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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, March 26: Stand for a few hours near some of the city’s traffic junctions and you could be passive smoking the equivalent of 25 cigarettes a day. The smokers here are the thousands of automobile tailpipes idling at these junctions.
An ongoing study being conducted by the Indian Society of Environmental Science and Technology (ISEST) has shown alarmingly high concentrations of the lethal Carbon Monoxide at 12 traffic junctions in the city. Saki Naka, Sion, Byculla and Mumbai Central junctions have the highest concentrations of CO, an average of around 15 to 20 parts per million (ppm), shooting up to 30 ppm at certain times of the day. This is nearly three times the acceptable levels of the 5 ppm, eight-hour CO exposure, laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
“Traffic policemen, truck, taxi and auto drivers, in fact the entire population of these junctions are inhaling polluted air,” says Dr PS Ramanathan, the society’s chief scientific investigator. It’s not hard to pinpoint the culprit: The automobile. Of an estimated 600 tonnes of pollutants belched into Mumbai’s atmosphere every day, over 69 per cent is caused by vehicles and industries 27 per cent. The city already ranks second most polluted in the country after Delhi. “Unlike a factory, the fact that this source of pollution is moving causes more concern,” says Dr Ramanathan. The increasing pollution has something to do with the increasing number of vehicles, limited road space in the island city and the consequent dropping vehicle speed. There are over 8.40 lakh automobiles in Mumbai. The average vehicular speed of 35 kmph recorded in 1951 has dropped down to an abysmal 13 kmph today. When a vehicle idles at junctions, it emits more pollutants. Evencatalytic convertors fitted on cars fail to function effectively unless properly heated, which does not happen if the vehicle fails to pick up speed.
The preliminary phase of the studies saw researchers armed with portable toxic gas monitors spending eight hours a day and a week at each junction. The other junctions surveyed also included Ghatkopar, Amar Mahal, CST station, Suman Nagar, Dadar, Mumbai Central, Metro and Churchgate.
Of all emissions from vehicle tailpipes, the invisible CO is the deadliest. Over 95 per cent of it is emitted from vehicles. It has 250 times more affinity towards blood than oxygen does. CO seriously hinders oxygen supply from the blood into tissues leading to more pumping of blood to deliver the same amount of oxygen.
Numerous studies have shown individuals with weak hearts are placed under additional strain by presence of excess CO in blood. The next phase of the study involves taking over 1000 blood samples from the areas’ residents, others exposed to pollution includingtraffic constables and taxi drivers.
