Hanshin urban area was attacked and destroyed by the tremendous earthquake at 5: 45 a.m. in January in 1995. The seismometer recorded a tremor of the 6-7 degree on the soismic scale. More than 5, 500 people were killed and, what was worse, there were fatalities of more than 10% of the above number due to the secondary damage.
The local NO
2 concentrations of the capsules set in the damaged areas were measured in the first day in June 1995. The health of inhabitants living there was also researched by mean of a questionnaire at the same time.
The following four respects were turned out through this survey.
1. NO
2 concentrations measured along the roads running not only from east to west (Route 2 and Route 43) but also from north to south were high.
2. Although NO
2 concentrations around the areas along the Osaka bay were not so high before the earthquake, they became higher after it, because a large number of trucks carried the wastes from the destroyed buildings passing through the bay road, and the combustible wastes were burned to form ashes in the bay areas.
3. The rate of the people who complained about health worsening after the earthquake reached 25% of those who replied to the questionnaire. Most of them complained about respiratory problems.
4. The relation between the NO
2 concentration and the rate of people, who lived in the same area, where the NO
2 concentration was measured, and who also complained about thsir health worsening after the earthquake, became clear with condition of 5% risk. The relations were turned out with the same risk between the NO
2 concentration and both the complaint rate of the respiratory symptoms and the rate of the adult (age over 18), who complained about their poor health.
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