Daniel Greenbaum, President of Health Effects Institute, USA, meets scientists, medical community, and air quality planners at a meeting organized by CSE

Health Effects Institute, based in the US, has remained in the forefront of research on air pollution and its health effects for the last two decades. It is a non-profit research institute jointly and equally funded by government and industry, and maintains its identity as an independent body. The numerous studies that it has produced also have a special significance in the context of air quality management in India, as these involve key issues like the health effects of diesel exhaust, oxygenates in petrol and link between particulate pollution and mortality and morbidity.

During his recent visit to India, Dr.Daniel Greenbaum, President of the US-based Health Effects Institute, expressed his desire to visit CSE. CSE took this opportunity to organize a round table meeting of Greenbaum and Dr.Robert O’Keefe, vice president of HEI with eminent physicians, environmentalists, professors and air quality planners on September 10. The principle idea behind this was to introduce the audience to the scientific and policy  issues that are emerging in the area of air pollution and health. It also served the purpose of getting authentic information from the institute itself, and this helped in proper interpretation of the studies.

Both Greenbaum and O’Keefe spoke at length discussing the key issues in research on health effects of air pollution. The interactive session provided the participants with an opportunity to discuss critical issues like measurement methods of air pollutants, their individual as well as combined health effects, exposure assessment of different population groups, particle size distribution and their speciation. While some studies have been done in India on the health effects of air pollution, these issues are yet to be looked into in detail. The participants also discussed the issue of oxygenates like MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) and ethanol. This is of critical importance as it is extremely important to choose the right oxygenate which, while ensuring cleaner burning of fuel, would not pose a hazard to public health in some other way.

They further informed about studies on particulate matter and its health effects carried out by HEI include short-term studies of acute effects of respirable particulate matter and long-term studies. The result of the National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study has shown a relatively consistent increase in mortality of around 0.5 per  cent per 10 mg/cubic metre of PM10. Even when other pollutants are present the effect of particulate matter is most predominant and overrules the effects of other pollutants. They also showed an association between sulphur dioxide and mortality even when other variables  like ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide showed no continuing association.

It emerged clearly that India must think of answering questions around toxicology and the additive or synergistic effects of particulates. Particulate matter epidemiology studies need to be carried out to further our understanding on health effects of air pollution, to protect human life.