Pollution Is Very High In Six Areas, Says Report

ollution Is Very High In Six Areas, Says Report
S Kushala | TNN

Bangalore: On World Environment Day, this is notso-good news for Bangaloreans. The city, which has always been in news for rising air pollution, has upped its status — by moving into the danger zone as far as respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) in the air is concerned.
According to the yet-to-be released study report on the ambient air quality in Bangalore carried out by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, the pollutants responsible for lung and respiratory problems are on the high. These RSPM comprising 23 elements of metals — dust particles of lead, zinc, iron, cobalt, nickel, nitrate, sulphate, iron, etc — are less that 10 micron size which we inhale.
The study used the data of the last five years and was carried out in three zones — industrial, mixed and sensitive. The areas chosen: Graphite India Ltd in Whitefield, KHB industrial area, Peenya industrial area, Victoria Hospital, Amco Batteries and Yeshwantpur. Of the six areas, four are in the high pollution zone.
What is appalling is that a sensitive zone like Victoria Hospital is in a highly polluted bracket with the RSPM being 66 micrograms per metre cube. As far as the suspended particulate matter (SPM) is concerned, the same area is in a critical zone with 196 micrograms per metre cube. The SPM comprises 25 elements of metal dust which is more than 100 microns.
The nitrogen oxides are also too high in the air in the vicinity of Victoria Hospital — 38.7 micrograms per metre cube which is again in the critical zone.
The study has four classifications on the levels of pollution. The formula used is by arriving at exceeding factor (EF). The categories are — critical pollution (C) when EF is more than 1.5; high pollution (H) when EF is 1 to 1.5; moderate pollution where EF is 0.5 to 1 and low pollution (L) where EF is less than 0.5.
At Graphite India, KHB and Peenya industrial areas, air quality with respect to SO2 and NOx showed low pollution with RSPM and SPM being highly to moderately polluted. In the mixed zone, SO2 is low, NOx moderately polluting, and RSPM, SPM highly to moderately polluting.
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY Catch hold of ‘Kachra Kumars’
KSPCB chairman H C Sharathchandra launched a two-month anti-litter campaign here on Wednesday. The drive was launched in association with Concern India Foundation. Some of the activities include distribution of anti-litter posters and car stickers, saplings and cloth bags.
Another programme, ‘Kachra Kumar’, will ask children to catch hold of chronic litters in the neighbourhood and give them the title of Kachra Kumar. Those who catch the maximum number of Kachra Kumars will be rewarded. Hoekstra to help villages
Bangalore’s once gungho industrial head Bob Hoekstra is back. The man who has always voiced concern about the city’s infrastructure woes is now, along with Erin Foundation, promoting a project to create sustainable livelihood and income generation for villages near Anekal. Hoekstra plans to distribute 250,000 ‘chulhas’ to the villages through women’s SHGs. “We hope to ensure cooking will be traditional, but with new technology. Firewood can still be put in the ‘chulha’, Hoekstra said.