NEW DELHI: For the first time in India, a study on nitrogen pollution has been done by scientists from the Indian Nitrogen Group (ING) in collaboration with the Centre for Science and Education.
“The rising cases of blue baby syndrome and the neglect of nitrogen in discussions of climate change prompted us to undertake the assessment,” ING co-founder N Raghuram said.
Caused by nitrate contamination in groundwater, blue baby syndrome decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity of haemoglobin in babies leading to death.
Pointing out that nitrous oxide was 300 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, Raghuram said a major cause of nitrogen pollution was the excessive use of urea. Urea use has gone up by a whopping 800 per cent in the last 50 years. “The government plans to ensure that urea usage is reduced by 50 per cent in the next five years. But our estimates show, with prescribed techniques, urea usage can be reduced by around 35 per cent by 2030.”
“Nitrogen pollution is caused by various factors like diesel, poultry and growth of cash crops. But around 70 per cent of the pollution is caused by agriculture, mainly growth of rice and wheat.”
The study was conducted in the wheat- and rice-growing states across the country. While nitrate levels in Punjab and Haryana are 94.3 mg/ litre and 72.8 mg/ litre, WHO mandates it should not be more than 14 mg/ litre. Both states recorded a rise in blue baby syndrome cases in the second half of 2017.