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Study On Impact Of Air Pollutants During the Diwali Festival In Pune.

Last year in Pune a study undertaken by the Chest Research Foundation (CRF) which has revealed that 25% of the population suffers from inhaling gaseous pollutants emitted by firecrackers during Diwali.

Study On Impact Of Pollutants Wins International Award

This article is adapted from an article written by Siddhartha D. Kashyap was published in The Times Of India on 7th November 2007.

Diwali is the festival of lights and firecrackers in India.This is a festival of fun but on this one single day the evening resounds with the sound of bursting crackers and the smoke forms a hazy curtain over all Indian cities and towns. The sound pollution and air pollution levels shoot up beyond threshhold limits.

Last year in Pune a study undertaken by the Chest Research Foundation (CRF).Researchers from CRF, measured the ambient levels and found that the peak mean levels of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, emitted by the bursting of firecrackers in residential areas was 5.67 ppm (parts per million) and 4.35 ppm, respectively — much higher than what is recorded otherwise. The study also revealed that 25% of the population suffers from inhaling gaseous pollutants emitted by firecrackers during Diwali.

The study, was done on a population of 510 residents in Kothrud locality, was carried out for three days before the Diwali festival last year, three days during Diwali, and three days after the festive season. According to CRF director Dr Sundeep Salvi, it was found that that during Diwali, the burning of firecrackers resulted in a huge increase in the levels of gases like sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide in the air. 31.2% of the respondents complained of cough, while 13.3% others said they experienced breathlessness. While 26.1% of the respondents experienced irritation in the eyes, another 9% had a running nose. 4.1% of the respondents also complained of itching skin, while 5.7% said they had some allergic symptoms during the period.

The study won an international award at the European Respiratory Society Congress, held at Stockholm in September this year. According to the CRF director Dr Sundeep Salvi, who carried out the study along with his team, the findings are significant as a large percentage of the healthy population, who had no history of any respiratory symptoms, admitted suffering from breathlessness, cough and wheezing and the percentage could be even higher in congested areas.

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Added 07 November 2007 by Dr Karabi Dutta

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