By Gerry T. Estrera
In October 1948, a heavy smog – produced when sunlight reacts with hydrocarbon compounds and nitrogen oxides from motor vehicle emissions – settled down over the area in Donora, Pennsylvania in the morning of Wednesday.
In October 1948, a heavy smog – produced when sunlight reacts with hydrocarbon compounds and nitrogen oxides from motor vehicle emissions – settled down over the area in Donora, Pennsylvania in the morning of Wednesday.
The smog continued for two days and by Friday, a marked increase in illness started to take place in the area. Â “By Friday evening, the physicians’ telephone exchange was flooded with calls for medical aid, and the doctors were making calls unceasingly to care for their patients,” the US Public Health reported. “Many persons were sent to nearby hospitals, and other organizations were asked to help with the many ill persons.”
But despite this, there was no general alarm about the smog’s effects was sounded. Â That same Friday evening, thousands of people attended the annual Donora Halloween paraded. Â In the afternoon of the following day, a high school football game was played on the gridiron of Donora High School before a large crowd.
“The first death during the smog had already occurred, however, early Saturday morning – at 2 am to be precise. Â More followed in quick succession during the day and by nightfall word of these deaths was racing through the town,” the US Public Health said. Â “By 11:30 that night 17 persons were dead. Â Two more were to follow on Sunday, and still another who fell ill during the smog was to die a week later on November 8.
“On Sunday afternoon, rain came to clear away the smog. Â But hundreds were still ill, and the rest of the residents were still stunned by the number of deaths that had taken place during the preceding 36 hours.”
Will that incident soon to happen in Metro Manila, too? Â Some years back, the metropolis has been reported to have far higher levels of particulate matter (PM) in its air than New York, Tokyo, or London. Â “Particle concentrations in Manila’s air are more than 200% higher than the limits set in the United States,” said a report.
PM refers to any tiny solid particle dispersed from pesticides, asbestos, and thousands of other products. Â The most noticeable type of air pollution (since it is readily visible), PM often attracts and carries chemicals through the air such as dust-carrying sulfuric acid.
Aside from PM, other common forms of air pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons (which include benzene, xylene, and ethylene dibromide), sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and residues of the highly toxic tetraethyl lead, a substance added to gasoline to enhance its octane value or “burning quality.”
A study commissioned by the Asian Development Bank some years back showed that diesel-fueled vehicles were the primary source of PM in Metro Manila. Â Although jeepneys, taxis, trucks, and buses represent only one-fifth of the vehicle population in the metropolis, they produced two-thirds of the SPM, the study disclosed.
“The marked increase of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere can cause nose, throat, and chest and eye problems and aggravate the conditions of people suffering from allergies, coughs and colds,” said pulmonologist Dr. Maricar Limpin, former president of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP), in a press statement released by environment group EcoWaste Coalition.
Breathing polluted air is indeed bad for your health. Â Dr. Juan M. Flavier, when he was still the health secretary, said: “Among the jeepney drivers plying along EDSA, 33% of them have acute bronchitis.”
Even if you ride an air-conditioned vehicle, you are not spared from breathing air pollutants like lead (which comes mainly from burning leaded gasoline). Â “A study conducted by the College of Public Health found that there is hardly any difference in the level of lead in blood and in the frequency of respiratory diseases among jeepney drivers, drivers of air-conditioned buses, and people exposed to polluted air in traffic. Â So, it doesn’t mean that when we ride in air-conditioned buses, we have already escaped from pollution,” said Dr. Nelia Cortez-Maramba of the University of the Philippines Department of Pharmacology.
“Nowadays, breathing (in Metro Manila) can be a dangerous business,” commented Framelia V. Anonas, a media service staffer of the Department of Science and Technology. Â “The air that breathes your life is the same one that can snuff life out of you.”
Many air pollutants – a mix of gases, droplets, and particles – are able to pass through the lungs into the bloodstream and are eventually transported to the heart and the entire body through blood vessels.
“Because the cardiovascular system is dependent on the functioning of the respiratory system, it is also indirectly affected by the deleterious effects of the pollution on the lungs,” the WHO explained.Â
A study published in Lancet showed that those living near a major road have a higher risk of dying than the rest of the population. Â It concluded that long-term exposure to traffic-released air pollution may shorten life expectancy.
Other studies also revealed that heart attacks, life-threatening heart rhythms, and thickening of the blood can also be traced to exposure to air pollution. Â “To make it clear: Â all these bodily changes spell doom for the Filipinos living in Metro Manila (and other highly-urbanized centers),” warned Dr. Willie T. Ong, a cardiologist who writes a regular column for a national daily.
Perhaps not too many know that air pollution is tied to high blood pressure in pregnancy. Â Statistics showed that women develop high blood pressure during about one in ten pregnancies. Having so-called gestational hypertension makes it more likely that a woman will need a cesarean section, that she will give birth early and that her baby will be born small.
“Our results suggest air pollution does have some impact on the risk of gestational hypertension,” said epidemiologist Dr. Xiaohui Xu, who led the study at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “This could have some subsequent effects on both maternal and fetal health.”
But worse, air pollution kills. Â A global study listed air pollution as one of the top 10 killers in the world, according to a report by the Asian Scientist. Up to a whopping 65 percent of deaths from air pollution occur in Asia.
Air pollution kills three times more than vehicular accidents, said a study conducted by the WHO. Â In the Philippines, over four percent of all deaths are attributed to air pollution, according to a report released by the World Bank.Â
“Air pollution is causing more deaths than HIV or malaria combined,” Kandeh Yumkella, director general of the U.N. Industrial Development Organization, reminded the participants of the 2012 conference in Oslo trying to work out new UN development goals for 2030.
A recent WHO study found that 3.5 million people die early annually from indoor air pollution (caused by wood fires and primitive stoves) and 3.3 million from outdoor air pollution.
“We now know that outdoor air pollution is not only a major risk to health in general, but also a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths,” said Kurt Straif, head of the monographs section, which is tasked with ranking carcinogens, of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Â “The air we breathe has become polluted with a mixture of cancer-causing substances.”
Every little bit counts in the fight against air pollution. Â A study in Europe has found that even very small cuts in pollution can benefit health. Â One recent study from Harvard University found that people living in cities where air pollution decreased in recent years saw their life expectancy increase an average of five months as a result of cleaner air.
Fresh air is invigorating. Â In his column, Dr. Richard G. Mendoza wrote: “Good quality clean air may usually be found in abundance in natural outdoor environments, especially around evergreen trees, green plants in mountains and forests, near moving waters such as lakes, oceans, rivers, waterfalls, and after rain.” – ###
In October 1948, a heavy smog – produced when sunlight reacts with hydrocarbon compounds and nitrogen oxides from motor vehicle emissions – settled down over the area in Donora, Pennsylvania in the morning of Wednesday.
The smog continued for two days and by Friday, a marked increase in illness started to take place in the area. Â “By Friday evening, the physicians’ telephone exchange was flooded with calls for medical aid, and the doctors were making calls unceasingly to care for their patients,” the US Public Health reported. “Many persons were sent to nearby hospitals, and other organizations were asked to help with the many ill persons.”
But despite this, there was no general alarm about the smog’s effects was sounded. Â That same Friday evening, thousands of people attended the annual Donora Halloween paraded. Â In the afternoon of the following day, a high school football game was played on the gridiron of Donora High School before a large crowd.
“The first death during the smog had already occurred, however, early Saturday morning – at 2 am to be precise. Â More followed in quick succession during the day and by nightfall word of these deaths was racing through the town,” the US Public Health said. Â “By 11:30 that night 17 persons were dead. Â Two more were to follow on Sunday, and still another who fell ill during the smog was to die a week later on November 8.
“On Sunday afternoon, rain came to clear away the smog. Â But hundreds were still ill, and the rest of the residents were still stunned by the number of deaths that had taken place during the preceding 36 hours.”
Will that incident soon to happen in Metro Manila, too? Â Some years back, the metropolis has been reported to have far higher levels of particulate matter (PM) in its air than New York, Tokyo, or London. Â “Particle concentrations in Manila’s air are more than 200% higher than the limits set in the United States,” said a report.
PM refers to any tiny solid particle dispersed from pesticides, asbestos, and thousands of other products. Â The most noticeable type of air pollution (since it is readily visible), PM often attracts and carries chemicals through the air such as dust-carrying sulfuric acid.
Aside from PM, other common forms of air pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons (which include benzene, xylene, and ethylene dibromide), sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and residues of the highly toxic tetraethyl lead, a substance added to gasoline to enhance its octane value or “burning quality.”
A study commissioned by the Asian Development Bank some years back showed that diesel-fueled vehicles were the primary source of PM in Metro Manila. Â Although jeepneys, taxis, trucks, and buses represent only one-fifth of the vehicle population in the metropolis, they produced two-thirds of the SPM, the study disclosed.
“The marked increase of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere can cause nose, throat, and chest and eye problems and aggravate the conditions of people suffering from allergies, coughs and colds,” said pulmonologist Dr. Maricar Limpin, former president of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP), in a press statement released by environment group EcoWaste Coalition.
Breathing polluted air is indeed bad for your health. Â Dr. Juan M. Flavier, when he was still the health secretary, said: “Among the jeepney drivers plying along EDSA, 33% of them have acute bronchitis.”
Even if you ride an air-conditioned vehicle, you are not spared from breathing air pollutants like lead (which comes mainly from burning leaded gasoline). Â “A study conducted by the College of Public Health found that there is hardly any difference in the level of lead in blood and in the frequency of respiratory diseases among jeepney drivers, drivers of air-conditioned buses, and people exposed to polluted air in traffic. Â So, it doesn’t mean that when we ride in air-conditioned buses, we have already escaped from pollution,” said Dr. Nelia Cortez-Maramba of the University of the Philippines Department of Pharmacology.
“Nowadays, breathing (in Metro Manila) can be a dangerous business,” commented Framelia V. Anonas, a media service staffer of the Department of Science and Technology. Â “The air that breathes your life is the same one that can snuff life out of you.”
Many air pollutants – a mix of gases, droplets, and particles – are able to pass through the lungs into the bloodstream and are eventually transported to the heart and the entire body through blood vessels.
“Because the cardiovascular system is dependent on the functioning of the respiratory system, it is also indirectly affected by the deleterious effects of the pollution on the lungs,” the WHO explained.Â
A study published in Lancet showed that those living near a major road have a higher risk of dying than the rest of the population. Â It concluded that long-term exposure to traffic-released air pollution may shorten life expectancy.
Other studies also revealed that heart attacks, life-threatening heart rhythms, and thickening of the blood can also be traced to exposure to air pollution. Â “To make it clear: Â all these bodily changes spell doom for the Filipinos living in Metro Manila (and other highly-urbanized centers),” warned Dr. Willie T. Ong, a cardiologist who writes a regular column for a national daily.
Perhaps not too many know that air pollution is tied to high blood pressure in pregnancy. Â Statistics showed that women develop high blood pressure during about one in ten pregnancies. Having so-called gestational hypertension makes it more likely that a woman will need a cesarean section, that she will give birth early and that her baby will be born small.
“Our results suggest air pollution does have some impact on the risk of gestational hypertension,” said epidemiologist Dr. Xiaohui Xu, who led the study at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “This could have some subsequent effects on both maternal and fetal health.”
But worse, air pollution kills. Â A global study listed air pollution as one of the top 10 killers in the world, according to a report by the Asian Scientist. Up to a whopping 65 percent of deaths from air pollution occur in Asia.
Air pollution kills three times more than vehicular accidents, said a study conducted by the WHO. Â In the Philippines, over four percent of all deaths are attributed to air pollution, according to a report released by the World Bank.Â
“Air pollution is causing more deaths than HIV or malaria combined,” Kandeh Yumkella, director general of the U.N. Industrial Development Organization, reminded the participants of the 2012 conference in Oslo trying to work out new UN development goals for 2030.
A recent WHO study found that 3.5 million people die early annually from indoor air pollution (caused by wood fires and primitive stoves) and 3.3 million from outdoor air pollution.
“We now know that outdoor air pollution is not only a major risk to health in general, but also a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths,” said Kurt Straif, head of the monographs section, which is tasked with ranking carcinogens, of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Â “The air we breathe has become polluted with a mixture of cancer-causing substances.”
Every little bit counts in the fight against air pollution. Â A study in Europe has found that even very small cuts in pollution can benefit health. Â One recent study from Harvard University found that people living in cities where air pollution decreased in recent years saw their life expectancy increase an average of five months as a result of cleaner air.
Fresh air is invigorating. Â In his column, Dr. Richard G. Mendoza wrote: “Good quality clean air may usually be found in abundance in natural outdoor environments, especially around evergreen trees, green plants in mountains and forests, near moving waters such as lakes, oceans, rivers, waterfalls, and after rain.” – ###
