Air pollution – Indoor & Outdoor

Dr. Prashant P. GhodamModerator: Dr. Ramesh Pawar

Framework• What is air pollution• History• Magnitude of the problems• Health impact• Indicators of air pollution:• Greenhouse Gases and effect:• Prevention and control• Legislations• National Programmes• Millennium Development Goals • Challenges • References

What is air pollution• Air pollutants may be either emitted into the atmosphere or

formed within the atmosphere itself.• Air Pollution: means any solid, liquid and gaseous substance

(including noise) Present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or the property or environment.

• Emission: means any solid or liquid or gaseous substance coming out of any chimney, duct or flue or any other outlets.

What is air pollution Primary air pollutants: Emitted into the atmosphere from a source such as a

factory chimney or exhaust pipe, or through suspension of contaminated dusts by the wind, it is possible to measure the amounts emitted at the source itself.

Secondary air pollutants: those formed within the atmosphere itself. They arise from chemical reactions of primary pollutants, possibly involving the natural components of the atmosphere, especially oxygen and water. Ex. Ozone.

Gaseous air pollutants: gases or vapours, gases or vapours. Particulate air pollutants: material in solid or liquid phase suspended in the

atmosphere.• In wide range of sizes. Newly formed secondary particles can be as small as 1–

2 nm in diameter (1 nm = 10–9 m),• coarse dust and sea salt particles can be as large as 100 μm (1 μm = 10–6 m) or

0.1 mm in diameter.

History• Death from exposure ambient air pollution first recognized

in the Meuse Valley of Belgium during a thermal inversion in December 1930 in city of London. 60 people died

• In December 1952, a vicious episode in London produced excessive deaths in infants, young children, and elderly persons with cardio-respiratory disease. High particle loads were 4.5 mg/m3 for smoke and 3.75 mg/m3 for sulfur dioxide.

• In 1984 of Bhopal gas leak (methyl isocyanate) killed thousands of peoples.

Magnitude of the problems• An estimated 3.5 million deaths in 2010 were attributed to

household air pollution globally. and over 2.1 million premature deaths, which is two-thirds of the worldwide burden.

• WHO assessment of the burden of disease due to air pollution, more than 2 million premature deaths each year can be attributed to the effects of urban outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution (caused by the burning of solid fuels). More than half of them in developing countries die every year from air pollution.

• Indoor air pollution is the most important risk factor and responsible for 2.7% of the global burden of disease and an estimated 3.7% of the overall disease burden in developing countries

Magnitude of the problems India: About 95% of the rural population still relied primarily on

unprocessed solid fuels / biomass. (dung, crop residues, and wood).• Nationwide, some 81% of all households relied on these fuels; 3% used

coal and 78% used biomass.• Out of the 180 cities monitored for SO2, NO2 and PM10, only two,

Malappuram and Pattanamthitta in Kerala meet the criteria of low pollution (50% below the standard) for all air pollutants (Central Pollution Control Board for 2010)

• PM10: About 78 per cent cities exceed the PM10 standard. Ninety cities have critical levels of PM10; 26 have the most critical levels, exceeding the standard by over three times. Gwalior, West Singhbhum, Ghaziabad, Raipur, and Delhi are the top five critically polluted cities.

Magnitude of the problems

• NO2:  About 10 per cent of the cities exceed the NO2 standard. Of

these, about nine have critical levels. Howrah, Barrackpore, Badlapur, Ulhasnagar and Asansol are the five top critically polluted cities.

• SO2 pollution: Moderate levels of SO2 are noted in Jamshedpur and

Saraikela Kharsawan in Jharkhand; Chandrapur, Badlapur, Ulhasnagar, and Pune in Maharashtra; Ghaziabad and Khurja in UP, Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Marmagao and Curchorem in Goa.

• Some mega cities that have initiated some pollution control action in recent years have witnessed either stabilisation or some decrease in the levels.

Health impact Diarrhoea Respiratory infections Malaria Perinatal conditions Childhood cluster HIV/AIDS

Other unintentional injuries Cardiovascular diseases Chronic respiratory diseases Road traffic injuries Cancers Lead-caused MMR

0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10%

Environmental Fraction Total Source: WHO Burden of Disease statistics

Health impact • Acute lower respiratory infections: exposure to smoke from the

use of solid fuels in the home increases the risk of acute lower respiratory infections in young children, particularly pneumonia.

• Globally, pneumonia and other acute lower respiratory infections represent the single most important cause of death in children under five years

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: is possibly the most important cause of COPD in non-smoking populations).

• Lung cancer: Smoke from both coal and biomass contains substantial amounts of carcinogens & have an elevated risk of lung cancer. , in particular among women who tend to smoke less than men in most developing countries

Health impact • Cardiovascular Disease: Recent epidemiological evidence from these

combustion sources estimate the risk and mortality for ischaemic heart disease and stroke

• Cataract: household solid fuel use for cooking is associated with cataract formation, especially among women.

• Other health outcomes: • low birthweight and perinatal mortality • Asthma, • tuberculosis• otitis media • acute upper respiratory infections• nasopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, • cervical cancer

Health impact

Health impact Impact on children and women• more than two-thirds of indoor smoke deaths from

acute lower respiratory infections in children occur in WHO's African and South East Asian Regions

• over 50% of the COPD deaths due to indoor air pollution occur in the Western Pacific region

• women spend between three and seven hours per day near the stove, preparing food. 59% of all indoor air pollution-attributable deaths thus fall on females.

Health impact

• Young children are often carried on their mother's back or kept close to the warm earth

• Consequently, infants spend many hours breathing indoor smoke during their first year of life when their developing airways make them particularly vulnerable to hazardous pollutants

• As a result, 56% of all indoor air pollution-attributable deaths occur in children under five years of age

Indicators of air pollution• The WH O Air quality guidelines are designed to offer

global guidance on reducing the health impacts of air pollution

• They recommend measurement of selected air pollutants, viz., particulate matter (PM) , ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), applicable across all WHO regions

• In addition, “smoke (soiling) index” and “coefficient of haze” are also commonly used indicators.

• In India, the Central Pollution Control Board through its National Air Quality

Particular matter• Consists of a complex mixture of solid and liquid particles of organic

and inorganic substances suspended in the air.• The particles are identified according to their aerodynamic diameter,

as either P M10 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 μm) or P M 2.5 (aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm).

• P M 2.5 more dangerous since, when inhaled, they may reach the peripheral regions of the bronchioles, and interfere with gas exchange inside the lungs.

The guideline values (upper acceptable limits) are:• P M2.5 10 μg/m3 annual mean; 25 μg/m3 24- hour mean• P M10 20 μg/m3 annual mean; 50 μg/m3 24- hour mean

Ozone (O3)• It is formed by the reaction with sunlight (photochemical

reaction) of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) from vehicle and industry emissions and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by vehicles, solvents and industry.

• highest levels of ozone pollution occur during periods of sunny weather. Excessive ozone in the air can have a marked effect on human health. It can cause breathing problems, trigger asthma, reduce lung function and cause lung diseases.

Guidelines values for upper limits are: 100 μg/m3 (8-hour mean)

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)• At short - term concentrations exceeding 2 0 0 μg/m3, it is a

toxic gas which causes significant inflammation of the airways.• NO2 is the main source of nitrate aerosols, which form an

important fraction of P M 2.5 and, in the presence of ultraviolet light, of ozone.

• The major sources of NO2 are combustion processes (heating, power generation, and engines in vehicles and ships).

• symptoms of bronchitis in asthmatic children increase in association with long-term exposure to NO2.

• Reduced lung function growth is also linked to NO2. Guideline values are: 4 0 μg/m3 (annual mean) and 2 0 0

μg/m3 (1-hour mean).

Sulfur dioxide (SO2)

• SO2 is a colourless gas with a sharp odour. • It is produced from the burning of fossil fuels (coal

and oil) and the smelting of mineral ores that contain sulfur.

• The main anthropogenic source of SO2 is the burning of sulfur-containing fossil fuels for domestic heating, power generation and motor vehicles.

The upper limit of acceptable values are 20 μg/m3 (24- hour mean) and 5 0 0 μg/m3 (10 - minute mean).

Carbon monoxide(CO)

• Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odorless, colorless, and nonirritating gas produced by incomplete combustion of organic material and is the leading cause of poisoning.

• Main health effect of CO is a result of its ability to impair the oxygen binding capacity of hemoglobin, which can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, breathlessness, and fatigue, and with high exposures can lead to coma and death

VOCs• Volatile organic compounds emitted by vehicles, solvents and

industry, from office furniture, cabinetry, carpet tile, vinyl wall coverings, paints, and adhesives.

• Adverse health responses attributed but not proven to be caused by VOCs in nonindustrial indoor environments include (1) irritant effects resulting from mucous membrane irritation, (2) systemic effects such as fatigue and difficulty concentrating, and (3) toxic effects such as carcinogenicity. The strongest association has been with VOCs causing mucous membrane irritation.

• Formaldehyde is the VOC most familiar to the general public that has been associated with indoor air pollution

Greenhouse gases• Greenhouse gases naturally blanket the Earth and keep it about 33°C

warmer than it would be without these gases in the atmosphere. This is called the Greenhouse Effect.

• Over the past century, the Earth has increased in temperature by about 0.5°C and many scientists believe this is because of an increase in concentration of the main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (76%), methane (13%), nitrous oxide (6%), and fluorocarbons (5%).

• The “ green house effect is the heating of the Earth due to the presence of greenhouse gases

• Shorter-wavelength solar radiation from the sun passes through Earth’s atmosphere, and then is absorbed by the surface of the Earth, causing it to warm.

Green House effect

• Part of the absorbed energy is then re-radiated back to the atmosphere as long-wave infrared radiation.

• Little of this long-wave radiation escapes back into space; the radiation cannot pass through the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

• The greenhouse gases selectively transmit the infrared waves, trapping some and allowing some to pass through into space. The greenhouse gases absorb these waves and re-emits the waves downward, causing the lower atmosphere to warm.

Green House effect

Prevention and Control Public awareness Replacement or modernization of equipment/process: Change

in pattern of fuel use: The gobar gas plant, The use of solar energy for cooking. subsidize the cylinder to facilitate the switch from biomass to LPG

Improvement in the ventilation: putting a window above the cooking stove & providing cross ventilation through the door.

House hold: Modification in stove design like chimney, smokeless stoves

Regulatory Measures

Prevention and Control Containment: This prevents pollutants from entering the

atmosphere. This can be carried out by engineering methods like enclosure, ventilation or air scrubbing & arresting of pollutants.

• Dust collection systems: These are designed to handle heavy dust loads; a dust collector consists of a blower, dust filter, a filter-cleaning system, and a dust receptacle or dust removal system, such as Cyclones, Electrostatic precipitators, and Baghouses.

• Scrubber systems : These are air pollution control devices used to remove particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams.

• Multispectral approach: collaboration and commitment between agencies responsible for health, energy, environment, housing and rural development

Legislations 1948- Factories Act and Amendment in 1987 was the first to express

concern for the working environment of the workers. 1962- Atomic Energy Act: deals with the radioactive waste. 1981- Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act provides for the

preventive, control and abatement of air pollution. It entrusts the power of enforcing this act to the Central Pollution Control Board.

1982- Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules define the procedures of the meetings of the boards and the powers entrusted on them

1987- Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act empowers the central and state pollution boards to meet with grave emergencies of air pollution.

1988- Motor Vehicle Act states that all hazardous waste is to be properly packaged, labeled and transported.

National Programmes

National Programme on Improved Chulhas (NPIC 1983): subsidy of at least 50% for households purchasing an improved cook stove.

• Objectives: fuelwood conservation, removal /reduction of smoke from kitchens, reduction of deforestation, & employment generation in rural areas.

National Biomass Cook stoves Programme(NBCP): Promote replacement of the existing in-efficient traditional chulhas in households.

• kitchen of Mid-day Meal (MDM) scheme schools & Anganwadi • Small business establishments (dhabas, hotels & textile dyeing,

drying of spices etc.) with highly fuel efficient biomass improved cook stoves.

Millennium Development Goals

• Tackling indoor air pollution in the context of household energy is linked to achieving the MDG in particular

• to reducing child mortality (Goal 4 ) • to promoting gender equality and empowering women

(Goal 3)• to opening up opportunities for income generation and

eradicating extreme poverty (Goal 1)• to ensuring environmental sustainability (Goal 7)

Challenges

• limited Political support.

• Inadequate laws and legislation.

• The ignorance of health effects of the pollution, or

under appreciation of its magnitude in many

developing countries

References1. WHO Public Health & Environment Global Strategy Overview 2011

2. Air Quality Guidelines for particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide Global Update 2005 WHO : Available from URL http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair_aqg/en/index.html

3. Environmental burden of disease country profiles: Available from: URL http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/countryprofiles/en/index.html

4. ICMR Bulletin on indoor air pollution in India – a major environmental and public health concern. Vol.31, No.5 May, 2001

5. The health effects of indoor air pollution exposure in developing countries. World Health Organization, Protection of the Human Environment Geneva 2002.

6. Park K: Environment Health. In Park’s text book of Preventive and Social Medicine. 22nd edition.

7. Text book of public health and community medicine. 1st edition. Department of community medicine AFMC Pune.

• http://mpcb.gov.in/envtdata/envtair.php• http://cpcb.gov.in/envtdata/envtair.php

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