Cancerous pollutant on the rise in Mumbai

The city’s vehicular emission load may have dropped this year, but Mumbaikars still can’t breathe easy. A new Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) report claimed that the level of a cancerous substance, benzo alpha pyrene, has gone up beyond the permitted level.

According to the latest environment status report (ESR) for 2009-2010, the city’s car population has grown by 5.3%. However, the vehicular emission load dropped to 383.69 tonne per day (tpd) this year from last year’s 413.41tpd. Analysis of the suspended particulate matters (SPM) shows that the benzo alpha pyrene’s volume in the air varies from 1.09 to 2.56 micro grams per 1,000 cubic metre, which is above the permitted level of 1 micro gram per 1,000 metre.

“Benzopyrene is a well known carcinogen (cancer-causing substance),” said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, head and neck surgeon, Tata Memorial Hospital. “Whenever tar burns — whether in a cigarette or in coal tar — it releases the pollutant.”

Benzo alpha pyrene, like sulphur dioxide, gets diluted, he said, adding that there shouldn’t be any cause for concern at this stage.
Chaturvedi said it was difficult to conclude that benzo alpha pyrene would cause problems based on the findings of one report.