Alarmingly Rising Particulate Matters and Noxious Gases in the Aerosol are the Cardinal Causes of Immeasurable Deaths in India

Rapid, uncontrolled urban growth in Africa, Latin America and Asia has contributed to ecosystem degradation and increased pollution, with consequent serious health impacts such as carcinogenesis, myocardium infarction, damage to the immune system, as well as neurological, reproductive (e.g., reduced fertility), developmental, respiratory and other health problems. According to WHO, Yale University and World Bank, air in Delhi is most foul in the world. India is one of the countries encumbered with highest particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). A report of the year 2010 from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), New Delhi says that PM10 in Delhi touches value of 748 μg/m3. Small and mid-sized towns, above and below one million population size, in the country are equally polluted now. It was recorded that several towns are having PM10 in the range of 523 μg/m3 against the Ambient Air Quality Standards 60 μg/m3 which is alarmingly 10 times higher than the standard value. Thirteen of the world's 20 most-polluted cities are in India, and three in Punjab including Khanna Asia's biggest grain market and Ludhiana an industrial hub. Clearly, in India there is a wider apathy towards the issue of environment. Major sources of pollutants in Indian air are rampant vehicular pollution, highly toxic gases emitting from industries, gargantuan burning of agricultural waste in millions of acres of lands and burning of municipal solid wastes in terms of several hundred thousands of metric tons. In addition, non-point sources such as domestic waste burning, construction activities, and roadside air borne dust due to vehicular movement and adulteration in fuels also contribute to the total emission load. Previously limited to metropolitan cities, traffic congestion and aerosols are now disseminated to even small cities and towns.

In the last three decades, the number of motorized vehicles in India has increased 29 times from 1.9 million in 1971 to 55 million in 2001. The increase was not uniform for all vehicle types; it was 7-fold for buses, 9-fold for trucks, 10-fold for cars, jeeps and taxis but 67-fold for two wheeler. The air pollution emanate from the incomplete combustion of automobiles mainly from the diesel exhaust. During the last decade, the annual consumption of diesel in India was 38,000 tons against 6,640 tons of petrol. It is estimated that at the end of the present decade, the annual consumption could rise to 78 million tons in 2021. Diesel exhaust consists of a complex mixture of chemicals which contain known carcinogenic agents including benzene, arsenic, dioxins, formaldehyde and toluene. Benzene and dioxins are the top concern. Benzene is one of the primary air pollutants contributing to added individual cancer risk. Benzene is emitted in vehicle exhausts not only as incompletely burnt fuel but also as a product of the decomposition of other aromatic compounds. Dioxins continue to release in the environment by the combustion of diesel in automobiles and carelessly burning of municipal solid waste. The average emission of dioxins in India by the automobiles only accounts for 38000 MT per year approximately. Nationally, mobile sources account for 57% of estimated benzene concentrations. The annual average benzene emission adopted as standard is 5 µg per cubic meter but the actual emission has reached at an alarming stage in metropolitan cities. The daily average levels reach alarming heights of more than 100 µg per cubic meter in Bangalore, close to 55 µg cubic meters, 35 µg per cubic meter in Delhi and 50 µg per cubic meter in Kolkata. If these carcinogens continue to release in the environment, then in the coming years, they can reach at uncontrollable levels causing cancer cases in every house. And also the noticeable fact is that these kinds of carcinogens released by diesel exhaust remain at lower level of breathing zone which is inhaled by humans. According to estimate, lifetime exposure to diesel exhaust at the outdoor average concentration (2.2µg/m3) may result in about one in every 2,000 people developing cancer due to this exposure. The risk is even higher for those living near highly polluted urban communities. The short and long-term exposures to these toxic gases have also been linked with premature mortality and reduced life expectancy. It is visualized that if this trend of rise in carcinogens is not controlled, it will cross the permissible limit and once it crosses the limit it shall be beyond control. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that "fine particulate air pollution (PM 2.5), causes mortality from cardiopulmonary diseases, cancer of the trachea, bronchus, lungs and acute respiratory infections in children under 5 yr. Its vexatious that heart related disorders will kill almost 20 million people by 2015, exceptionally prevalent in the Indian sub-continent. According to Global Burden of Diseases air pollution is the fifth largest cause of death in India.

Indian government has enacted several laws for protection of environment and fragile ecosystem, viz. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Environment (Protection) Rule, 1986, The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981and Rule 1982, Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules 2000. If country does not get alert and pro-active it would lead to inevitable threat to its denizens and even to developing countries in its neighborhood.