Chennai, Feb 28: The most talked about issue in our country in the recent days was the drop in quality of air in New Delhi and in few metropolitan cities across the country.
An interesting initiative was launched by Apollo Cancer Centre titled ‘The Billboard that Breathes’, a unique installation featuring human lungs, retrofitted with HEPA filters and a fan that mimics breathing, to visually demonstrate the impact of air pollution.
To educate and spread awareness and highlight environmental pollution, this initiative has caught the attention of people from all walks of life. The highlight of this installation is that one can witness the greying lungs as they breathe polluted air, day by day. ”Polluted air is known to be a leading cause of lung cancer and other cancers linked to the oral cavity,” a press release said.
The Apollo Cancer Centre’s initiative, as part of the Climate Action Month was launched along with Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and Jhatkaa.org.
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 smallest particles known as PM10 and PM2.5 are linked to lung cancers caused by pollution.” says the Cancer Research UK.
The PM levels will be monitored and real time reading will be displayed as part of the installation.
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.