‘Indoor Air pollution contributes to 85% of air pollution’
| Date :07-Jun-2019 |
Dr Manas Ranjan Ray delivering a lecture at NEERI Auditorium on Thursday. Dr Hemant Purohit,
Dr Manas Ranjan Ray, Dr J S Pandey and Padma Rao on dais. (Pics by Anil Futane)
Staff Reporter;
“Smoke spread after burning of one mosquito repellent coil is equivalent to that of 100 cigarettes; cooking fuels like biomass and kerosene are more dangerous than other fuels; burning of incence sticks in front of God in temples or in house is more dangerous than smoking; use of furniture and electronic gadgets is also more dangerous in houses.
These are the sources of indoor air pollution,” warned Dr Manas Ranjan Ray, Former Director, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI), Kolkata on Thursday. Dr Ray was delivering a lecture on ‘Health Impacts of Air Pollution’ at the auditorium of National Environmental Engineering and Research Institution (NEERI) to mark World Environment Day. Dr Hemant Purohit, Senior Most Scientist, CSIR-NEERI; Dr J S Pandey, Chief Scientist and Head, Climate Change and Skilling Division (CCSD); Padma Rao, Head, Air Pollution Control Division shared the dais. Dr Ray stated that there were two types of air pollution. Indoor and outdoor. Indoor Air pollution contributes to 85 percent of the air pollution while outdoor contributes to 15 percent. The outdoor sources of air pollution include vehicles, industrial smokes, pesticides etc. The indoor sources include all things used in domestic purposes.
In India use of biomass fuel is rampant and it is a deadly source, he added. “Some common sources of indoor air pollution are products that we use quite casually, being unaware of the harm that they are causing. These include floor cleaners, pet dander, air-fresheners, home printer inks, chemical based cleaners, wardrobe dry cleaning chemicals, stove burners, paints, mold, humidity and mosquito repellants. Air purifiers, marketed as being able to kill bacteria and mold, are actually sources of indoor air pollution too. They release great amounts of ozone into the air.
Ozone happens to be the main component in smog. It can cause coughing, asthma attacks and damage lung tissue, leading to lasting, life-shortening damage,” Dr Ray elaborated. Dr Ray discussed number of diseases like COPD, Asthma, Type II Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart Diseases, Cancer, ADHD, Depression, Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease etc. and pointed out that indoor air pollution has been the root cause of all these diseases. Dr Hemant Purohit made introductory remarks. Dr J S. Pandey introduced guest. Padma Rao spoke on the theme of World Environment Day.