Effects of Air Pollution

1. Effect on human health

• Polluted air causes respiratory disorders such as bronchitis and

allergies.

• Smog is a killer precipitation. It can cause bronchial affictions

that may lead to death.

• Carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin and impedes

oxygen transport in the blood.

1. Effects on vegetation.

• It increases the acidity of Soils.

• Acid rain can damage or destroy forest trees.

• Air pollutants inhibit the growth of lichens on trees.

1. Effects on building and monuments.

• Acid rains and Smog can damage historical monuments.

• One of the air pollutants chlorofluro carbons (CFCS) can oxidize

rubber goods.

• World famous architecture of St. Paul Cathedrell is getting

spoiled for about one inch for every 100 years. The famous stone
sculptures of Greece and Italy and the world famous liberty statue
are losing their

TAJ MAHAL REMAINS UNEFECTED BY AIR POLLUTION

Agra: Fifteen years after the Supreme Court of India announced a

set of measures to protect the Taj Mahal and nearby historical
monuments from air pollution, they still remain at risk.
A slew of initiatives have been taken and millions of rupees have
been spent. A natural gas pipeline has been laid to supply clean
fuel to industries in Agra and Firozabad, diesel-run three-wheelers
have been replaced by CNG-fuelled vehicles and heavy
investments have been made in the Mathura refinery to reduce
pollution.

But the ground realities haven't changed much, say the citizens of
Agra. D.K. Joshi, a member of the committee set up by the apex
court to see that its directives are carried out, says a lot has to be
done before "one can say Agra has become environmentally safe
for the Taj Mahal".

Increased commercialisation through tourism promotion is

adversely affecting conservational efforts.

Recently, the Taj has also been damaged by the 'beauty treatment' it
received - application of Multani mitti (Fuller's earth). It has ended
up disfiguring the white marble structure, say local residents.

Two years ago eminent historian R. Nath had warned against mud
pack therapy for the Taj. Now others confirm his apprehensions.

"The white patches are visible and the colour differentiation can be
noticed by any discernible observer, because measures to contain
dust particles have largely failed. There is no proper or modern
equipment to clean up the monument. There is a shortage of
manpower. It is an unplanned and haphazard kind of
conservational effort," Shamsuddin, president of the Agra Guides
Association, told IANS.

Due to the power shortage, thousands of diesel generators continue

to run in the city, adding to the pollution load. The wood burning
crematorium in the shadow of the Taj has not been shifted either.
The green belt around the Taj has been slowly converted into
commercial space with land allotted to hotels. All this is adding to
the pollution pressure on the fragile structure.

Joshi said 19,000 saplings were planted in the Taj Nature Walk a
few years ago, but not a single one has survived. "Five thousand
were planted when (then Pakistan president) Musharraf came;
hardly any survive.

"Similarly the density of population had to be reduced around the

Taj, but the population has increased to 350,000 today, with more
vehicles and more waste heaps around the monument.

"Instead of clearing up population clusters, the Agra Development

Authority has gone on a house building spree with Taj phase one,
two and now three. Instead of trees you see only concrete
structures all around the Taj Mahal," Joshi told IANS.

"The city is more dusty, noisy, and ugly today than it was 30 years
ago when the environmental crusade was first launched to secure
the historical monuments from air pollution," says environmental
engineer R.K. Gupta, who installed scores of pollution control
equipment in the early 1990s to save Agra industries from being
closed or shifted.