*SPM, RSPM surpass previous records at all stations
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 31: Thick smog was witnessed over major parts of Jammu city this morning due to burning of crackers on the night of Diwali with levels of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) surpassing all the previous records. The alarmingly high level of air pollution suggests that time has come for the administration to check sale of crackers particularly those generating maximum pollutants and putting the health of all the living beings to the grave risk.
Shockingly, the level of noise as well as air pollution was equivalently alarming even in those areas which however have been declared as silence zone mainly because of lack of seriousness on the part of administration in enforcing the rules governing the field.
According to the data of J&K State Pollution Control Board, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR, there was increase in emission level on Diwali this year in comparison to day of Diwali during all the previous years and this clearly established that use of crackers is increasing continuously and without any check on its sale particularly the Chinese ones which are considered to be the major source of pollution.
Due to high level of pollution generated by crackers, thick smog was witnessed all over the city this morning with noxious gases and pollutants hanging very close to the surface. Even the visibility was reduced to large extent because of smog and it was the testimony of how the people of City of Temples had played with the environment last night.
During the Diwali day in 2014, the State Pollution Control Board had measured SPM at 255 ug/m3 and RSPM at 151 ug/m3 at its Narwal Monitoring Station. Similarly, at MA Stadium Monitoring Station, the SPM was 261 ug/m3 and RSPM 143 ug/m3 during 2014 Diwali. However during this year Diwali, the SPM was recorded at 278 ug/m3 and RSPM at 167 ug/m3 at Narwal Monitoring Station while as at MA Stadium the SPM was recorded at 275 ug/m3 and RSPM at 157 ug/m3.
According to the data, there was increase of 15.8% in SPM and 19.2% in RSPM at Narwal Monitoring Station this year as compared to recordings of Diwali day in 2015 while as increase in SPM was 18% and in RSPM was 26.6% this year as compared to Diwali day in 2015 at MA Stadium Monitoring Station.
It is pertinent to mention here that standard limits for 24 hours monitoring for RSPM is 100 ug/m3 and SPM 200 ug/m3. The RSPM are finer particles, which, when inhaled, can cause damage to lungs and exposure to these can irritate lungs and can cause lung constriction, shortness of breath and cough and it aggravates asthma and other respiratory problems.
RSPMs are more dangerous to health because they are much small than SPM. These superfine particles can penetrate deeper into the lungs and can make inhaler more prone to heart diseases, chronic bronchitis, asthma and even lung cancer.
As per the data, at Narwal Monitoring Station, the SPM was recorded at 226 ug/m3 a day before Diwali this year but on the day of Diwali the same was recorded at 278 ug/m3. Similarly, RSPM was 119 ug/m3 a day before Diwali this year but on the day of Diwali it was recorded at 167 ug/m3. Likewise, on day before Diwali the SPM was 230 ug/m3 and RSPM was 125 ug/m3 at MA Stadium but on Diwali SPM was recorded at 275 ug/m3 and RSPM at 157 ug/m3.
“This clearly indicates that air pollution was more on the day of Diwali this year as compared to previous days as well as during previous Diwali festivals”, said Dr Yash Paul, Head Labs of State Pollution Control Board, who personally monitored the air pollution level on the instructions of Regional Director, Showkat Chowdhary, adding “the health of people of Jammu was at greater risk on the day of Diwali as compared to routine days”.
About the noise level, the data reveals that level of noise was 79 dB(A) at Gole Market Gandhi Nagar this year as compared to 74.5 dB(A) during previous Diwali. Similarly, at Bakshi Nagar, which otherwise has been declared as silence zone, the noise level was at 82.4 dB(A) on the day of Diwali this year as compared 81.9 dB(A) during previous Diwali. At Rehari Chungi, the noise level was recorded at 85.9 dB(A) this Diwali as compared to 82 dB(A) during previous Diwali.
This indicates that noise level was exceeding at almost all the places this year as compared to Diwali last year. The standard limit for noise level in residential area is 55 dB(A) and in silence zone the same is 50 dB(A). In industrial and commercial areas, the standard limits are 75 dB(A) and 65 dB(A) respectively.
“The prevailing situation suggests that time has come for the administration to check growing use of crackers particularly the Chinese ones, which according to the experts generate much more pollution and noise than other crackers”, general observers said, adding “if the administration cannot enforce complete ban on the sale of crackers at least it should be ensured that those generating maximum noise and pollutants don’t reach the market”.
“If this trend is not checked the situation will worsen during the festival of Diwali in coming years and instead of celebrating the festival people would be virtually sending an invitation to the grave health hazards”, they said.
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