'Pollution on the road can cause cancer among children'

'Pollution on the road can cause cancer among children'

Deccan Herald

Study says respiratory disorder among children in Bangalore on the rise



DANGER ON THE ROAD: With an increase in the number of vehicles, pollution levels on the city roads are on the rise with automobile exhaust being the biggest contributor. — Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

BANGALORE: A study in the United States showed that school children exposed to diesel exhaust fumes while travelling in school buses for one to two hours a day, during a school year of 180 to 200 days, faced a high risk of cancer in the respiratory system.

Environmental engineer Ameer Ahmed says in his just-released book "Urban Vehicular Pollution Control - Focus Bangalore" that pollution levels may be reaching similar levels here. A similar study in this city on 20,000 children under the age of 18, between 1979 and 1999, showed the incidence of respiratory disorders, though not cancer, increasing from nine per cent to 29.5 per cent, the books says.

The prevalence of diesel particulate matter (DPM) in the air in cities such as Bangalore needs further study, Mr. Ahmed suggests. This has become necessary with all car manufacturers competing with one another to make their diesel models attractively priced and appealing to the potential owners' sense of economy: diesel still costs less than petrol. But there have been no stringent checks of diesel quality to check emission levels as in the West, he says.

LPF as fuel

The government should waste no time in following up the Karnataka High Court's direction to have all autorickshaws in the city (74,000 at last count) switch over to LPG as a less polluting fuel, Mr. Ahmed says.

A study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board, Bangalore Zone, on three-wheelers and four-wheelers, which had switched over to LPG, concluded that 67 per cent of the converted vehicles produced significantly lower carbon monoxide (CO) emissions while the average hydrocarbon (HC) emissions were relatively higher. "Even in LPG-driven vehicles, fuel rich mixtures resulted in higher CO emission... Euro II compliant vehicles with Multi Point Injection (MPI) engines are found to emit lower CO and HC. Catalytic Converters bring down emissions," the book says and recommends that second generation LPG conversion systems with microprocessor-based sensors offer the best solution for emission control.

The book discusses the relative merits of buses running on CNG as in Delhi or on LPG as proposed in Bangalore. The experiments of two city buses running on "honge oil" and the use of low sulphur diesel by the transport corporations needed more encouragement.

The State Pollution Control Board has found that there has been a slight but perceptible improvement in the air quality of Bangalore. This the Board feels, is due to better quality fuel, more newer vehicles conforming to international emission norms on the roads and the phasing out of older vehicles.

The situation may improve further when there will be blending of five per cent ethanol with petrol. Improved fuel quality has already resulted in lower sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide levels in the air. Except in the industrial belt in and around the city, there has been a fall in levels of suspended particulate matter.