CHENNAI: G Banumathi was shocked when she first found black spots in her phlegm, over five years ago. After speaking to her neighbours, she realised she was not alone. The 39-year-old resident of Jothi Nagar in Thiruvottiyur, who till then was oblivious to the effects of air pollution on her health, could no longer afford to be ignorant.
Nestled between petrochemical industries, fertilizer manufacturing units, thermal power stations, and hundreds of heavy trucks, Thiruvottiyur, like many other settlements in North Chennai, has been a victim of air pollution for over a decade now. A few days back, posh localities in the heart of Chennai went into a panic mode after being covered in a blanked of toxic smog.
What really happened, as per experts, is that the rest of Chennai got a whiff of the air that those in Northern neighbourhoods breathe every day. “After examining my sputum, my general physician said that it was soot residue. He said that I had to shift-out from my area as fast as I could,” says Banumathi, a housewife.
The sporadic incidents of cough, she says, has slowly snowballed into wheezing episodes for her and her family. “Nasal sprays and other medication do not help much anymore.” K Devasena (43), a kindergarten teacher in Thiruvottiyur, says that air pollution has affected kids more than adults.
“In my school, no child under Class 3, received the 100 per cent attendance award over the last few years. Even the most obedient kids fall sick at least once or twice a month,” says Devasena. Respiratory diseases are common, but they aren’t the only problem with which the people here have to deal.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior doctor says the blood oxygen saturation levels in this area residents are lower compared to the average. This is indicative of poor functioning of lungs, or low oxygen carrying capacity in blood. “While the healthy range is 99-100, and it’s normal to have a few patients within the 94-100 range, the number of people with levels around 94-95 is abnormally high in this area,” says the doctor. “Even though people do not immediately connect the dots, many cardiac diseases is a result of prolonged exposure to air pollution.”