Information for the General Public
Diesel Fumes Poison Babies in the Womb
During
pregnancy
women
crave
for
strange
foods.
Strange
as
it
may
seem,
some
even
crave
for
“diesel
fumes”.
Diesel
fuel
is
a
complex
mixture
of
aromatic
hydrocarbons
produced
by
distilling
crude
oil.
For
some
time,
s
cientists
have
been
indicating
that
the
pollution
caused
by
diesel
fumes
is
a
serious
health
risk.
They
have
now
found
that
tiny
particles
of
soot,
released
by
diesel
engines,
pass
through
a
woman’s
lung
and,
through
the
placenta,
to
the
foetus.
There
they
release
chemicals
called
polycyclic
aromatic
hydrocarbons
(PAH),
which
act
as
a
neurotoxin,
damaging
brain
development.
PAH
are
produced
by
many
sources
when
fuel
and
organic
substances
are
not
burnt
properly.
The
biggest
source
of
PAH
is
from
diesel
engines
of
motor vehicles in very crowded cities.
The
researchers,
led
by
Amy
Margolis,
a
medical
psychologist
at
Columbia
University
Medical
Centre
in
New
York,
tracked
462
children
from
the
time
they
were
conceived
to
the
time
they
were
aged
between
12
and
18.
Blood
samples
were
taken
from
the
mother
and
also
from
the
umbilical
cord,
when
the
children
were
born,
to
check
the
levels
of
pollution
mothers
were
exposed
to.
They
then
tracked
the
children’s
development.
The
results
showed
that
children
exposed
to
lowest
pollutant
levels
tended
to
mature
normally,
learnt
to
control
their
impulses
and
formed
good
relationship
with
their
peers.
Those
exposed
to
higher
levels
of
pollutants
tended
to
remain
impulsive,
were
slow
to
develop
social
skills
and
did
not
make
good
friends.
There
was
also
the
fear
that
they
had
a
higher risk of becoming antisocial.
Exposure
to
high
levels
of
PAH
during
the
last
three
months
of
pregnancy
also
carried
an
increased
risk
of
developing
autism
in
new
born
children.
In
another
study,
Columbia
researchers,
led
by
Bradley
Peterson,
scanned
the
brains
of
40
children.
The
results
suggested
that
children,
who
were
exposed
to
higher
levels
of
PAH
at
the
pre-natal
stage,
had
reduced
growth
of
white
matter
in
the
brain.
White
matter
is
responsible
for
how
the
brain
learns
and
functions.
It
is
also
responsible
for
co-ordination
and
communication
between
different
regions
of
the
brain.
These
children
exhibited
symptoms
of
“Attention
Deficit
Hyperactivity
Disorder”
(ADHD)
and
behavioral
problems.
Similar
findings
were
noted
during the days when petrol had lead compounds added to it.
When
I
see
the
increasing
number
of
two
wheelers
on
the
crowded
roads
in
India,
I
dread
to
think
of
the
number
of
people
being
poisoned
by
exhaust
fumes
from
vehicles.
Today
we
see
more
and
more
young
women
riding
motor
bikes
and
scooters.
Maternal
toxicity,
as
a
result
of
acute
exposure
to
diesel
fumes
during
pregnancy,
is
likely
to
be
a
major
determinant of the risk posed to the developing foetus.
If
you
consider
preserving
the
health
of
the
next
generation
in
your
country,
it
is
important
that
women
take
extra
care to avoid breathing polluted air containing diesel fumes when they are pregnant.
K. Badrinath