NEW DELHI: Public health experts on Wednesday cited numerous scientific studies to show the devastating impacts of air pollution on health and said that Delhi and the rest of India should not delay action to check this trend. Their presentations were part of a panel discussion organized by the US embassy called "Your breath is your health".
Srikanth S Nadadur, US Embassy science fellow, for instance, gave examples of long term studies where people have been tracked for years to see what health impacts they had developed over 15-16 years of follow-up due to exposure to poor air.
A landmark study carried out by Harvard's School of Public Health on six US cities in 1994 revealed a strong link between air pollution and mortality. Researchers had found a difference of two to three years in life expectancy depending on how polluted each subject's city was. EPA had to put new air quality standards in place following the revelations.
Nadadur's presentation also quoted a number of studies, which point at a very strong correlation between proximity to traffic sources and reduced lung function indicating the impact from vehicles.
"There is evidence to show that exposure to diesel particles can increase systolic blood pressure, which could be dangerous for those with heart conditions," Nadadur said adding other health impacts like oxidative stress in the lungs and "chronic inflammation". But India hardly has any such epidemiological studies yet.
