New Delhi: Lakhs of Indians are being exposed to high levels of poisonous gases, including cancer-causing volatile organic compounds and sulphur fumes, and the country lacks the mechanism to monitor or regulate these toxins, according to a report released in New Delhi on Saturday.
Titled 'Smokescreen: Ambient Air Quality in India,' the report by the Chennai-based Community Environmental Monitoring lists out 45 toxic chemicals that were found in ambient air samples taken from 13 different locations in the country during 2004-06.
Out of these, the toxic levels of 28 chemicals were found at upto 32,000 times higher than levels fixed as safe in residential areas by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).
The report also said that in the busy traffic intersection at ITO in the national capital, 18 toxic chemicals were found from the air samples, of which cancer-causing benzene was recorded at 104 times higher than safe levels.
Releasing the report, Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said India lacked the mechanism to monitor and regulate toxic gases in ambient air and hoped the report will act as an "alarm bell" to set standards in this regard at the earliest.
"After a study by a Cuddalore-based NGO in 2004, the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes had asked the Central Pollution Control Board to lay down standards for Volatile Organic Compounds and sulphur gases," Shweta Narayan of Community Environment Monitoring said. She alleged that nothing has been done in this regard even after six years.
"Though the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had granted $ 6.5 million for setting standards for ambient air quality monitoring in 1999 under a World Bank-funded project, the outcome of the project was still unknown." Narayan claimed.
The chemicals, found in ambient air over residential areas located near industrial houses, contained toxins that affect the human central nervous system, cardiovascular system and even the reproductive system, she said.
The samples were collected from across the country with the active participation of the local community, Narayan said. "The Government was refusing to acknowledge their concerns about pollution by stating that nothing could be done in the absence of standards," she added.
"Among the ambient air samples, the one collected from near the Hindustan Insecticides Ltd in Kerala contained haxacholorobutadiene, an indication of dioxin - one of the most poisonous chemicals known to science," she said.
Out of the 27 chemicals found in a garbage burning site in Perungudi, Tamil Nadu, carcinogens - 1.3 butadiene and benzene - were found at 34,782 and 2,360 times higher than safe levels respectively, the report said.
The ambient air collected from near the Chemplast Sanmar PVC factory in Mettur Dam contained 17 toxic chemicals, including six carcinogens that were 32,000 times above safe levels, it said.
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