Jammu, July 3: There is bad health news for the   residents of Jammu as the presence of suspended particles in the city atmosphere have exceeded the  limit  considered as safe for breathing , experts said on Saturday.
 According to the data of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respiratory Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) has witnessed a steep rise in the past two decades, crossing the limits suggested as safe by the health experts.
 According to the scientists monitoring the pollution level in Jammu daily, the normal limit of SPM   that  should be 100 micrograms is between 110-114 micrograms   and the RSPM (normal limit around 200 micrograms) is a around 220 to 230 micrograms, indicating that the  air in the city is unsuitable for breathing at most places. The PCB has three units within the city at MA stadium, Narwal and Bari Brahmana industrial area.
 "In recent years, suspended particles in the air have shown constant increase due to increase in vehicular traffic and dust generated by construction activity. It has become a major cause of respiratory diseases and burning eye symptoms among the people", said Dr Yashpaul, scientist at PCB.
 He said although there is slight variation in the concentration during rainy days, particularly during monsoon season, but over all pollution level has reached to alarming level in the city during past some years, particularly in the last decade.
 Paul said pollution was more pronounced at congested areas of Kachi Chawni, Jewel chowk, Narwal, Canal road and Bus stand, which has high concentration of vehicular traffic.
 Airborne suspended particulate matter was an important marker of air quality. "The term particulate matter include organic and inorganic matter, Nitrogen compounds, Sulphur compounds, Polycyclic aromatic, hydrocarbons and several heavy metals", Dr Yashpaul said.
 As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)guidelines, each monitoring station is operated for two days a week for eight hour duration, to monitor the SPM/RSPM levels an for four hour to monitor Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide gases level.
 "Most city residents are inhaling poor quality air and this is likely to worsen in the coming years, keeping in view the high concentration of vehicles per kilometer and expansion of industries", said an official.
According to a recent study conducted by the scientists at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Science and technology (SKUAST), Jammu has seen one degree Celsius rise in temperature in the last over 20 years due to the destruction of green patches and urbanization.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 3 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 3 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 4 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST