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There are approximately 40,000 small and big
industries in the city, of which 32 have been classified as hazardous. Industries
in the air-polluting category include textile mills, chemical, pharmaceutical,
engineering and foundry units. Process emissions and those from fuel consumption,
constitute the main sources of air pollution. Major air pollution sources include
a giant fertilizer/chemical complex; two oil refineries and a thermal power
plant, all based in CHEMBUR, a suburb on the eastern coast of Bombay
(World Bank).
The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGB) monitors the air
quality within the city limits; MCGB has measured ambient air quality
regularly at 22 monitoring stations in Mumbai for over 15 years. These monitoring stations
measured the air pollutant levels according to who prescribed guidelines and
methods.
These mobile monitoring vans operated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation's Air Quality Monitoring and Research (AQMR) laboratory are
stationed at traffic junctions at Worli, Andheri and Wadala.
In January 2008, Andheri touched 542 microgrammes per cubic metre
(µg/m3). In Feb 2007 and Feb 2006, the figures for the same monthly
average were 534 µg/m3 and 489 µg/m3 respectively.
In February 2008, Wadala's SPM levels were 425 µg/m3. That is an
alarming rise from 178 µg/m3 in February 2007 and 312 µg/m3 in Feb ruary
2006.
In March 2008, Wadala recorded 303 µg/m3 levels of SPM, the
corresponding figures for the month of March 2007 and March 2006 in the
same area were 258 µg/m3 and 300 µg/m3.
"Rise in SPM over the years has increased asthma prevalence in the city as it's an important triggering factor," says Dr Pramod Niphadkar, honorary secretary of the Asthma and Bronchitis Association of India.
"People don't give much attention to the pollution, but... though there
are very few mortalities due to air pollution, morbidity is of great concern," he added.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), SPM is among the most serious air pollutants, resulting in an additional 4.6 lakh deaths every year, worldwide. Reiterating WHO's data, a senior scientific officer at AQMR admits: "SPM is a major pollutant in Mumbai's air, followed by
nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide."
Scientists at AQMR also point out a new entrant in the family of particulate matter - sand used to set loose interlocking tiles across the city's pavements. "Every time a car passes, the dry sand that's left over blows along for miles," the AQMR officer says. In Mumbai, pollution from road and building construction is second only to vehicular pollution.
Overall, Mumbai's highest SPM levels are at Maravali, near Chembur,
because of the industrial estates in that area. In Deonar, a fixed monitor
ing station of the AQMR measured the highest levels of SPM this February - an alarming 1,133 µg/m3, owing to the proximity of the city's
biggest dumping ground. Today, SPM in ambient air in Mumbai is anywhere between 545 µg/m3 to 292 µg/m3, not complying with the central pollution control board. Permissible levels, according to the AQMR, are 140 µg/m3 in residential areas and 360 µg/m3 in industrial areas.
"General asthma levels in the city are anywhere between three to five per cent whereas in polluted areas, that increases to 10 per cent," says Dr Amita Athavale, head of
(EPRC) at KEM Hospital. She says while SPM doesn't directly cause asthma it causes increased incidence of asthmatic attacks among those already suffering from the disease and triggers
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among those prone to respiratory ailments. There
are cases of pulmonary fibrosis where lungs lose elasticity permanently, reducing the capacity to take in air. "In
pulmonary fibrosis, pollution works as one of the significant triggers. In the Seventies, we saw pulmonary fibrosis cases once every
year, now we are seeing one fresh case every week," says Dr Niphadkar. |
Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, is home to the largest slum in Asia and almost half of the
city's inhabitants are slum-dwellers.
The location of the Mumbai airport too makes it vulnerable to smog. It is not only situated well within the precincts of the city, but is also flanked by the industrial area near Kurla.
With pollution levels rising in the city, visibility in the sky during the morning hours has become a major challenge for the air traffic control (ATC). At a conference on World
Environment Day, ATC officials said they get the best visibility on
Mondays.
Mumbai imports and transports a lot of oil products. The refineries and depots have been identified as areas that cause substantial oil pollution.
Domestic wastes are discharged mostly in untreated condition due to the lack of treatment facilities. There are only available facilities for 390 million litres per day (MLD) as against the 1,200 MLD of domestic
sewage that is generated.
Exceptionally high concentrations of lead, cadmium, and mercury have been observed in Thane creeks on the Mumbai
Coast.
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