Health Hazards Due to Industrial
Air Pollution
Workshop Organized by Department of
Environment
April: 4, 2016
T K Joshi
MBBS, MS (Surgery), M.Sc.(LSHTM),
FFOM (Royal College of Physicians, London),
Cer. OEM (UCSF),
Visiting Professor, Drexel University School of Public Health,
Philadelphia
[email protected]
Air Pollution
• Outdoor,
• Indoor,
• Household
Outdoor, Air Pollution
Indoor, Air Pollution
Household Air Pollution
Sources of Air Pollution
• Transportation
• Domestic
• Industrial
Transport-Traffic
Industrial Air Pollution
• Combustion Emissions- onsite burning of fuel
for energy generation and transportation,
• Fugitive Emissions-Equipment Leak Emissions,
• Process Emissions –during the process,
• Storage and Handling Emissions – from
materials and other products
Nature
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Dusts,
Fumes,
Vapours,
Mists,
Aerosols,
Smoke,
Gases
Industrial Air Pollution
• Depends up on the nature of industry:
• The technology Used,
• Commitment of the Organization to contain
pollution,
• Pollution prevention and control measures,
How air pollution impacts health?
• Eating,
• Drinking,
• Breathing,
Industrial Air Pollution can Impact all
human organs
Impact on Workers’ Health
•Impact on
Communities-Public
Health Implications
Particulate Matter (PM)
• This is formed through chemical reactions,
fuel combustion (e.g., burning coal, wood,
diesel), industrial processes, farming
(plowing, field burning), and unpaved roads
or during road constructions.
• Short-term exposures can worsen heart or
lung diseases and cause respiratory problems.
• Long-term exposures can cause heart or lung
disease and sometimes premature deaths.
Lead (Pb)
• Smelters (metal refineries) and other metal
industries; combustion of leaded gasoline in
piston engine aircraft; waste incinerators
(waste burners), and battery manufacturing.
• Damages the developing nervous system,
resulting in IQ loss and impacts on learning,
memory, and behavior in children.
Cardiovascular and renal effects in adults and
early effects related to anaemia.
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
• Fuel combustion (electric utilities, big
industrial boilers, vehicles) and wood
burning.
• Worsens lung diseases leading to respiratory
symptoms, increased susceptibility to
respiratory infection.
Ground-level Ozone (O3)
• Secondary pollutant formed by chemical
reaction of volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) and NOx in the presence of sunlight.
• Decreases lung function and causes
respiratory symptoms, such as coughing and
shortness of breath, and also makes asthma
and other lung diseases get worse.
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
• SO2 comes from fuel combustion (especially
high-sulfur coal);
• electric utilities and industrial processes as
well as natural occurrences like volcanoes.
Impact - Aggravates asthma and makes
breathing difficult.
• It also contributes to particle formation with
associated health effects.
Prevention and Control
• Almost all health disorders due to industrial air pollution
have no known treatment,
• Therefore, we need to prevent by
• Understanding the nature of pollution
• Measuring the levels of air pollution
• Using technologies that are less polluting,
• Using fuel that are less polluting,
• Educating engineers, supervisors and workers,
• Giving information to workers of the hazards and to stop
smoking,
• Health Surveillance,
• Personal Protective Equipment – Use by training workers
• Masks
• Respirators
Masks
Summary
• Industrial Air Pollution creates multitudes of hazards
and risks to humans, and more to workers who work
close to it,
• Such pollution enters through lungs and gets
distributed to all parts of the body,
• A number of respiratory, and other health disorders
result from this pollution,
• Understanding its nature, causes, use of better
technology, an occupational health programme that
includes information to workers, training, health
surveillance, Respiratory protection are key to
prevention as such health disorders can not be treated.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Y7MPo
Sf0Q