AHMEDABAD: They stand for hours in the thick soup of exhaust fumes each day, directing the endless stream of vehicles that pulse through traffic junctions in the city. But each breath of air these traffic cops take is slowly compromising their lung health.
An Aug 2024 study conducted on 100 traffic cops in the city, aged between 20 and 60 years, highlighted differences in lung function between 50 traffic officials exposed to vehicle emissions for five years and 50 officials working desk jobs.
The stakes are even higher for traffic officials who smoke. They underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs) that use a spirometer and a non-invasive handheld device to measure the amount of air a person can inhale and exhale as well as how quickly they can exhale.
The study reveals that a non-smoking official exposed to traffic pollution can still forcefully exhale about 2.31 litres of air in a second — a key measure of lung health called forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), which measures the volume of air a person can exhale in the first second of a forced breath, indicating how quickly the lungs can push air out.
Their smoking counterpart, however, manages only 1.95 litres, a difference that translates into noticeably laboured breathing. To put these numbers in perspective, traffic officials who work desk jobs and do not smoke can exhale 2.75 litres in that same second — nearly 41% more than their smoking counterparts out on the roads.
The study was conducted by Sajidali Saiyad, Tehsin Shaikh and Veena Jasuja from the physiology department at Kiran Medical College in Surat and the department of physiology, GMERS Medical College, Panchmahal, Godhra.
The research team measured lung function through several key metrics, each telling its own part of the story. Perhaps the most telling is the ratio of FEV1 to FVC (forced vital capacity) — essentially a measure of how efficiently lungs can pump air.
A healthy ratio typically exceeds 80%. FVC stands for the maximum volume of air a person can forcibly exhale after taking a full breath, reflecting the total capacity of the lungs. It was found that traffic officials who smoked and were exposed to pollution scored just 68%, while their non-smoking colleagues on the streets managed 75.7%.
Even more revealing is the peak expiratory flow rate — how quickly someone can exhale. Non-smoking officials on traffic duty average 372.4 litres per minute, while their smoking counterparts manage only 338.7 litres per minute.
Compare this to officials working desk jobs: non-smokers achieve 431.4 litres per minute, nearly 27% higher than their colleagues who smoke and manage traffic on the streets. “Our study emphasises the importance of protective measures like regular lung function checks and providing masks to reduce health risks from air pollution. We suggest stronger urban planning and pollution control to protect those in high-exposure jobs,” the study states.