Mumbai :  Air-O-Thon 2018, the Mumbai Chapter of the 3rd Edition of Air-O-Thon conference & exhibition was organized by Vprospurs, Singapore and Indian Pollution Control Association (IPCA) at SIES Graduate School of Technology, Nerul, Navi Mumbai on 14th December 2018. The conference’s main focus was to address the Air Pollution Challenges for Sustainable Environment in India. This year’s theme has been broadened to include outdoor air pollution too along with indoor air and will feature exhibitions from prominent industry leaders and their cutting edge products. Society for Indoor Environment (SIE), who is the foremost source of technical knowledge on Indoor air quality, main stream IEQ in education, influence on national policies, regulations and standards on IEQ has joined hands as “Knowledge Partner” in the conference and helping the diverse stakeholders to work towards holistic solutions in combating air pollution through this common platform.

 

The one-day event was focused on alarming rise in air pollutants in Mumbai toxic air.  Over the past two series, the prominence of indoor air quality as a key issue has increased- as it is necessary for achieving the goal of breathing cleaner air and to reduce the health impacts of polluted air in all regions of India. Apart from Metros, other mega cities in India, are also choked today with high levels of air pollutants, especially the particulate matter. The solution to the problem of urban air pollution is not easy and needs to be tackled by involving all the key stakeholders apart from the local government. Policies backed with regulations, planning measures and strict enforcement play important role.  Further, the Indoor air quality is not monitored nor regulated, to tackle this problem. However, we need a stakeholder driven approach that requires a consultation and participating approach. 

 

An Asian Paints spokesperson commented, “Asian Paints association with Air-O-thon for the 3rd edition has been a critical platform for us to convey the concerns of indoor air pollution and its rise in the country. As Mumbai’s overall air quality continues to deteriorate, people in the city are unaware of the effects of indoor air quality and how to prevent it within their homes. With innovation at the heart of our offerings, we at Asian Paints aim to build awareness about our revolutionary paint – Royale Atmos that is a solution to tackle indoor air pollution and give the people a healthier environment to live in”.

 

Dr. Radha Goyal, Deputy Director, (IPCA) Indian Pollution Control Association commenting, “The Mumbai edition of Air-O-thon continues to be a national sharing hub to address the issues, challenges and find the solutions to tackle both ambient and indoor air pollution. The issue of indoor air pollution has witnessed a rise in the recent years and it is considered to be worse than outdoor pollution. Dr. Radha Goyal, clarified the misconception among people that air pollution only occurs in the outdoors, while mentioning that the Global Burden of Disease Risk lists indoor air pollution as the ninth biggest health risk in the world.

 

 

Mr. Pradeep Maithani, Chairman & MD, Vprospurs Pte. Ltd. about this step said -” -” Vprospurs  is always concerned for the environment. Since clean air is necessary for good health, so this year Airothon’s main objective is to promote “Healthy Air, Healthy Family and thereof Healthy Nation. As India has more than 65% population below the age of 35 years, health is critical for the youth and the nation. Healthy youth would only be able to contribute to India’s growing economy and help building a strong nation. We are happy to welcome Asian Paints as our Purification partner for Air-O-thon and hope that they will get plenty of good ideas for R&D from the experts and will come up with more innovation in the near future. Royale Atmos is one such innovation, which is not only a cleaner paint in terms of emitting the pollutants away but also treating the indoor air for better living environment. “.