PATNA: With a view to controlling air pollution, the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) has appealed to Patnaites not to burn tyres, biomass, dried leaves and solid waste in the open. It has also advised people to avoid using coal and cow dung in braziers and start using e-rickshaws and cycles.
"Burning organic matter like leaves produces a thick white smoke with a high amount of suspended particulate matter (SPM) which is very harmful for lungs. Tyres, on the other hand, release dark, thick smoke that contains cyanide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and products of butadiene and styrene," BSPCB official Navin Kumar said on Saturday.
According to Patna Medical College and Hospital's (PMCH) TB and chest department head Dr Ashok Shankar Singh, "Continued exposure to polluted air can lead to chronic bronchitis, emphysema as well as breathing problems. Some may even develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — a group of lung diseases that block airflow and make it difficult to breathe."
With the beginning of the winter season, the TB and chest department of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) gets nearly 30 to 40 cases every day against 20 to 25 cases in other months of the year. Dr Manish Shankar of IGIMS said, "High levels of air pollution in the winter season cause asthma as well as viral and respiratory infections. Due to prolonged exposure, these infections usually reach the advanced stage and patients have to undergo lung treatment."
BSPCB public relations officer Birendra Kumar told TOI that awareness camps and street plays will soon be organized in villages and towns to make people aware about the ill-effects of air pollution and how to prevent them.
"Burning organic matter like leaves produces a thick white smoke with a high amount of suspended particulate matter (SPM) which is very harmful for lungs. Tyres, on the other hand, release dark, thick smoke that contains cyanide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and products of butadiene and styrene," BSPCB official Navin Kumar said on Saturday.
According to Patna Medical College and Hospital's (PMCH) TB and chest department head Dr Ashok Shankar Singh, "Continued exposure to polluted air can lead to chronic bronchitis, emphysema as well as breathing problems. Some may even develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — a group of lung diseases that block airflow and make it difficult to breathe."
With the beginning of the winter season, the TB and chest department of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) gets nearly 30 to 40 cases every day against 20 to 25 cases in other months of the year. Dr Manish Shankar of IGIMS said, "High levels of air pollution in the winter season cause asthma as well as viral and respiratory infections. Due to prolonged exposure, these infections usually reach the advanced stage and patients have to undergo lung treatment."
BSPCB public relations officer Birendra Kumar told TOI that awareness camps and street plays will soon be organized in villages and towns to make people aware about the ill-effects of air pollution and how to prevent them.
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