Is your child and our enviornment safe?

[Prashant Rajankar]

The statement "Children are the future of the nation" is wrong. It would be "Healthier children are the future of the healthier nation", isn’t it? Many of us are talking about child labor, child illiteracy, but could we think about healthier child? May be we find the
answer “NO”, because only few people/organizations are thinking about this. If
we consider child and pollution, then we can put some focus on it.

 Today we are facing problem of water pollution, soil pollution and air pollution. Among this, generally children won’t come in contact with soil directly, and most of
the families are aware about water and air pollution, so they are careful about
that. But are they aware, that their children are surrounded with toxics heavy
metals, which will harm their children and produce permanent disability too.

As per the studies, it has been found; that decorative paints (enamel), children’s toys, children’s artificial jewellery and house hold dust contain lead (Pb) in varying amount. In India, there are no specific regulations on toys and children’s artificial jewellery, even in paint; the present standard (1000 ppm) is much higher than other
countries (90 ppm). Already some initiatives are taken to settle the issues of
standards, awareness and health impact.