AIR POLLUTION AND HUMAN HEALTH: AN ANALYSIS OF WEST BORAGAON DUMPING GROUND IN GUWAHATI CITY, ASSAM-INDIA

- September 19, 2019

Air pollution is the activity of harmful or excessive quantities of substances including gases, particles, and biological molecules are introduced into Earth's atmosphere. It may cause different diseases, allergies and even death to humans and it may harm the other living organisms such as animals and food crops and may damage the natural or built environment. Air pollution is the resultant of the admixture of various harmful gases in the atmosphere or finely dispersed liquid aerosols at rates that exceed the natural capacity of the environment to dissipate and dilute or absorb them. These substances may reach concentrations in the air that cause undesirable health, economic, or aesthetic effects.

It is a mixture of natural and man-made substances in the air we breathe. It is typically separated into two categories: outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution.

Many aspects of human beings are influenced by the environment, and many diseases can be caused, sustained, or exacerbated by environmental factors. Environmental health is defined more by the problems faced than by the approaches used.

The problems include the treatment and disposal of different wastes, purification of dirty water supplies, the impact of overpopulation. Though the boundaries of environmental health are not rigidly defined, the challenges and priorities of environmental health vary between communities and the responsibilities that can be shared in many ways. While some people spend more time than others working on these problems, we all affect environmental health through our individual and collective decisions. Some of the more commonly reported environmental health issues due to solid waste disposal in Guwahati city relate to the uncollected wastes that are strewn on roadsides and drains, retaining water and clogging drains, thus leading to stagnant waters which encourage mosquito vector in abundance. Uncollected wastes provide food and breeding sites for insects, birds and rodents and the disease vectors connected with them. World Health Organization mentioned that air pollution is an invisible killer that lurks all around us, preying on the young and old. Learn how it slips unnoticed past our body's defences causing deaths from a heart attack, stroke, lung disease and cancer. 24% of all stroke deaths are attributable to air pollution. Air pollution causes 1.4 million deaths from stroke every year.25% of all heart disease deaths are attributable to air pollution. Air pollution causes 2.4 million deaths due to heart disease every year and 43% of all lung disease and lung cancer deaths are attributable to air pollution. Air pollution causes 1.8 million deaths due to lung disease and cancer every year. Most air pollution-related deaths are from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). In terms of global disease burden, air pollution is the cause of over one-third of deaths from stroke, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory disease, and one-quarter of deaths from is chaemic heart disease. From smog hanging over cities to smoke inside the home, air pollution poses a major threat to health and climate. The combined effects of ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution cause about 7 million premature deaths every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO guideline limits, with low-and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures, both indoors and outdoors. Growing air pollution has emerged as a serious concern.

The vehicular emission and dust contributing a major share of the deteriorating air quality in the city. The Pollution Control Board Assam (PCBA) which has been monitoring the city’s ambient air quality under the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) has recorded high levels of air pollution in all its monitoring stations in the city. Data with the air quality monitoring station at Bamunimaidam reveals presence of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) well above the prescribed limit since 2008. Air Pollution in Guwahati has increased in recent years due to the different causes such as growth of traffic and other urban activities. The uneven topography, the geographical conditions and the climatic factors, and elements like circulation of air, temperature, radiation level and alternating change of the local low and high-pressure gradient have a role in the growing concentration and unequal dispersion of the air pollutants within the city. The concentration of pollutants is also affected by the micro-level changes in the atmosphere. As the city is blocked on three sides by the hills and the hillocks, free movement of air is hampered for which the pollution level is comparatively higher in a few pockets. Vehicular emission is also increasing in the city. The number of vehicles in Guwahati have doubled in the last five years which has lead to more fuel consumption and more emission in the city. The vehicles during traffic congestion throw high collective air pollutants into the environment. The highly air polluted sector of the city is the central part Use of Municipality dust bins are mandatory for the people to dispose their waste. But it has been seen in the field that people do not dispose the wastes in a proper manner. Instead, they dispose it different ways which are not hygienic or safe for the people. The west Boragaon dumping ground is one of the most air-polluted areas of the city. The odour of dumping ground and waste burning smog pollutes the air and indirectly affects human health. During the field study it is found that the people living nearby dumping ground is suffering lots of diseases related to air pollution. It is found that 95 percent people of Sipini Nagar, Brindaban Nagar, Surabhi Nagar area strongly complain that flies make their life miserable. The students of Pragjyotish School are unable to take their tiffin in the school during tiffin time. The open burning of the wastes causes severe air pollution besides making the products of combustion fly in the ambient air of the nearby area. People complain of odours coming towards their area from the burning sites when wind blows. The study reveals that there is a positive relationship between air pollution and health. People awareness and goodwill of government can solve the problems of air pollution of West Boragaon area of Assam- the doorway of North-East India.

VoE Newsletter Volume-02, Issue. 02, 2019

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