Twin-towers demolition: People with respiratory issues should avoid area for few days, say doctors

As the nearly 100metretall Supertech twin towers were razed to the ground on Sunday doctors said people living nearby especially those suffering from respiratory diseases should take extra care and avoid the area for a few days if possibleThe demolition of nearly 100metretall structures generated an estimated 80000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste and sent huge clouds of dust billowing in the airThe doctors said most dust particles are 5 microns or less and can remain suspended in the air for a few days in the absence of favourable meteorological conditions like strong winds and rainMassive dust pollution can lead to itching in the eyes nose and skin coughing sneezing breathing difficulty lung infection nasal congestion asthmatic attacks and aggravate heart problems they saidAlso Read Twin towers demolition Supertech says it lost Rs 500 crDr Jugal Kishore head of Community Medicine department at the Safdarjung Hospital said The dust particles will remain suspended for quite some time in case of low wind speed People suffering from respiratory problems chronic obstructive pulmonary disease asthma and bronchitis should avoid the area if possibleThey should limit exposure to the affected area for at least 48 hours Others living in and around the area should avoid exercises for a few days he saidDr Kishore said people having respiratory diseases should keep taking medicine regularly and consult doctors if their problems aggravateDr Yudhyavir Singh Assistant Professor Critical Care AIIMS said Particulate matter of size smaller than 25 microns will be a problem This is likely to increase episodes of coughing sneezing asthmatic attacks lung infection nasal congestion breathing difficulty Viruses may also piggyback the fine particles and increase infection rate as its the flu seasonPeople should take precaution and keep a buffer stock of medicines Use N95 masks and eyeglasses till pollutants dissipate Wear fullsleeve clothes and avoid morning walks for a few days Consult doctors if problems worsen he saidDr Dipankar Saha former chief of the Central Pollution Control Boards air lab said Noida authorities should keep an eye on air pollution level till the debris is cleared with the help of lowcost sensorsModelling should be done to ascertain the zone of influence The people living in and around the area should monitor air quality and step out only in unavoidable circumstances Avoid exposure for a few days Water sprinkling on regular intervals will help immensely he saidThe air pollution problem will persist till the debris is cleared and it is certainly going to affect the health of people A study may be done to ascertain the impact of this demolition Dr Saha saidThe towers taller than Delhis iconic Qutub Minar are the tallest structures yet in India to be demolishedOver 3700 kg explosives were used to bring down the structures in pursuance of a Supreme Court order that found their construction within the Emerald Court society premises in violation of normsAround 5000 residents of Emerald Court and adjoining ATS Village societies in Sector 93A vacated their premises on Sunday morning and took away 150200 pets including cats and dogs with them for the dayThe closest buildings next to twin towers are Aster 2 and Aster 3 of Emerald Court society which are just nine metres awayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever