CHENNAI, FEB 27
Have you ever seen what vehicular emissions, construction/road dust and other gaseous pollutants harm your lungs? Now it is possible with the initiative of the Apollo Cancer Centre at Teynampet in Chennai
As part of the Climate Action Month, the Apollo Cancer Centre in association with Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and Jhatkaa.org has launched a novel initiative by installing ‘Billboard that Breaths’.
It throws light on the serious health risk that arises due to pollutants in our atmosphere. What pollutants could cause to us is impersonated by the artificial giant size white lungs installed at Apollo Cancer Centre. Eventually the lungs are bound to turn completely black. The Air Quality Index reading were as below on the following days. On a average the air quality index remains at 141.
This is a unique installation that depicts the human lungs, retrofitted with HEPA filters and a fan that mimics breathing, to visually demonstrate the impact of air pollution. You can witness the greying lungs as they breathe polluted air, day by day.
Month-long event to demystify climate emergency
The focus of this month-long event is to demystify climate emergency and draw attention to the need for concerted action at the individual and a collective level to address it, a release from Apollo Cancer Centre said.
Apart from negatively impacting cardiovascular health, polluted air is known to be a leading cause of lung cancer and other cancers linked to the oral cavity.
In 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) confirmed that outdoor air pollution is a cause of cancer. Tiny dust-like particles just millionths of a meter wide, called ‘particulate matter’, make up a part of outdoor air pollution. The smallest particles known as PM10 and PM2.5 are linked to lung cancers caused by pollution” says the Cancer Research UK. A WHO report estimates that about 4.2 million premature deaths globally are linked to ambient air pollution, mainly from heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections in children.
Most particles form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are pollutants emitted from thermal power plants, industries and automobiles. The PM levels will be monitored and real-time reading will be displayed as part of the installation, the release added.
Apollo Hospitals urging the public to share this message across Namma Chennai through #LetChennaiBreathe #ApolloHospitals the release further said.
