Area near New Delhi's massive Indraprastha Power Station. (AFP Photo)

    BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Millions of Indians are being exposed to poisonous gases at levels that are thousands of times higher than permissible limits, according to the study released Saturday by the Community Environmental Monitors (CEM).

    Out of 45 toxic chemicals listed in the report titled "Smokescreen: Ambient Air Quality in India," the toxic levels of 28 chemicals were found at up to 32,000 times higher than levels fixed as safe in residential areas by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

    As for India's first comprehensive national survey on ambient air, CEM based its findings on a two-year survey carried out in 13 locations.

    The report also said that a sample from a traffic intersection in Delhi were found to contain 18 toxic chemicals, of which cancer-causing benzene was recorded at 104 times higher than safe levels.

    "The chemical causes bone marrow cancer and leukemia in children,"said Shweta Narayan, coordinator of CEM.

    The chemicals, found in ambient air over residential areas located near industrial houses, contained toxins that affect the human central nervous system, cardiovascular system and even the reproductive system, she said.

    The samples were taken from residential areas and public thoroughfares in or near industrial areas, effluent discharge channels, smoldering garbage dumps and toxic waste facilities.

    To reduce air pollution, the Indian government is actively encouraging the use of compressed natural gas by vehicles and piped natural gas by households. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests was granted $6.5 million for setting standards for ambient air quality monitoring in 1999 under a World Bank-funded project.

    However, "air pollution monitoring and regulation is primitive, and the world's fourth-largest economy has no standards for some of the most toxic and commonly found air pollutants," Narayan said.

    (Agencies)