One of the main reasons given for nationalising the coalmines of India was to protect workers from accidents. What followed was large scale destruction of the environment. Now, the danger is not just from accidents that kill. For the residents of coal tow

Pulmonary responses of children chronically exposed to ambient air pollution in Calcutta have been investigated. A total number of 153 children from Calcutta and 116 from rural West Bengal in the age group of 6-17 yr were included in this study. Respiratory symptom complex, sputum cytology and micronucleus (MN) count of buccal epithelial cells were evaluated.

The prevalence of respiratory problems and the ventilatory functions in subjects belonging to three sample areas with different levels of pollution was studied to ascertain if there is any association between air pollutant levels and abnormal ventilatory functions.