Pollution Masks for City Traffic Constables
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The Lions
Club of Green Mumbai distributed 'Pollution Masks' for the Traffic
Constables in Mumbai.
The Traffic Constables who man the city traffic are prone to severe
health hazards.
Mrs. Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister of State for Social Justice
and Empowerment, was invited at the occasion for distributing the
'Pollution Masks'. Mrs.Gandhi an environmentalist of repute felt:
- The 'Pollution Control Masks' had failed everywere in the world
- In a city like Mumbai, these masks will get choked with suspended
polluting particles in half-an-hour and will be useless.
- The elastic band attached to these masks will give the user
a severe headache.
- A handkerchief or a dupatta is better than these masks
 The Minister gave
valuable heath tips to the traffic police on how to reduce the ill
effects of air pollution they are subjected to.
"Eat as much anti-oxidents as you can everyday. Eat tomatoes, cabbage
and yellow fruits and make it a point to drink at least 12 glasses
of water everyday - it flushes out of the kidneys the Sulfur Dioxide
you inhale during the day."
She also advised the Club to spend their money to sponsor useful projects
like - A research & development cell for the Mumbai traffic police,
or a well equipped gymnasium for the policemen.
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The vehicle
population in India is expected to go up from 253.3 lakh in 1993-94
to 531.4 lakh in 2000-01, the maximum increase being expected in
two wheelers and cars. However, emission control norms in India
have always been a few years behind the Western countries in stringency.
The major pollutants from petrol driven vehicles are CO, HC and
NOx. The products of complete combustion are carbon dioxide, water
vapour and nitrogen. But by the nature of the combustion process,
apart from other physical factors, combustion is never complete.
Unburnt HC and CO are present in the exhaust. High combustion temperatures
promote reactions leading to NOx formation. The harmful effects
of these pollutants on the health are many. CO affects cardiac and
pulmonary functions, apart from the central nervous system, due
to high affinity with haemoglobin. The formation of carboxy haemoglobin
impairs time interval discriminating ability and visual acuity.
While HC irritate the eyes and throat (some are carcinogenic) and
form smog along with NOx, the latter cause respiratory disorders
and adverse changes in the cell structure and lung wall.
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