Metro Manila’s air quality even worse this year – data

DENR-EMB assistant director Eva Ocfemia gave a presentation on Metro Manila's air quality situation as of April 2015 during a forum on nasal care awareness on June 23, 2015 in Quezon City.

The air quality situation in the National Capital Region in the first quarter of 2015 is even worse than it was at the end of last year, according to the latest data from Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB).

During her presentation at a health forum in Quezon City on Tuesday, DENR-EMB assistant director Eva Ocfemia said that the air pollutant concentration in the National Capital Region reached 130 micrograms per normal cubic meter (µg/Ncm) in terms of total suspended particulates (TSP), up from 106 µg/Ncm at year's end in 2014. The maximum safe level of air pollutant concentration is 90 µg/Ncm.

Particulates are tiny airborne particles or aerosols that are less than 100 micrometers. Their sources include:

• soil
• bacteria and viruses
• fungi, molds and yeast
• pollen
• combustion products from space heating
• industrial processes
• power generation
• motor vehicle use

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, particulate matter (PM) small enough to be inhaled include gases emitted from motor vehicles, and "can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects."

Pollution, particularly from PM that can find its way deep into lungs, is to blame for 3.2 million preventable deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Still 'fair'?

Despite the spike in TSP, Ocfemia said that the air quality situation in NCR is generally considered "fair" since the air quality index considers values between 55 to 154 as such. But she warned that there are places where air quality may be even worse, such as heavily congested areas. But it is during New Year that EMB records the worst readings.

"During New Year's [Eve], it can have readings of up to 1,000 to 2,000 µg/Ncm. That's why we're advocating no more fireworks," she said.

Ocfemia also presented data measuring PM10, which refer to those suspended particulates less than 10 micrometers in diameter that include both fine and dust particles.

As of April 2015, PM10 in Metro Manila is at 62 µg/Ncm, two steps higher than the PM10 standard of 60 µg/Ncm.

The partial results from the national emission test in 2012 showed that the country's top pollutants are mobile sources like vehicles.

Vehicles: top air pollutant

According to the partial results of the National Emissions Inventory in 2012, 71 percent of air pollution comes from "mobile sources"—in other words, vehicles on the road.

This number is even higher in the National Capital Region (NCR) where 85 percent of air pollution comes from vehicles.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that that year, there were more than 7,463,393 registered motor vehicles in the country.

The rest of the country's pollutants come from stationary sources such as buildings or immobile structures that emit air pollutants and area sources such as construction activities and unpaved roadways. — BM, GMA News