Nairobi is full of vehicle fumes. Nairobi residents are used to some vehicles, especially big commercial vehicles driving by and leaving plumes of dark smoke.  This is worse during traffic snarl ups when the smoke becomes unbearable.  I constantly struggle to breathe as I briskly walk in an effort to reach home before my lungs collapse from lack of clean air.

My friends say that I exaggerate when I try to explain the horror that unconcerned motorists are releasing on our lungs with impunity. ?I Am used to it?, they say. I find it difficult to understand how anyone could ever get used to this situation. How does a whole city such as Nairobi get used to an atmosphere that is killing us? How do you get past that choking cloud of exhaust fumes?

Maybe we aren?t aware of the consequences that we may face.  Vehicle exhaust fumes present significant risks to our health.  They contain many toxic substances including Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide, Benzene, Formaldehyde, Polycyclic hydrocarbons, Lead and Tiny suspended particles (?particulate matter?). Lead is mostly from the exhaust fumes of diesel engines (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/exhaust_emissions.shtml).

Many other sites have explained the adverse effects each these substances have on our health.  Ever heard of Carbon monoxide poisoning? It?s similar to suffocation. Well, you are being exposed to it every day. Carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin 200 times more readily than oxygen. Therefore, as we breathe in the fumes, the carbon monoxide in it drastically reduces our ability to take in oxygen.

Ever felt a slight headache after a long drive in traffic full of trucks, buses and road unworthy cars spewing smoke. Yup, that?s the lead working in your body. In infants and children, it doesn?t stop there. The lead can cause mental retardation; and for the unborn - birth defects.  Lead is also known to damage red blood cells and inhibit the enzymes that form them, which may result to anaemia.

Benzene is responsible for interfering with the functioning of the bone marrow thus hindering  the formation of red blood cells. Benzene and the Polycyclic hydrocarbons are cancer-causing agents.

In many cases, vehicle exhaust pollution has been linked with an increase in the number of cases of heart disease and blood pressure due to its effect on blood and tissues in the body.  Sulphur dioxide and Nitrogen dioxide are acidic substances which damage or corrode lung tissue when inhaled.

As for your immune system, these substances are capable of stimulating it to attack your body?s own tissues as well as cause excessive immune response and immune-suppression.

For those with asthma and other respiratory problems such as bronchitis, you are the most vulnerable to some of these effects. These substances are known to worsen your condition, for example, making you far more vulnerable to asthma attacks, severe shortness of breath or further damage to lung tissue.

The worst thing about all of this is that we still have to breathe the air that is so much polluted to live.   That is, we have no choice but to breathe in the poison. 

What bothers me most is the casual approach to the problem.  People do not complain and the government including its law enforcement agencies do absolutely nothing about it.  We have all been burying our heads in the sand.  The Traffic Police, environmental agencies such as NEMA and the Ministry of Public Health seem to be unaware of or completely ignore the problem. This situation is not with us for lack of knowledge of the significant harmful effects that the pollution presents to our health.

The cost to families and the health system due to ill health caused by pollution should be a good reason to act.  And to act now!

References

MacNair, D. T. (2011). Exhaust emissions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/exhaust_emissions.shtml.