Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or

biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living

organisms, or damages the natural environment, into the atmosphere.

The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural gaseous system that is

essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air
pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the
Earth's ecosystems.

Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include:

• Sulfur oxides (SOx) - especially sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with

the formula SO2. SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial
processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their
combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO2, usually in the
presence of a catalyst such as NO2, forms H2SO4, and thus acid rain.[2] This
is one of the causes for concern over the environmental impact of the use of
these fuels as power sources.
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx) - especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted from high
temperature combustion. Can be seen as the brown haze dome above or
plume downwind of cities.Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with
the formula NO2. It is one of the several nitrogen oxides. This reddish-brown
toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO2 is one of the most
prominent air pollutants.
• Carbon monoxide - is a colourless, odourless, non-irritating but very
poisonous gas. It is a product by incomplete combustion of fuel such as
natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust is a major source of carbon
monoxide.
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) - a greenhouse gas emitted from combustion but is
also a gas vital to living organisms. It is a natural gas in the atmosphere.
• Volatile organic compounds - VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant.
In this field they are often divided into the separate categories of methane
(CH4) and non-methane (NMVOCs). Methane is an extremely efficient
greenhouse gas which contributes to enhanced global warming. Other
hydrocarbon VOCs are also significant greenhouse gases via their role in
creating ozone and in prolonging the life of methane in the atmosphere,
although the effect varies depending on local air quality. Within the
NMVOCs, the aromatic compounds benzene, toluene and xylene are
suspected carcinogens and may lead to leukemia through prolonged
 exposure. 1,3-butadiene is another dangerous compound which is often
associated with industrial uses.

• Particulate matter - Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate

matter (PM) or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended
in a gas. In contrast, aerosol refers to particles and the gas together. Sources
of particulate matter can be man made or natural. Some particulates occur
naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires,
living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the burning of
fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also
generate significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged over the globe,
anthropogenic aerosols—those made by human activities—currently account
for about 10 percent of the total amount of aerosols in our atmosphere.
Increased levels of fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such
as heart disease, altered lung function and lung cancer.

• Toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper.

• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - harmful to the ozone layer emitted from
products currently banned from use.
• Ammonia (NH3) - emitted from agricultural processes. Ammonia is a
compound with the formula NH3. It is normally encountered as a gas with a
characteristic pungent odor. Ammonia contributes significantly to the
nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to
foodstuffs and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is also a
building block for the synthesis of many pharmaceuticals. Although in wide
use, ammonia is both caustic and hazardous.
• Odors — such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes
• Radioactive pollutants - produced by nuclear explosions, war explosives,
and natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon.

Pollutant Description Effects

CO Carbon Reduces the ability of the blood to absorb oxygen in body cells
monoxide tissue. It can cause: headache, fatigue, impaired vision and judg
(CO) is an slow reflexes and can lead to unconsciousness and death at hig
odorless, concentrations. Can make heart and lung conditions worse. Pre
tasteless and women inhaling CO may cause physical and mental damage to
colorless gas. developing babies.
HC Hydrocarbons May cause headaches, eye irritations, respiratory infections,
(HC) are bronchitis, throat problems and coughing. Long-term exposure
primarily relatively high levels of benzene, a kind of hydrocarbon, can ca
composed of cancer.
hydrogen and
carbons, with
trace elements
of nitrogen,
sulfur,
chlorine,
fluoride and
oxygen.
PM Particulate Affects breathing and respiratory systems; causes increased
Matter (PM - respiratory and lung damage; coughing and throat irritations; c
TSP, PM10, carry cancer-causing organic compounds and heavy metals into
PM2.5) are lungs; especially threatening for small children and older peopl
solids or
liquids from
smoke, soot,
rubber, small
bits of metal,
fly ash, and
condensing
vapors that can
remain
suspended in
the air for a
long time.
SO2 Sulfur dioxide Can cause irritation to the moist surfaces of the nose, mouth, p
is a colorless, and major bronchi; irritates the respiratory tract, reducing lung
nonflammable capacity, and causes wheezing, shortness of breath and chest
gas with a tightness.
penetrating
odor that
irritates the
eyes and air
passages.
 When
combined with
oxygen, it
turns into a
pollutant. A
major
component of
acid rain.
NO2 Nitrogen Causes increased incidence of lower respiratory tract infection
dioxide is a children and decreased airway responsiveness in asthmatics.
reddish brown, Children, the elderly, asthmatics and individuals with chronic
nonflammable, obstructive pulmonary disease are more responsive to nitrogen
gas with a dioxide than others in the community (WHO, 1995). In signific
detectable concentrations it is highly toxic, causing serious lung damage w
smell. An delayed effect. Other health effects of exposure to nitrogen dio
ingredient of include shortness of breath and chest pains.
acid rain.

One of the major environmental effects of air pollutants is acid rain. When
sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides combine with water, sulfuric acid and nitric acid
are formed. When these two compounds combine with the rain, acid rain is
formed. Acid rain damages plants, buildings, rivers and lakes.

How You Can Help Clean the Air

Restoring the air to healthy levels is not an easy task. It is not a difficult one, too,
as long as we all work together to claim our right to breathe clean air.

STEP UP!

S-top smoke belching!

T-ell the people you know about the consequences of air pollution.

E-xercise regular preventive maintenance of motor vehicles.

P-ractice proper driving since it reduces unwanted emissions.

U-se cleaner fuels and engines.

P-roperly implement the Clean Air Act.

Air Pollution Causes and Effects

by Tom Socha http://healthandenergy.com/air_pollution_causes.htm

History

Humans probably first experienced harm from air pollution when they built
fires in poorly ventilated caves. Since then we have gone on to pollute more of the
earth's surface. Until recently, environmental pollution problems have been local
and minor because of the Earth's own ability to absorb and purify minor quantities
of pollutants. The industrialization of society, the introduction of motorized
vehicles, and the explosion of the population, are factors contributing toward the
growing air pollution problem. At this time it is urgent that we find methods to
clean up the air.

The primary air pollutants found in most urban areas are carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter (both solid and
liquid). These pollutants are dispersed throughout the world's atmosphere in
concentrations high enough to gradually cause serious health problems. Serious
health problems can occur quickly when air pollutants are concentrated, such as
when massive injections of sulfur dioxide and suspended particulate matter are
emitted by a large volcanic eruption.

Air Pollution in the Home

You cannot escape air pollution, not even in your own home. "In 1985 the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that toxic chemicals found in the
air of almost every American home are three times more likely to cause some type
of cancer than outdoor air pollutants". (Miller 488) The health problems in these
buildings are called "sick building syndrome". "An estimated one-fifth to one-third
of all U.S. buildings are now considered "sick". (Miller 489) The EPA has found
that the air in some office buildings is 100 times more polluted than the air outside.
Poor ventilation causes about half of the indoor air pollution problems. The rest
come from specific sources such as copying machines, electrical and telephone
cables, mold and microbe-harboring air conditioning systems and ducts, cleaning
fluids, cigarette smoke, carpet, latex caulk and paint, vinyl molding, linoleum tile,
and building materials and furniture that emit air pollutants such as formaldehyde.
A major indoor air pollutant is radon-222, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, naturally
occurring radioactive gas produced by the radioactive decay of uranium-238.
"According to studies by the EPA and the National Research Council, exposure to
radon is second only to smoking as a cause of lung cancer". (Miller 489) Radon
enters through pores and cracks in concrete when indoor air pressure is less than
the pressure of gasses in the soil. Indoor air will be healthier than outdoor air if you
use an energy recovery ventilator to provide a consistent supply of fresh filtered air
and then seal air leaks in the shell of your home .

Sources of Pollutants

The two main sources of pollutants in urban areas are transportation

(predominantly automobiles) and fuel combustion in stationary sources, including
residential, commercial, and industrial heating and cooling and coal-burning power
plants. Motor vehicles produce high levels of carbon monoxides (CO) and a major
source of hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Whereas, fuel
combustion in stationary sources is the dominant source of sulfur dioxide (SO2).

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major pollutants in the atmosphere.

Major sources of CO2 are fossil fuels burning and deforestation. "The
concentrations of CO2 in the air around 1860 before the effects of industrialization
were felt, is assumed to have been about 290 parts per million (ppm). In the
hundred years and more since then, the concentration has increased by about 30 to
35 ppm that is by 10 percent". (Breuer 67) Industrial countries account for 65% of
CO2 emissions with the United States and Soviet Union responsible for 50%. Less
developed countries (LDCs), with 80% of the world's people, are responsible for
35% of CO2 emissions but may contribute 50% by 2020. "Carbon dioxide
emissions are increasing by 4% a year". (Miller 450)

In 1975, 18 thousand million tons of carbon dioxide (equivalent to 5

thousand million tons of carbon) were released into the atmosphere, but the
atmosphere showed an increase of only 8 billion tons (equivalent to 2.2 billion tons
of carbon". (Breuer 70) The ocean waters contain about sixty times more CO2 than
the atmosphere. If the equilibrium is disturbed by externally increasing the
concentration of CO2 in the air, then the oceans would absorb more and more
CO2. If the oceans can no longer keep pace, then more CO2 will remain into the
atmosphere. As water warms, its ability to absorb CO2 is reduced.

CO2 is a good transmitter of sunlight, but partially restricts infrared radiation going
back from the earth into space. This produces the so-called greenhouse effect that
prevents a drastic cooling of the Earth during the night. Increasing the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere reinforces this effect and is expected to result in a warming
of the Earth's surface. Currently carbon dioxide is responsible for 57% of the
global warming trend. Nitrogen oxides contribute most of the atmospheric
contaminants.

N0X - nitric oxide (N0) and nitrogen dioxide (N02)

• Natural component of the Earth's atmosphere.

• Important in the formation of both acid precipitation and photochemical
smog (ozone), and causes nitrogen loading.
• Comes from the burning of biomass and fossil fuels.
• 30 to 50 million tons per year from human activities, and natural 10 to 20
million tons per year.
• Average residence time in the atmosphere is days.
• Has a role in reducing stratospheric ozone.

N20 - nitrous oxide

• Natural component of the Earth's atmosphere.

• Important in the greenhouse effect and causes nitrogen loading.
• Human inputs 6 million tons per year, and 19 million tons per year by
nature.
• Residence time in the atmosphere about 170 years.
• 1700 (285 parts per billion), 1990 (310 parts per billion), 2030 (340 parts per
billion).
• Comes from nitrogen based fertilizers, deforestation, and biomass burning.

Sulfur and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Sulfur dioxide is produced by combustion of sulfur-containing fuels, such as

coal and fuel oils. Also, in the process of producing sulfuric acid and in
metallurgical process involving ores that contain sulfur. Sulfur oxides can injure
man, plants and materials. At sufficiently high concentrations, sulfur dioxide
irritates the upper respiratory tract of human beings because potential effect of
sulfur dioxide is to make breathing more difficult by causing the finer air tubes of
the lung to constrict. "Power plants and factories emit 90% to 95% of the sulfur
dioxide and 57% of the nitrogen oxides in the United States. Almost 60% of the
SO2 emissions are released by tall smoke stakes, enabling the emissions to travel
long distances". (Miller 494) As emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide from
stationary sources are transported long distances by winds, they form secondary
pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid vapor, and droplets containing
solutions of sulfuric acid, sulfate, and nitrate salts. These chemicals descend to the
earth's surface in wet form as rain or snow and in dry form as a gases fog, dew, or
solid particles. This is known as acid deposition or acid rain.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

CFCs are lowering the average concentration of ozone in the stratosphere.

"Since 1978 the use of CFCs in aerosol cans has been banned in the United States,
Canada, and most Scandinavian countries. Aerosols are still the largest use,
accounting for 25% of global CFC use". (Miller 448) Spray cans, discarded or
leaking refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, and the burning plastic foam
products release the CFCs into the atmosphere. Depending on the type, CFCs stay
in the atmosphere from 22 to 111 years. Chlorofluorocarbons move up to the
stratosphere gradually over several decades. Under high energy ultra violet (UV)
radiation, they break down and release chlorine atoms, which speed up the
breakdown of ozone (O3) into oxygen gas (O2).

Chlorofluorocarbons, also known as Freons, are greenhouse gases that

contribute to global warming. Photochemical air pollution is commonly referred to
as "smog". Smog, a contraction of the words smoke and fog, has been caused
throughout recorded history by water condensing on smoke particles, usually from
burning coal. With the introduction of petroleum to replace coal economies in
countries, photochemical smog has become predominant in many cities, which are
located in sunny, warm, and dry climates with many motor vehicles. The worst
episodes of photochemical smog tend to occur in summer.

Smog

Photochemical smog is also appearing in regions of the tropics and

subtropics where savanna grasses are periodically burned. Smog's unpleasant
properties result from the irradiation by sunlight of hydrocarbons caused primarily
by unburned gasoline emitted by automobiles and other combustion sources. The
products of photochemical reactions includes organic particles, ozone, aldehydes,
ketones, peroxyacetyl nitrate, organic acids, and other oxidants. Ozone is a gas
created by nitrogen dioxide or nitric oxide when exposed to sunlight. Ozone causes
eye irritation, impaired lung function, and damage to trees and crops. Another form
of smog is called industrial smog.

This smog is created by burning coal and heavy oil that contain sulfur
impurities in power plants, industrial plants, etc... The smog consists mostly of a
mixture of sulfur dioxide and fog. Suspended droplets of sulfuric acid are formed
from some of the sulfur dioxide, and a variety of suspended solid particles. This
smog is common during the winter in cities such as London, Chicago, Pittsburgh.
When these cities burned large amounts of coal and heavy oil without control of
the output, large-scale problems were witnessed. In 1952 London, England, 4,000
people died as a result of this form of fog. Today coal and heavy oil are burned
only in large boilers and with reasonably good control or tall smokestacks so that
industrial smog is less of a problem. However, some countries such as China,
Poland, Czechoslovakia, and some other eastern European countries, still burn
large quantities of coal without using adequate controls.

Pollution Damage to Plants

With the destruction and burning of the rain forests more and more CO2 is
being released into the atmosphere. Trees play an important role in producing
oxygen from carbon dioxide. "A 115 year old Beech tree exposes about 200,000
leaves with a total surface to 1200 square meters. During the course of one sunny
day such a tree inhales 9,400 liters of carbon dioxide to produce 12 kilograms of
carbohydrate, thus liberating 9,400 liters of oxygen. Through this mechanism about
45,000 liters of air are regenerated which is sufficient for the respiration of 2 to 3
people". (Breuer 1) This process is called photosynthesis which all plants go
though but some yield more and some less oxygen. As long as no more wood is
burnt than is reproduced by the forests, no change in atmospheric CO2
concentration will result.

Pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and peroxyacl

nitrates (PANs), cause direct damage to leaves of crop plants and trees when they
enter leaf pores (stomates). Chronic exposure of leaves and needles to air
pollutants can also break down the waxy coating that helps prevent excessive water
loss and damage from diseases, pests, drought and frost. "In the midwestern United
States crop losses of wheat, corn, soybeans, and peanuts from damage by ozone
and acid deposition amount to about $5 billion a year". (Miller 498)

Reducing Pollution

You can help to reduce global air pollution and climate change by driving a
car that gets at least 35 miles a gallon, walking, bicycling, and using mass transit
when possible. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs,
make your home more energy efficient, and buy only energy efficient appliances.
Recycle newspapers, aluminum, and other materials. Plant trees and avoid
purchasing products such as Styrofoam that contain CFCs. Support much stricter
clean air laws and enforcement of international treaties to reduce ozone depletion
and slow global warming.

Earth is everybody's home and nobody likes living in a dirty home. Together, we
can make the earth a cleaner, healthier and more pleasant place to live.

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jul2009/niehs-21.h
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A Child’s IQ Can Be Affected by Mother’s Exposure to Urban Air Pollutants

A mother’s exposure to urban air pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs
adversely affect a child’s intelligence quotient or IQ, a study reports. PAHs are chemicals releas
the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco.
urban areas motor vehicles are a major source of PAHs.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a comp
of the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several priva
foundations, found that children exposed to high levels of PAHs in New York City had full scale
verbal IQ scores that were 4.31 and 4.67 points lower than those of less exposed children. High
levels were defined as above the median of 2.26 nanograms per cubic meter (ng/m3). A differenc
four points, which was the average seen in this study, could be educationally meaningful in term
school success, as reflected, for example, in standardized testing and other measures of academi
performance. However, the researchers point out that the effects may vary among individual chi

"This research clearly shows that environmental PAHs at levels encountered in an urban setting
adversely affect a child’s IQ," said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of NIEHS. "This is the first
to report an association between PAH exposure and IQ, and it should serve as a warning bell to
We need to do more to prevent environmental exposures from harming our children."

The study was conducted by scientists from the Columbia University Center for Children's
Environmental Health. It included children who were born to non-smoking black and Dominican
American women age 18 to 35 who resided in Washington Heights, Harlem or the South Bronx
York. The children were followed from utero to 5 years of age. The mothers wore personal air m
during pregnancy to measure exposure to PAHs and they responded to questionnaires.

At 5 years of age, 249 children were given an intelligence test known as the Wechsler Preschool
Primary Scale of the Intelligence, which provides verbal, performance and full-scale IQ scores.
is regarded as a well validated, reliable and sensitive instrument for assessing intelligence. The
researchers developed models to calculate the associations between prenatal PAH exposure and
They accounted for other factors such as second-hand smoke exposure, lead, mother’s education
the quality of the home caretaking environment. Study participants exposed to air pollution leve
below the average were designated as having low exposure, while those exposed to pollution lev
above the median were identified as high exposure.

"The decrease in full-scale IQ score among the more exposed children is similar to that seen wit
level lead exposure," said lead author Frederica P. Perera, Dr.P.H., professor at Columbia’s Mai
School of Public Health and director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Heal

"This finding is of concern," said Perera. "IQ is an important predictor of future academic perfor
and PAHs are widespread in urban environments and throughout the world. Fortunately, airborn
concentrations can be reduced through currently available controls, alternative energy sources an
policy interventions."

The NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and
of NIH. For more information on environmental health topics, visit our Web site at
http://www.niehs.nih.gov. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Res
Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Hea
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical a
translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both com
and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov
Reference(s): Perrera, FP, Zhigang L, Whyatt R, Hoepner L, Wang, S, Camann D, Rauh V. 200
Prenatal Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Child IQ at Age 5 Years.
Pediatrics. 124(2). August, 2009.
Air Pollution/Clean Air Act

http://www.philsol.nl/news/03/CleanAir01-jan03.htm

January 2003

WB STUDY: JEEPNEY DRIVERS ARE LEADING VICTIMS OF AIR

POLLUTION. Jeepney drivers are the leading victims of air pollution in the
Philippines in 2002, a recent World Bank report showed.

The report said the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD)
is highest among jeepney drivers, affecting 32.5 percent of them. Citing the study
of the University of the Philippines' College of Public Health, the World Bank said
that commuters had the lowest prevalence for COPD at 14.8 percent.

The World Bank noted that jeepney drivers are highly at risk of acquiring
pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) with 17.5 percent of them affected last year.
Commuters come in second at nine percent. Even bus drivers, in their air-
conditioned buses, cannot escape the effects of air pollution. They ranked no. 2
among those affected by COPD at 16.4 percent.

Doctors say that COPD, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, can be
aggravated by air pollution. Those with COPD are also more susceptible to PTB,
which is caused by an airborne bacteria. Victims of COPD suffer from chronic
cough with phlegm, wheezing, and shortness of breath. They also sustain
irreversible damage to the lungs. PTB sufferers' lungs also develop permanent
scars. At least 22 million Filipinos are suffering or exposed to various stages of
TB. This means that one out of four Filipinos are exposed to the disease.

Source: Philippine Star, 24 January 2003

AIR POLLUTION KILLS 2,000 PINOYS A YEAR. How much does filthy air
cost? The annual payment we make for breathing dirty air, according to the World
Bank, is: 2,000 lives lost prematurely and $1.5 billion in lost wages, medical
treatment in the urban sprawl of Metro Manila, and the cities of Cebu, Davao and
Baguio (P79.5 billion) — a figure equivalent to two percent of the country’s
annual gross domestic product (GDP).

The annual death toll due to air pollution was cited by Transportation and
Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza from the World Bank’s Philippines
Environment Monitor 2002 report. Mendoza also cited the report as showing that
as many as 9,000 Filipinos in these urban areas suffer from chronic bronchitis.
After baring these alarming figures, Mendoza said the Arroyo administration is
firm in its resolve to immediately implement the Clean Air Act of 1999 (Republic
Act 8749).

The World Bank report quoted a study by the University of the Philippines’
College of Public Health that traced the causes of the high mortality and morbidity
rates due to respiratory illnesses like bronchitis to "the very high fine particulate
emissions (PM10) generated by diesel engines, emissions from factories and power
plants and solid waste burning." These fine particulate emissions, the report said,
are either emitted directly or are formed and accumulate in the atmosphere.

Health records show that deaths caused by various forms of respiratory diseases
run into scores of thousands a year, including those in far-flung barrios thought to
be unaffected by air pollution, Mendoza said. Dirty air, he said, definitely
contributes to the worsening of many respiratory diseases, even if air pollution
does not directly cause these deaths.

The loss of lives to filthy air is not the only price paid by the public. The World
Bank report said the total cost of exposure to particulate matter in Metro Manila
and the three other urban areas comes to a whopping $430 million (P22.8 billion).
Some 80 percent of air pollution is generated by mobile polluters: Motor vehicles.

Source: Philippine Star, 20 January 2003

TRICYCLE DRIVERS WIN REPRIEVE. Smoggy skies over Metro Manila

will take a little longer to clear, after tricycle drivers on Monday won a one-month
reprieve from the Clean Air Act that came into force at the start of the year.

Hundreds of drivers brought traffic in the National Capital Region to an even

slower crawl than usual as they took their vehicles in a procession to Malacanang
to protest the new anti-pollution law. The Clean Air Act calls for emission tests
and the phasing out of two-stroke engines. The reprieve--a suspension for one
month of the Metro Manila Development Authority's resolution phasing out two-
stroke tricycles--came after the drivers' prayer rally on Mendiola caused a major
traffic jam on streets near the Palace.

Environment Secretary Elisea Gozun said MMDA Resolution No. 02-36 would be
suspended for a month while the government conducted a review. The National
Confederation of Tricycle Drivers and Operators Association of the Philippines
(Nactodap) said the resolution jeopardized the livelihood of thousands of tricycle
drivers. "Its implementation this January is the start of our sector's Calvary. This
government continues to create laws that push our members deeper into poverty,"
said Ariel Lim, Nactodap national president.

But in his weekly news briefing, MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando said the drivers
need not worry about losing their source of livelihood. He said the resolution did
not apply to those who already have franchises, whether they have two-stroke
engines or not.

Nactodap estimated that 7,500 to 10,000 drivers converged on Mendiola on

Monday, but police said the actual number was only a tenth of that, anywhere
between 750 and 1,000. But the presence of hundreds of tricycles held up traffic on
Recto, Morayta and Legarda avenues and Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard. Gozun
and Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani Braganza led government negotiators who
talked with Nactodap officials. At around 3 p.m., the two sides reached an
agreement after holding negotiations at an eatery on Mendiola.

Aside from the suspension, the government also agreed to set up an inter-agency
committee under the Department of Transportation and Communications, that
would include representatives from Nactodap, non-government organizations,
manufacturers and other government agencies. The committee will help ensure that
tricycle drivers are consulted in the shaping of new government policy affecting
their sector.

The one-month reprieve may have won the day for drivers and operators, but the
country of 80 million people has been losing the battle against smog and its ill
effects on health. In November, the World Bank warned that air pollution would
cost the Philippines almost 1.5 billion dollars per year in medical treatment, lost
wages and low productivity. A study by the World Bank showed fine particle
emissions caused an estimated 2,000 premature deaths and 9,000 cases of chronic
bronchitis each year in the nation's four largest cities.

Source: Philippines Daily Inquirer, 7 January 2003

WITHOUT LEGISLATION, GOVERNMENT HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO

ENFORCE CLEAN AIR ACT. Malacanang conceded yesterday that the
government has no choice but to enforce the Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1999 starting
this month, after Congress failed to pass a joint resolution for its temporary
suspension.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye yesterday said that President Arroyo is mandated to
enforce the law unless there is a joint resolution, which has the force and effect of
an enabling law if passed by both chambers of Congress to effectively suspend its
implementation. A six-month suspension was earlier proposed because
implementing the Clean Air Act would mean additional costs to operators of public
transport utilities.

Bunye said the proposed passage of the joint resolution was first mulled during the
most recent meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council
(LEDAC) convened by Mrs. Arroyo at Malacanang with leaders of Congress. "The
Clean Air Act... is a law and there were talks, I think in one (of the) LEDAC
meetings attended by congressmen and senators. There was a proposal that it might
need a joint resolution to temporarily suspend the implementation of the Clean Air
Act for six months," he said. Bunye noted that "this joint resolution did not push
through. So the implementation of the Clean Air Act proceeds."

He was reacting to warnings by leaders of jeepney operators’ and drivers’

associations that they will have to file a petition for fare hikes to compensate for
the additional expenses they would incur in order to comply with the Clean Air
Act. The act, which was made into law under Republic Act 8749, mandates all
jeepney and public transport operators to use environment-friendly yet more
expensive unleaded diesel that would require them to recondition their diesel
engines, which could prove costly to them.

Bunye urged public transport groups to comply with the CAA and cooperate with
the government, particularly with the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources and the Department of Transportation and Communications, to help
them reduce the cost of complying with this law.

Source: Philippine Star, 3 January 2003