Title: | Exposure to vehicular pollution and assessment of respiratory function in urban inhabitants |
Author(s): | Chattopadhyay BP; Mukherjee A; Mukherjee K; Roychowdhury A; |
Address: | "Respiratory Physiology, Regional Occupational Health Center (E), Kolkata, West Bengal, 700091, India. bpc_rohc_icmr@yahoo.co.in. Industrial Hygiene, Regional Occupational Health Center (E), Kolkata, West Bengal, 700091, India. Industrial Toxicology, Regional Occupational Health Center (E), Kolkata, West Bengal, 700091, India" |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00408-007-9015-0 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 0341-2040 (Print) 0341-2040 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Particulate matter less than PM(10) and aromatic chemicals formed during incomplete combustion of organic matter are major environmental pollutants because of their toxic potential. The present study reports on the respiratory morbidity pattern of people exposed to auto exhaust as a result of the traffic load consisting of three varieties of vehicles (heavy, medium, and light) at three different points: North (B), South (E), and Central (C) regions of Kolkata, India. Particle size distribution was analyzed by an Anderson cascade impactor and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analyzed by sorbent tube and capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization detector. Levels of VOCs, particularly benzene and toluene (at B, 15.2 and 20.1 microg/m(3); at E, 67.4 and 74.6 microg/m(3), and at C, 40.7 and 61.3 microg/m(3), respectively), were found to be appreciably high in three sites in Kolkata compared with the values reported by the U.S. EPA. PM(10) concentrations also have been found to be higher than the Central Pollution Control Board of India's permissible standard (=10 microm: B, 535.9; E, 909.2; C, 1114.5 microg/m(3); <10-3.3 microm: B, 269.8 microg/m(3); E, 460.1; C, 679.2 microg/m(3); and <3.3-0.4 microm: B, 266.1; E, 449.1; C, 435.3 microg/m(3)). Pulmonary function tests (PFT) of 505 inhabitants were performed in the three different areas using Spirovit SP-10 and Wrights peak flowmeter. The traffic load in the vicinity supported the occurrence of higher respiratory functional deterioration. PFT status showed restrictive (3.76%), obstructive (3.17%), and combined restrictive and obstructive types (1.98%) of impairment. Higher restrictive impairments in males might be due to their combined occupational and environmental exposures. The rate of increase of the number of vehicles on the roads of the city adds to the risk of greater problems due to exposure to hazardous substances that are less than PM(10), in particular, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and VOCs" |
Keywords: | Adult Air Pollutants/chemistry/*toxicity *Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Female Humans India Lung Diseases/*chemically induced/physiopathology Male Middle Aged Particle Size Particulate Matter/chemistry/*toxicity *Respiration Respiratory; |
Notes: | "MedlineChattopadhyay, Bhaskar Prasad Mukherjee, AsitKumar Mukherjee, Krishnendu Roychowdhury, Amal eng Multicenter Study Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2007/07/31 Lung. 2007 Sep-Oct; 185(5):263-270. doi: 10.1007/s00408-007-9015-0. Epub 2007 Jul 29" |