Metro air quality worsening; heavy traffic blamed

Heavy traffic along its major thoroughfares has caused air pollution in Metro Manila to worsen during the first three months of the year, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Tuesday. Tests conducted by the DENR on the air quality in Metro Manila during the first quarter of the year showed an increase of the suspended particles in the air to 190 micrograms per normal cubic meter—more than double the normal amount of 90 micrograms. DENR Secretary Ramon Paje attributed this to heavy traffic. “Ang dapat yung sasakyan mo, aandar lamang at mage-emit for 15 minutes. Dahil na-traffic ka, umabot ka ng isang oras. In effect, yung emission mo, multiplied 300 times," he said in an interview aired on GMA News’ “24 Oras." (The longer you stay on the road because of heavy traffic, the more emission you emit.)

Paje added that total suspended particles in the air was highest in major thoroughfares in the metropolis such as the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Taft Avenue in Pasay City and España Boulevard in Manila. The DENR chief likewise said that the worsening air pollution in Metro Manila is the primary reason why a lot of residents are suffering from respiratory diseases. “Kapag malapit na ang taglamig, hindi mainit ang atmosphere natin. Ang tendency, yung suspended particulates mo, nandiyan lang siya sa level na nahihinga natin," he said. (When the weather is cold, the suspended particulates tend to stay within breathing level.) The DENR has earlier vowed to reduce air pollution in the country’s capital region by 30 percent in 2011. The department said it plans to accomplish this through emission testing on vehicles and intensified crackdown on smoke-belchers in cooperation with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO). - KBK, GMANews.TV