Mumbai: Two years ago, the World Health Organisation and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, for the first time, classified air pollution as one of the causes for cancer.
"PM 2.5 (solid dust-like particles, or 'particulate matter' less than 2.5 millionth of a metre) can cause cancer," said the panel.
China's so-called cancer villages, fear environmentalists, could be a manifestation of unfettered air and water pollution. Long-term exposure to air pollution has, over the years, not only been linked to cancer but even heart diseases. Asthma and allergic rhinitis (hay fever), too, are known to get aggravated due to air pollution.
Back home in India, information about particulate matter is sketchy and emerging only from a few major cities. In Mumbai, for instance, studies have shown that particulate matter is mainly made of natural dust, construction dust and vehicular emissions, but the culprits differ from area to area. A civic official who doesn't wish to be named said Mumbai could be mapped according to the pollutants. "If the character of the pollutants is aromatic, then the area has to be Chembur. If soot is the predominant pollutant, then it has to be the port area and so on," the official said.
Dr Rakesh Kumar from NEERI said high respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) levels are not the problem, but it is the nature and source of RSPM that one should worry about. "We conducted a study in Wada and found high levels of RSPM, even though it is a rural area with no industries. Clearly, it has high levels of natural dust that isn't too harmful," he added.
A study done by KEM Hospital, Parel, in Chembur'sMahul area in 2013 linked the higher prevalence of aromatic compounds in the air with higher incidence of respiratory illnesses in Anikgaon, Ambapada, Mahul and Gavanpada areas of Vishnu Nagar (see box).
NEERI will hold three meetings in February in Pune, Mumbai and Nagpur to discuss measures to control air pollutions.
