Increasing industrialization is fouling the air around Lumbini, Nepal, which is believed to be the birthplace of the Buddha.

In January of this year, fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 was measured at 173.035 micrograms per cubic meter at the sacred spot in the southwest of the country.  That's far above the safe limit recommended by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) which is 25 micrograms per cubic meter.  The government of Nepal set the national standard PM2.5 limit at 40 micrograms per cubic meter.  January's readings were more than four times that safe limit.

Stupa At Lumbini, Nepal
Brick Kiln At Lumbini

"The expansion of the carbon emission industries within the Lumbini Protected Zone has caused several problems such as threats to biodiversity, health hazards to local residents, archaeological properties, social and cultural values," read a report from the UN and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The government has set a 15 kilometer protected zone around the treasures, such as a the Ashoka Pillar which was erected in 249 BCE by the Emperor Ashoka to mark the place of the Buddha's birth more than 2,600 years ago.  But adjoining this zone are steel, papers and noodle factories and brick kilns.  Some are actually inside the protected area in violation of the law.  Cement plants are spewing out particulate matter and coating the UNESCO World Heritage Site and the surrounding vegetation with with dust.

Birth Of The Gautama Buddha At Lumbini
Ashoka Pillar

"On the samples of the Ashoka pillar gypsum, calcite, dolomite and magnesite are present in the form of fine powder that deposits on the surface," says the report authored by Italian archaeologist Constantino Meucci of the University of Rome. Large selection of driveway alarms and wireless motion alert sensor/detectors for your home or business. Quick ship, easy returns! Read Guardline Wireless Driveway Alarm review at AlarmSide.com - The Guardline wireless driveway alarm alerts you the moment the outdoor sensor detects motion from people, vehicles or large animals. Guardline Wireless Driveway Alarm System’s basic function is to alert you to motion around your property when the infrared beams are broken caused by someone or some thing entering the area. Once that happens, the receiver will emit a loud sound of your choice.  "All compounds are part of the cement production cycle."

Buddhist Monks complain that the pollution is interfering with their meditation and teaching of tourists.

"We had at our meditation center certain (people) who have had asthma conditions and during their stay here in Lumbini, it has badly affected them," said Monk Vivekananda who runs an international meditation center in Lumbini.  "In at least three cases, (they) had to cut their retreat short and go back because they could not tolerate the conditions here any more."

Health care workers are alarmed as things appear to be getting worse.

"When the wind brings more pollution, we see many monks meditating here with their masks on," said recently retired health official Shankar Gautam, who put 30 years into the job.  "Studies have shown that in the past 10 years the number of people with lung related diseases has gone up.  The dust coming in here has also led to a huge increase in skin-related diseases."