The Circumference of Pollution

 The Circumference of Pollution

By Avikal Aggarwal


Pollution is a menace to our modern way of life. We face this scourge in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the noise we hear every day. A lot of focus is given to air and water pollution as that is visible and makes a good picture for the newspapers. The smog in Delhi during the winter months is headline news everywhere. The froth in the rivers also gets a fair bit of coverage and underlines the water contamination and pollution problem in many cities in India including Delhi and Bangalore. In Delhi, there is a full commission called the Commission for Air Quality Management which monitors air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR). Similarly, for the cleaning of our rivers we have projects like Namami Gange for water pollution. A large amount of attention and funding is provided by the government for these kinds of pollution. 

Air and water pollution are very clear and present dangers to our society and the need for identification and mitigation of these cannot be overemphasized. The health of our generation and our future generations are at stake. It may be easy to dismiss them as a “climate change problem” but we need to recognize pollution as a specific and immediate concern rather than something that will come in the next decade. Bad air and dirty water is already impacting us and will cost us heavily in the form of poor quality of life and lost productivity. 

The headline dominating focus on air and water completely ignores an equally dangerous kind of pollution – noise. Noise can impact our hearing and sensitivity to sound. Amongst other sensory impacts, noise has a direct impact on our brain and can lead to related problems like mood swings, headaches and migraines. Our cities are replete with honking vehicles, construction equipment and lots of other high decibel noise that is equally damaging for our health. Most of us and our friends have almost forgotten what stillness is all about. Cars, airplanes, mobile phones, etc just keep adding to the noise we encounter every day. Noise reducing regulation is either nonexistent or non-compliant.

Even as dentists, we face a lot of noise via the air-rotor as well as the suction machine and many other sources. Even the air conditioner can become a source of constant noise that can exceed the prescribed safe limit. Inside the safe environment of the hospital we should try to minimize this noise by regular maintenance, acoustic walls and other sound reducing methods. Controlling the internal surroundings may be easier than doing the same for the external surroundings. As a result, we should consider creating a layout in the hospital which is favourable to reduce or diffuse loud noises caused by dental chairs and instruments. Moreover, noise pollution can be troublesome for patients on the dental chair, especially if they are younger in age. So, something like a nice aquarium or themed based paint on the walls could be great distractions to counter the mental disturbance caused by noise. 

If we all take accountability for the areas under our control, we can start bringing a consciousness of change into the community and system. It may soon become a best practice that can slowly percolate into other opportunities of noise management. 

We need to make sure we take small steps that can lead to big solutions for reduction of pollution. Noise reduction can be a good start!

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