Cement dust exposure on human health

India is facing a serious double burden of disease. Most of the old infectious diseases like malaria, filariasis and kala-azar have not yet disappeared; indeed they are bouncing back. At the same time, other chronic non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disorders are becoming more dominant. It is becoming clear that the pattern of economic growth that we are adopting is becoming increasingly associated with environmental pollution. A study comparing the rates of economic growth and the rates of growth of vehicular pollution and industrial pollution shows that during 1975–1995, the Indian economy grew by 2.5 times, but the industrial pollution load grew by 3.47 times and the vehicle pollution load by 7.5 times. Indeed, Indian cities are being exposed to high levels of air pollution and people living in these cities are paying a price for the deterioration in air quality. The World Bank has estimated that Indians are spending Rs 4550 crores every year on treatment of diseases caused by ambient air pollution (Current Science, 1999). Air quality affects human health. Nearly 1.4 billion urban residents in the world breathe air that fails the WHO air quality standards. At the global level, mortality due to exposure to outdoor air pollution is estimated to range from 200,000 to 570,000.In Indian cities, among the most polluted in the world, available mortality and morbidity statistics indicate that respiratory infections and chronic conditions are widespread. The Indian cement industry is a potentially high polluter and the country's biggest excise payer. Among the industrial sectors, the cement industry