Motley group to study air pollution impact on traffic cops in Bengaluru

Four professionals from different fields have come together to study the impact of air pollution on the health of traffic police personnel in Bengaluru. The Anti- Pollution Drive Foundation (APDF) will undertake a detailed study in August.

The group conducted a similar study in Mangaluru in May and found that 26% traffic police officials there have twisted lungs because of vehicular emission. A total of 115 police officials were studied in the port city. In Bengaluru, the study will cover more than 2,000 police officers.

The APDF had filed an RTI application with the Transport Department in January 2015, asking how many driving licences were revoked on account of vehicular emission in 2013 and 2014. The department replied that it had no information specific to Bengaluru and that no cases had been reported.

This prompted the group to undertake the study. The department registered cases against 25,411 vehicles in 2013 and 2014 and imposed a fine of Rs 1,18,60,080, but did not revoke a single licence though the Motor Vehicles Act provides for it, said Abdullah A Rehman, member, APDF. He said traffic police personnel were the worst affected by air pollution and a detailed study was needed to assess its impact on their health.

The study will assess the lung capacity of traffic police personnel. Thereafter, the group will provide them face masks especially designed by a doctor who is part of the APDF.

In May, the team also conducted a study on air pollution in Bengaluru and found that ambient air quality had increased by 57% in particulate matter in the last four years and 23% in the last one year. Another test to screen preliminary lung health of children aged 9-15 years showed that 36% of school-going kids suffer from poor lungs.

The group also conducted a health camp on 3,000 traffic police personnel in Bengaluru and found that 37.57% of the respondents had lead content in their blood. Most of them also reported watery eyes, coughing or wheezing.