may have been due to interventions such as reduction of sulphur in diesel, use of cleaner fuels such as CNG, switching from coal to LPG as domestic fuel.
  • There has been a slight decrease in NO2 levels despite increase in vehicles; this may be due to factors like improvement in vehicle technology, use of alternate fuel.
  • Ozone is a secondary pollutant and formed from VOCs and NO2.
  • Concentration of benzene in AC car is 6-8 times higher than in non-AC car.
  • Most people in urban areas have developed tolerance due to constant exposure, but not rural people. This is not protective as underlying harm will continue to occur.
  • A study analyzing outdoor air pollution and ER visits at a hospital in Delhi found that ER visits for asthma, COPD and acute coronary events increased due to higher than acceptable standards of air pollutants. The study concluded that there is considerable burden of cardiorespiratory diseases in Delhi due to high levels of ambient air pollution.
  • Air pollution is also associated with diseases of the central nervous system, including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease. Air pollutants can easily move to the CNS and active innate immune responses.
  • Saving and protecting the environment is the responsibility of everyone.
  • Inverters should be used instead of diesel or petrol run gensets.

 

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA

To comment on this article,
create a free account.

Sign Up to instantly get access to 10000+ Articles & 1000+ Cases

Already registered?

Login Now

Most Popular Articles

News and Updates

eMediNexus provides latest updates on medical news, medical case studies from India. In-depth medical case studies and research designed for doctors and healthcare professionals.