Air pollution is becomes alarming

Shakeel A. I. Mahmood

Air pollution kills nearly 15,000 Bangladeshis each year according to a World Bank report of 2001. Another report says, a large number of homeless street children, streetwalkers and rickshaw pullers in the city of Dhaka are exposed to definite threat of air pollution. Young children are mostly exposed to cadmium (Cd) through inhalation of smoke and contaminated soil including dust from the industrial emission and sewage sludge.
   The high concentration of lead (Pb) in the environment from variety chemicals including gasoline, paints, ceramics, batteries, pigments, etc. has also been the factors to increase the risk of the polluted air. A study found that lead in the blood was very high. This is at the toxic levels causing lead poisoning in the children presenting with psychomotor delay and behavioural problems.
   The major disease in Bangladesh is not diarrhea as often perceived but it is the acute respiratory infection caused mainly from the polluted air. An online forum called South Asia in 2001 mentioned that the 6.5 million people in those cities suffer each year besides at least 8.5 million cases of minor illnesses not undergoing treatment.
   Automobiles referring to the auto rickshaws, trucks, and buses some 35 per cent is related to fine particulate matter and about 48 per cent to hydrocarbon mainly generated by the vehicles with two stroke engines (using a direct mix of engine mobil oil and petrol), particularly by baby taxis, tempos, and motor cycles), industrial emissions, bad civic practices and poor government services are some of the factors causing the country's polluted air.
   According to the Population Reports of 2002, an estimated 2.7-3.0 million people every year (around 6 per cent of all deaths) die due to air pollution.
   The densely populated cities like Bangkok, Dhaka, Manila, Mexico City, New Delhi, etc. are rapidly growing cities in the world. These are often entombed with air pollution from motor vehicles and from uncontrolled industrial discharge. World Health Organization (WHO) estimated about 700,000 deaths per year. These lives could be saved by preventing three major atmospheric pollutants of carbon monoxide, suspended particulate matter, and lead by bringing down to safer level. In the developing countries the health expenditure of urban air pollution was estimated to be about $100 billion a year during 1995. About $40 billion of this amount was accounted for the chronic bronchitis.
   
   Living with it
   Swedish researchers gave details of the deadly heart attacks, which may be more plausible problem among the people who spend decades living in heavily polluted areas. While there was no connection between peoples' exposure to various pollutants over 30-year period and overall heart attack risk, such exposure did appear to be linked with a greater risk of deadly heart attack.
   In particular, heart attacks occurring just outside the hospitals attributing to the air pollution have been reported by the colleagues of Mats Rosenlund of the Stockholm County Council. The researchers also established that people who had ever lived in pollution "hot spots" having particularly dirty air had 23 per cent increased risk to about 40 per cent increased risk of fatal heart attack. The health effects of short-term exposure to air pollution are fairly well understood but it is rarely clear how long-term pollution exposure affects health. This was pointed out by Rosenlund and associates in the Epidemiology journal.
    Pollution exposure could add to heart attack risk by causing chronic inflammation, speeding the progression of arteriosclerosis (i.e., hardening of the coronary arteries) and altering heart's functional capability, etc. per this journal.
   Bangladesh is one of the least developed nations in the world. Since 1971 there has been some growth in the industrial sector. Industries are mainly concentrated in major urban metropolitan areas such as Dhaka, Rajshahi, seaports of Chittagong and Khulna, inland port city of Narayanganj, and other divisional towns.
   An environmentalist mentioned in 2006 that there are two major sources of air pollution in Bangladesh: (1) vehicular emissions, and (2) industrial emissions. Other than those there are many brick-making kilns operated seasonally through out Bangladesh. More or less all of these kilns use coal and wood as the prime sources of energy resulting in the emission of particulate matter, oxides of sulfur, and volatile organic compounds.
   Additionally to these usual sources of fuel, used rubber wheels of vehicles are also oxidized producing substantial amount of carbon and relevant toxic gases. These are harmful for human health. In order to accommodate the growing population in the urban areas the construction of high-rise buildings is growing rapidly. The numbers of these buildings are marching in conjunction with the numbers of the slums in the urban areas.
   The enormous force of population growth has made it almost unreliable to maintain a clean environment in the capital city of Dhaka unless a drastic measure of cleanliness is undertaken.
   Dhaka is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Air pollution has emerged to an acute problem in the city. Blackening of the city air and reduced visibility are often observed in some areas during the daytime. Occurrence of choking smells and irritating eyes are very common.
   
   Pollution in Dhaka
   A new child-attacking virus thrives in Dhaka as pollution heightens. According to the WHO report 2001, the lead concentration found in the blood of the children in Dhaka was up to four times higher than the acceptable level of 10 g/dl. This high level of lead concentration in blood is correlated with that in the air. The school children of Dhaka city have nasal irritation, cough, headache, dizziness, etc. when they are affected by common cold. The underlying reason is attributed to the high lead in the environment from various sources of industrial usage and products such as gasoline, ceramics, polymers, batteries, paints, pigments, etc.
   Young children are mostly exposed to cadmium through inhalation of smokes and contaminated soils and dust from the industrial emissions and sewage sludge. In most cases the children had been given antibiotic which is often detrimental in combating viral infections. However, what is alarming is that the medical community appears unprepared and not well equipped to deal with the new viral strain. Some medical experts have mentioned about the high level of urban pollution.
   
   Suggestions
   People have been crying for solution for decades but nothing has yet been done. The atmosphere is under increasing pressure from greenhouse gases that threaten to change the climate and from chemicals that reduce the ozone layer. The major air pollutants affecting respiratory tract are sulfur dioxide, photochemical oxidant, ozone and the oxides of nitrogen noted by several specialists and reviewers.
   The following stringent measures can be adopted by Government: Take the lead in managing this disastrous situation:
   Promote national energy efficiency and emission standards and develop efficient, cost effective, and less polluting mass transit systems;
   Completely abolish import and use of leaded gasoline;
   Completely abolish 2-stroke engine vehicles;
   Completely abolish old petrol-driven vehicles;
   Correct use of lubricants can reduce the emission levels;
   Encourage people to use CNG or LPG, rechargeable battery (recently being used in US) driven car;
   Every vehicle's (government and non-government) should submit to emission test and get inspected by every year;
   Immediately relocate/shift the industries (such as tanneries, battery, pharmaceutical, tobacco) away from Dhaka city;
   Training for the doctors and treatment facilities for the patients are required;
   Create Public awareness on air pollution through media materials (such as videos, pamphlets, booklets, radio and television including print and electronic media, film and the arts, and new media technologies);
   Modernise exiting power systems by reducing fossil-fuel combustion.
   There is need to save the forest and promote plantation inside the cities to maintain or restore the ecological balance. Otherwise problems in future will cause severe consequence with the valued environment of the mankind.

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