Children - Terre des Hommes

77Children in stone quarries hit by lung diseaseAnuradha Mascarenhas | Posted: Jan 05, 2008 at0000 hrs ISTPune, January 4 With their play tools being stone, mudand dust, children living in stone quarries in Pune districtare exposed to environmental pollutants and face a highrisk of chronic lung disease. Checking on the healthconditions of children living at stone quarries at Moshiand Moi, some 20 kms away from Pune city, medicos weretaken aback at their dismal lung function capacity.The peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) of 150 childrenliving at stone quarries at Moshi and Moi were examinedand compared to those of children living in urban slumareas near Bhosari. The team of experts from the D YPatil Medical College, Pimpri, who conducted the studyand presented their findings at an international pediatricconference in Athens, were shocked to find a variationamong the PEFR rates of children living at stone quarriesand in urban slums.Says Dr Sharad Agharkhedkar, head of the college’sDepartment of Paediatrics, the average PEFR of childrenliving at stone quarries was 92.98 litres per minute ascompared to the children living in urban slum areaswhose PEFR was an approximate 135.2 litres per minute.“The peak flow meter measures the patient’s maximumability to expel air from the lungs or the PEFR. Peakflow readings are higher when patients are well andlower when the airways are constricted,” explains DrSampada Tambolkar, one of the coordinators of the studythat observed the children for a period of three months.From changes in recorded values, patients and doctorscan determine the lung functionality, severity of asthmasymptoms and treatment options.This constant exposure to particulate matter in theform of dust particles has shown that there is asignificant variation in the PEFR among children livingat stone quarries. Children in the age group 3-18 yearswere observed for three months. Another batch of150 children was identified at a slum in Bhosari. ``Weobserved that they suffered from symptoms like recurrentcold and cough, runny nose and breathlessness,’’ saysAgharkhedkar who concluded in the study that exposureto dust particles has resulted in wheezing.Ambaulim students face mining dust inclassroom!Saturday, December 12, 2009Seen in the photo dust created at the speed breaker dueto spread of ore and primary school situated by the sideof the road. Photo by John Fernandes.The students of Government primary School AmbaulimChinchawada Quepem are constantly exposed to dustpollution created by the overloaded mining truck.The Government primary school which is adjacent to theQuepem Ambaulim main road wherein 19 students arestudying. That just opposite to the school, in order toregulate the speed of the mining truck the PWD has putup a speed breaker. All the mining trucks plying over thisroute are overloaded, the iron ore constantly drops onthe road particularly at the speed breaker which graduallyturns into dust. “The dust problem is so much that mostof the school children has developed sinus problem asa result the student often are sick which result in dropin attendance” informed the teacher of the school whencontacted on a condition not to publish her name.http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/children-in-stonequarries-hit-by-lung-disease/257713/http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/2009/12/seen-in-photo-dustcreated-at-speed.html