Emerging chemical pollution threat

While stricter norms on industries and chemical usage has brought down concentration levels of these pollutants in the US and Europe, India is still engaged in a twin battle: One against industrial pollution and other on the vehicular pollution front. It’s a wake up call for the Government

Traditionally, the subject of air pollution brings to mind mainly vehicular and industrial pollution; and these two sources are considered as the major source of air pollution in cities around the world.

However, a recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US,  revealed that the source of ambient air pollution in urban spaces has shifted to other Volatile Chemical Products (VCPs), or everyday products such as pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents and personal care. They contain organic solvents, which are major sources of pollutants called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

The findings of NOAA are also echoed in a study published in the journal, Science, which confirms the concerns that pollution from chemical products used indoors is usually more dangerous than outdoor pollution. The study bears significance as it was conducted in 33 industrialised cities in Europe and the US and attributed 50 per cent of the air pollution to volatile chemicals.

The good news for Europe and the US is that over the past decade, stricter norms on industries and chemical usage has gradually brought down the concentration levels of these polluting chemicals. Cleaner transportation models are only complimenting better environment in these countries. India, on the other hand, is in dire conditions on both fronts.

India is currently engaged in a twin battle — one on the industrial pollution front and the other on vehicular pollution front. Strict industrial norms and stringent automobile policy is still a paper-driven vision which is yet to see implementation in actuality. As a result, vehicular pollution is still a major concern due to the absence of efficient engines and cleaner fuels.

Add to this the daily use of materials in our lives which are now posing a serious threat and adding to air pollution. The emission of VOCs and Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) into the atmosphere from various sources lead to the formation of Ozone (O3) and Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOAs), both of which have an adverse affect on human health. O3 is formed when VOCs get oxidised in the presence of NOX; and SOAs are formed when the precursor molecules to VOCs get oxidised.

It has been difficult to collate data on emissions from VCPs because data on the levels of oxygenated volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere is absent. Researchers and scientists are currently using four different evidences: Energy and chemical production statistics; vehicular emissions near roadways and laboratory testing of chemical products; measurements of ambient air away from roads; and indoor air measurements to arrive at VCP emissions. Based on these parameters, studies are concluding that the per product intensity of VOC emission from chemical products has increased by several orders of magnitude in comparison to emissions from fuel burning in vehicles.

In the US, for instance, the input of fossil fuels for transportation is 15 times that of the amount used for chemical products; yet the emissions intensity from chemical products is twice as much as that from vehicle exhausts. In fact, emissions from chemical products are underestimated by a factor of two or three, while those from the vehicles are overestimated. One reason for this could be that many of the compounds emitted by chemical production were not accounted for earlier. On the other hand, the compounds produced in vehicle exhausts were readily measured.

These scientific studies are egging the developed countries from across the word to take immediate action on VCP pollution and slow but gradual improvement in ambient air quality is being recorded in these countries. However, the same cannot be said about India where pollution from chemical products is still a largely un-researched nascent subject whose environmental implications are yet to be unraveled. Though authorities are yet to take concrete steps to quell and contain VCP pollution impact, chemical pollutants have already entered our daily lives and are now threatening human health besides severely compromising the environment.

There is an urgent need for the Government to identify the categories and groups of chemicals that are currently in extensive use in daily use products that are the major contributors to chemical pollution. Sufficient awareness needs to be generated on the subject so as to educate the industrial sector. Efforts must be made to identify affordable and less harmful alternatives. The only manner in which a threat to the humans and environment can be nullified is by neutralising the threat before it assumes unmanageable and threatening proportions. This is where Government intervention matters and can ensure that the threat from VCP’s is nipped in the bud.

(The writer is an environmental journalist)