How Polluted is the Air we breath???

Chennai had the distinction of hosting the release of the first report by a Community initiative to monitor and broadcast the ambient air quality in India recently (on the 5th June the 'World Environment Day').

It is an example of people taking control of not merely solving issues, but, doing what the regulatory bodies in India cannot do (Claude Alvares, a member of the Supreme Court Committee on Hazardous Waste Management in this meeting said that,
"The Regulatory Authority in India has no way of measuring the nature of Air
quality and it wont happen for another 20 years".

The community testing that took place in 12 locations using a rather simple looking bucket methods went about with a simple idea to get to know the list of commonly found toxic gases in ambient air across the country.

A total of 45 toxic chemicals including 13 carcinogens were found in the air samples tested. The chemicals target virtually every part of the human body - eyes, central nervous system, skin, respiratory system, liver, kidneys, blood, reproductive system... 28 of the 45 chemicals violate the US EPA screening levels for Residential Air.

Some startling facts from this monitoring report:
1. Some toxic chemicals in Chemplast PVC effluent channel exceeds the screening level by a factor of 32,000 (GOD CANNOT HELP PEOPLE THERE)
2. Perungudi(whom to call) dumping yard downwind contained a chemical which exceeded the screening levels by more than 34000 times (and where does the IT Sector go to breathe???)
3. The above two chemicals are carcinogenic, by the way.
4. 27 toxic chemicals were recorded in samples collected at perungudi?!?!!?
5. the sample taken from near Chemplast plant at mettur registered the highest number of carcinogens found in any sample.
....
and on and on....repulsive enough...but, if you live in Perungudi and according to Wikepedia it has increased (!), then they better know what they are breathing...many of the new IT Companies are coming up around Perungudi too!!!

And if some one is in Sanmar Chemplast group Mettur plant vicinity in Mettur, they are better elsewhere.

13th June 2006
p.s.: get more information?? www.sipcotcuddalore.com or call Shwetha at 24463763

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