A Slap !! didn't get but felt it !!

Anyone when asked to talk about pollution,will begin with Air pollution,Water pollution,Noise pollution,Plastic usage etc..And very often they name 100's of chemical names like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide,chlorofluorocarbons,hydrocarbons etc..Can a common man understand all  these terms ??

I was assigned to write an article based on pollution for a magazine I work for.It wasn't a huge task for me,to write on since a search in internet can provide you hundred's of sites and articles.

I needed their help because I didn't know the meaning of "sulphur dioxide,hydrocarbons,carbon monoxide"etc.Two things I was only aware of was Oxygen and Carbondioxide.

Sitting on a rocking chair with a lightened cigarette between my fingers was thinking about adding on somethings of my own to make this article interesting because I knew otherwise this could end half read by people and be rated as "Mediocre".

My five year old kid Rochelle came up and asked about the topic I'm writing on..She asked me about the things that add up to these pollution and what are the results of these pollution on all living things.I replied with Vehicles,plastics,gases,smokes etc..as caused and asthma,cancer,skin diseases and even fatal deaths.

Rochelle :Dad,Who will help us from all these pollutions ?

Me          :No one,may be the government must bring some strict rules.I think only they can do something big in these issues.

Rochelle :Dad,my teacher told inhaling smoke is a very harmful health hazard and it's very dangerous especially for newborn babies.Dad,I thought about your smoking habit during my teachers lecture.My younger sister who crawl on these carpets inhales the dust,chemicals and when she lick her tiny fingers those will contain the ash from your cigarette.Dad,will we be victims for pollution ?

Me          :Silence.

Rochelle :Does government agency has authority to control indoor air pollutants ?

I felt like I got slapped by a kid ,I didn't have any answer for her and I couldn't even look at her eyes.I never felt anything when I read through 10-20 articles on pollution written by top freelance writers.But my 5 year old kid made me feel like a culprit !!

Everyone must understand the fact that how much health hazards do we contribute.

I realized pollution isn't the one that happens outdoor only.And it's a very strange fact that pollution levels in houses are many times higher than those from the outdoors, even when compared to city air where trucks and factories belch pollution.

As my kid said,gases from cigarette smoke stick to carpets, draperies and even fruit, and over time are eaten or inhaled.

There are many factors in home that contribute to pollution and can even be termed as a factory of pollution if not taken care of.

1)The use of normal plastic bags for waste disposal must be avoided first,instead polythene airtight bags must be used.In this the contamination and chemical changes of plastics doesn't anymore occur at our home.

2)Frying chicken at the stove, spraying ants with insecticide, taking a hot shower, plugging in a room freshener, or sudsy the rug with detergent ,all these release chemicals that swirl around rooms like invisible dust devils.

3)Household products, furnishings and cosmetics release vapors and particles that people can inhale or absorb through the skin. Then there are the pollutants that are tracked into the house from outside or allowed to waft through open windows that add to the hazard.

4)Chlorinated hot water in the kitchen sink, washing machine, dishwasher and the shower can release chloroform, a carcinogen. Emissions increase when people use chlorine bleaches and dishwater detergents containing bleach.

5)In the 1950s and 1960s, health officials recognized that lead paint and the lead in surface dust was exposing people to neurological problems, particularly babies and children crawling on floors and putting hands in their mouths. Dutch scientists found that nitrogen dioxide, which causes respiratory problems, wasn't just an outdoor problem but was also created indoors by gas- fired heaters and stoves.

6)Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and damages the respiratory health of children. Now coronary heart disease is also linked to secondhand smoke.

7)Leave shoes at the door. When vacuuming, open the windows and ventilate. Don't spray chemicals or put on nail polish inside the house. Avoid air fresheners, scented candles and incense.

Many more things like Air conditioner,dust on papers,wet beds contribute to major health hazards.

8)Use of pesticides can be very dangerous to infants.If chemicals in air are visible then we would not enjoy seeing our kid inhaling it.

We may not take care for ourselves,but for our children we must.Because we do not want to see them disease prone like asthma,a cancer patient, physically challenged or get cremated in front of our eyes.