DENR and EMB have been observing, gathering data and generating reports about the Philippine air quality which mostly are located in urban areas, particularly Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.
During 2004, they have installed air quality monitoring systems to monitor TSP (total suspended particulates) concentrations in NCR. The 5 of 12 areas are from EDSA, this are in the corner of Congressional Ave., National Printing Office, corner of East Avenue, MMDA Office, corner of Taft. The other areas are in the Valenzuela City Hall, Katipunan Ave. located in Ateneo, Mandaluyong City Hall, LLDA Compound in Pasig, Gil Puyat cor. Ayala Ave., Pasig City Hall, Dept. of Health in Rizal Ave.
The pollutants measured in the areas vary widely depending on the equipment installed. The pollutants and compound elements that are observed are: Ozone, SO2, CO, NOx, HC, PM10, PM2.5 and BTX.
Criteria pollutants are for which the National Ambient Air Quality Guideline Values have been established under Clean Air Act of 1999. This includes the TSP, Pb and PM10.
According to the report, the annual TSP mean guideline value increases and exceeds in all of the 12 areas while in 2003 in exceeds in only 9 areas. This TSPs are small solid or liquid particles suspended in air and major sources came from diesel vehicles and coal-burning power plants. According to EMB, TSP may represent the pollution level in the vicinity.
Meanwhile, PM10 does not exceed but are still increasing in areas. PM2.5 has exceeded in the Poveda Learning Center which is about 18 micrograms/Nm^3 which is beyond the 15micrograms/Nm^3 USEPA standard for one year. PM are very dangerous pollutants for which they penetrate the lungs and may affect internal organs such as the heart. Also PM interfere the photosynthesis process of plants to develop, this is one of the reasons of their slow growth if it has access to polluted air in the area.
One of the key things here that is provided is that data in 2004 have been exceeded and the people living in areas in polluted roadside areas are in danger of getting illness that are air pollution-related. Plant growth are also stagnant because of the stomata are clogged with particles from the atmosphere. However, the effect could be local or global but still it remains for the economy that we still use non-renewable sources of energy. This can only be solved if the demand for diesel-powered transportation and smoke-belching vehicles decreases significantly over time in Metro Manila since it is one of the most dense areas in the Philippines in terms of people living in the city.
Source: Monitoring Report. DENR. 2004
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