APD Foundation Pulmonary Function Test – Phase 2
- Auto Rickshaw Drivers Screened
Mangaluru: After conducting a Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) on the traffic policemen of Mangaluru, Anti-Pollution Drive (APD) Foundation has initiated Phase-2 to assess the health impact of air pollution on auto rickshaw drivers of the city. This project was initiated last week with the student interns of IFIM Business School, Bengaluru who were interning at APD Foundation.
The study is being conducted under the guidance of Dr Don Gregory a pulmonologist at Fr Mullers. Rickshaw drivers, being outdoor workers, are continuously exposed to air pollution and vulnerable to its ill effects. Sujith Kumar of Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc., is collecting the data with a spirometer. This study will further enable us to understand an integrated assessment of the impact of air pollution on Mangaluru city.
Although 250 rickshaw drivers have been screened a sample size of 500 drivers is targeted and the drivers will be screened and data such as their age, years of services, smoking/non-smoker, asthmatic history, family respiratory history and weight are collected.
Recently Anti-Pollution Drive (APD) Foundation has assessed the air quality levels of Mangaluru under their project called Shuddha Gaali, and deficiencies in air quality were observed at several places in the city.
“Air pollution is a rising concern in the country and it is our concern that there is no data available to showcase the impact it has created on our environment and its people. We are hoping our data and numbers will fill the gap in the system and help our lawmakers and policymakers to devise appropriate solutions or enforce existing laws to mitigate air pollution and its rising impact on our city,” says Abdullah A Rehman, Founder, APD Foundation.