Occupational Hazard of Traffic Police – An Overview

Abstract

Pollution from automobile exhaust and vehicular traffic density has become a serious problem particularly in metropolitan cities in India. People who are most susceptible to air pollution are those who continuously work in that vicious air i.e. traffic police, street vendors, drivers, sweepers etc. Traffic police works on clean roads to raunchy roads without whom streets/roads may be jammed. These people standing under the sun blowing their whistles and signaling traffic to move or stop while inhaling dust and exhaust fumes and they are there day in and out and these days even at some hours of the night. Traffic police personnel work within the close proximity to the vehicles. So they are exposed to high levels of air and noise pollution in a regular manner, which is largely contributed by vehicles. Air pollution can also have adverse impacts on other important systems such as cardiovascular system and central nervous system. Their working conditions remain extremely precarious and unsafe. It can induce many diseases as the Automobile emit harmful gases. As the most common route for vehicular emissions to enter the human body is inhalation, the most common effect of air pollution is damage to the respiratory system. Exposure to air pollutants can overload or break down natural defense mechanisms in the body, causing or contributing to respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. In addition, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are the major air pollutants of automobile exhaust and were found to be mutagenic and carcinogenic. The study evaluates the hazards associated with traffic when a traffic police works for 8hours a day. Recommendations were made to improve on safety and health issues in order to reduce the level of exposure of the workers to these hazards.