Oleh Azman Zakaria
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkata, usaha menangani fenomena perubahan iklim perlu menjadi keutamaan semua negara kerana kegagalan membendung gejala itu akan membawa bahaya kepada kehidupan manusia sejagat pada masa depan.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata, fenomena itu adalah nyata dan mempunyai kesan meluas, manakala usaha menanganinya memerlukan tindakan sepadu serta sepakat sama ada dalam sesebuah negara mahupun global.
“Oleh kerana bumi adalah satu-satunya tempat tinggal manusia, berdiam diri dengan hanya menjadi penonton tanpa mengendahkannya bukan satu pilihan.
“Kita dikurniakan alam sekitar dan iklim yang membolehkan generasi kita hidup dalam keadaan sihat, bermakna dan produktif. Oleh itu adalah menjadi tanggungjawab moral kita untuk menyerahkan dunia yang sihat dan sesuai bagi kehidupan kepada generasi akan datang,” katanya ketika merasmikan Persidangan Serantau Mengenai Perubahan Iklim di sini, semalam.
Beliau berkata, adalah penting untuk mengakui hakikat bahawa negara memberi komitmen kepada usaha menangani perubahan iklim pada peringkat antarabangsa hanya jika usaha yang dilakukan itu selaras dengan kepentingan mereka.
Justeru, katanya, tahap pembangunan, keutamaan pembangunan, sumber semula jadi dan struktur politik mempengaruhi sama ada mereka berupaya melaksanakan usaha menangani perubahan iklim.
Katanya, ia bermakna sasaran yang berbeza perlu ditentukan supaya semua negara boleh membabitkan diri secara aktif manakala semua program pembangunan, terutama di negara membangun mesti mengambil kira aspek perubahan iklim.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata, usaha untuk memajukan kedudukan ekonomi dan sosial serta dengan matlamat untuk membasmi kemiskinan akan secara serentak berupaya menangani masalah pelepasan gas rumah hijau.
“Bagaimanapun usaha pada peringkat nasional seperti itu memerlukan sokongan pada peringkat antarabangsa oleh negara maju menerusi bantuan bina upaya, pemindahan teknologi dan bantuan kewangan kepada negara membangun,” katanya.
Beliau berkata, perubahan iklim bukan saja menyebabkan cuaca melampau, tetapi mempunyai kesan negatif terhadap pertanian, kepelbagaian biologi, hutan, air bersih dan meningkatkan kes penyakit seperti malaria dan denggi.
Katanya, ia turut menyebabkan kawasan rendah dilanda banjir seperti dialami Malaysia pada Disember 2005 dan 2006 serta Januari tahun ini yang mengakibatkan kerugian RM4 bilion.
“Perubahan iklim tidak mengenal negara, tugas yang mendesak untuk kita sekarang ialah apa yang perlu kita lakukan pada peringkat nasional dan antarabangsa,” katanya.
Najib juga berkata, di peringkat antarabangsa, walaupun usaha dijalankan menerusi Konvensyen Rangka Kerja Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu mengenai Perubahan Iklim (UNFCC) dan Protokol Kyoto, namun pelepasan gas perindustrian terus meningkat.
Katanya, mengikut laporan penilaian keempat Panel Antara Kerajaan mengenai Perubahan Iklim (IPCC) yang dikeluarkan Februari lalu, cuaca 11 tahun kebelakangan ini adalah antara 12 tahun paling panas sejak 1850.
Malaysia katanya, komited melaksanakan pembangunan mapan dan antara inisiatif utama yang dilaksanakan kerajaan dalam menghadapi kepanasan global ialah dalam bidang tenaga yang diperbaharui.
Isnin, 29 Oktober 2007
Sabtu, 6 Oktober 2007
Air Quality Action Day Forecast in Pennsylvania Cities
by Trey Granger on August 6th, 2007
Harrisburg, PA - The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnerships today announced an air quality action day is forecast for Tuesday, Aug. 7, in the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and south central Susquehanna Valley regions.
The forecast says Tuesday will be code ORANGE for ozone in the Philadelphia area, and for fine particulate matter in the Pittsburgh and Susquehanna Valley areas.
The Philadelphia region includes Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties;
The Pittsburgh region includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties; and
The Susquehanna Valley region includes Cumberland, Lebanon, Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standardized air quality index uses colors to report daily air quality (green signifies good, yellow means moderate, orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive people, and red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all). Air quality action days are declared at orange and red when fine particulate matter reaches unhealthy levels.
Ground-level ozone, a key component of smog, forms during warm weather when pollution from vehicles, industry, households and power plants “bakes” in the hot sun, making it hard for some people to breathe.
Fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, has a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, about one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair. Unlike ozone, particulate matter pollution can occur year-round. These particles can get deep into the lungs and cause significant health problems. PM 2.5 has been determined to be most closely associated with health effects related to increased hospitals admissions and emergency room visits for heart and lung disease, increased respiratory symptoms and disease, and decreased lung function.
The particles come from a wide range of sources — from power plants, industry, cars, trucks, buses, wood stoves and forest fires. Some particles are released when fuels are burned; others form in the atmosphere from reactions between gases released from power plants and factories.
On air quality action days, young children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities.
To help keep the air healthy, residents and businesses are encouraged to voluntarily limit certain pollution-producing activities by taking the following steps:
Ride the bus or carpool to work;
Avoid burning leaves, trash and other materials;
Wash dishes and clothes with full loads; and
Save energy - do not overcool your home.
These forecasts are provided in conjunction with the Air Quality Partnership of the Delaware Valley, the Southwest Pennsylvania Air Quality Partnership, the Lehigh Valley/Berks Air Quality Partnership, and the Susquehanna Valley Air Quality Partnership.
For more information on ozone and fine particulate matter, visit http://www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: Ozone. For more information on the Air Quality Partnerships, view the air quality forecast, or receive free daily forecasts by e-mail, visit http://www.aqpartners.org. For more information on air quality in your area, visit Earth 911’s Air Quality page.
Harrisburg, PA - The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnerships today announced an air quality action day is forecast for Tuesday, Aug. 7, in the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and south central Susquehanna Valley regions.
The forecast says Tuesday will be code ORANGE for ozone in the Philadelphia area, and for fine particulate matter in the Pittsburgh and Susquehanna Valley areas.
The Philadelphia region includes Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties;
The Pittsburgh region includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties; and
The Susquehanna Valley region includes Cumberland, Lebanon, Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standardized air quality index uses colors to report daily air quality (green signifies good, yellow means moderate, orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive people, and red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all). Air quality action days are declared at orange and red when fine particulate matter reaches unhealthy levels.
Ground-level ozone, a key component of smog, forms during warm weather when pollution from vehicles, industry, households and power plants “bakes” in the hot sun, making it hard for some people to breathe.
Fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, has a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, about one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair. Unlike ozone, particulate matter pollution can occur year-round. These particles can get deep into the lungs and cause significant health problems. PM 2.5 has been determined to be most closely associated with health effects related to increased hospitals admissions and emergency room visits for heart and lung disease, increased respiratory symptoms and disease, and decreased lung function.
The particles come from a wide range of sources — from power plants, industry, cars, trucks, buses, wood stoves and forest fires. Some particles are released when fuels are burned; others form in the atmosphere from reactions between gases released from power plants and factories.
On air quality action days, young children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities.
To help keep the air healthy, residents and businesses are encouraged to voluntarily limit certain pollution-producing activities by taking the following steps:
Ride the bus or carpool to work;
Avoid burning leaves, trash and other materials;
Wash dishes and clothes with full loads; and
Save energy - do not overcool your home.
These forecasts are provided in conjunction with the Air Quality Partnership of the Delaware Valley, the Southwest Pennsylvania Air Quality Partnership, the Lehigh Valley/Berks Air Quality Partnership, and the Susquehanna Valley Air Quality Partnership.
For more information on ozone and fine particulate matter, visit http://www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: Ozone. For more information on the Air Quality Partnerships, view the air quality forecast, or receive free daily forecasts by e-mail, visit http://www.aqpartners.org. For more information on air quality in your area, visit Earth 911’s Air Quality page.
50 Things You Can Do For Cleaner Air
by Earth 911 Staff on April 2nd, 2007
Drive Less, Drive Smart
About half of the air pollution comes from cars and trucks. Two important ways to reduce air pollution are to drive less — even a little less — and to drive smart. Try combining driving with alternative modes of transportation:
1. Carpool.
2. Walk or ride a bicycle.
3. Shop by phone or mail.
4. Ride public transit.
5. Telecommute.
Driving smart keeps pollution at a minimum. *
6. Accelerate gradually.
7. Use cruise control on the highway.
8. Obey the speed limit.
9. Combine your errands into one trip.
10. Keep your car tuned and support the smog check program.
11. Don’t top off at the gas pumps.
12. Replace your car’s air filter.
13. Keep your tires properly inflated.
14. What about smoking vehicles? Contact the EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards.
* What you do when you are stuck in traffic and not “driving” can be very important as well. Consider turning your engine off if you will be idling for long periods of time.
That’s not all. When shopping for your next car…
15. Look for the most efficient, lowest polluting model–or even use either a non-polluting car or zero emission vehicle. Visit these web sites for information that will help you identify clean and fuel efficient vehicles in any part of the country:
EPA’s Green vehicle Guide
The DOE/EPA Fuel Economy Guide
The U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities Site
If you must drive on days with unhealthy air, drive your newest car. Newer cars generally pollute less than older models.
Choose Air-Friendly Products
Many products you use in your home, in the yard, or at the office are made with smog-forming chemicals that escape into the air. Here are a few ways to put a lid on products that pollute:
16. Select products that are water-based or have low amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
17. Use water-based paints. Look for paints labeled “zero-VOC.”
18. Paint with a brush, not a sprayer.
19. Store solvents in air-tight containers.
20. Use a push or electric lawn mower.
21. Start your barbecue briquettes with an electric probe, or use a propane or natural gas barbecue.
Save Energy
Saving energy helps reduce air pollution. Whenever you burn fossil fuel, you pollute the air. Use less gasoline, natural gas, and electricity (power plants burn fossil fuels to generate electricity):
22. Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
23. Replace energy hungry incandescent lights with fluorescent lighting.
24. Check with your utility company for energy conservation tips, like purchasing energy saving appliances.
25. Use a thermostat that automatically turns off the air conditioner or heater when you don’t need them.
26. Add insulation to your home.
27. Use a fan instead of air conditioning.
28. Use an EPA-approved wood burning stove or fireplace insert.
29. Heat small meals in a microwave oven.
30. Insulate your water heater.
31. Install low flow showerheads.
32. Dry your clothes on a clothesline.
Waste Not
It takes energy to make and sell the products we use. Here are ways to cut energy use, reduce air pollution, and save money.
33. Choose recycled products.
34. Choose products with recyclable packaging.
35. Reuse paper bags.
36. Recycle paper, plastics, and metals.
37. Print and photocopy on both sides of the paper.
Watch out for the small stuff
When you breathe, very small particles — such as dust, soot, and acid droplets — can slip past your lung’s natural defense system. These particles get stuck deep in your lungs and may cause problems — more asthma attacks, bronchitis and other lung diseases, decreased resistance to infections, and even premature death for the elderly or sick. Here are a few things you can do to reduce particulate matter pollution and protect yourself:
38. Don’t use your wood stove or fireplace on days with unhealthy air.
39. Avoid using leaf blowers and other types of equipment that raise a lot of dust. Use a rake or broom instead.
40. Drive slowly on unpaved roads.
41. Drive less, particularly on days with unhealthy air.
42. Avoid vigorous physical activity on days with unhealthy air.
Know The Inside Story
Air pollution is a problem indoors and out. Most people spend at least 80 percent of their lives indoors. Here are some ways you can reduce pollution in your home, office or school:
43. Don’t smoke. Send smokers outside.
44. Products such as cleaning agents, paints, and glues often contain harmful chemicals. Use them outdoors or with plenty of ventilation indoors.
45. Use safer products, such as baking soda instead of harsher chemical cleaners.
46. Don’t heat your home with a gas cooking stove.
47. Have your gas appliances and heater regularly inspected and maintained.
48. Clean frequently to remove dust and molds.
Visit EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Home Page for more information.
Speak Up For Clean Air
Do what you can to reduce air pollution. It will make a difference. Use your civic influence to improve regional and national air pollution standards:
49. Write to your local newspaper. Support action for healthy air.
50. Let your elected representative know you support action for clean air.
Drive Less, Drive Smart
About half of the air pollution comes from cars and trucks. Two important ways to reduce air pollution are to drive less — even a little less — and to drive smart. Try combining driving with alternative modes of transportation:
1. Carpool.
2. Walk or ride a bicycle.
3. Shop by phone or mail.
4. Ride public transit.
5. Telecommute.
Driving smart keeps pollution at a minimum. *
6. Accelerate gradually.
7. Use cruise control on the highway.
8. Obey the speed limit.
9. Combine your errands into one trip.
10. Keep your car tuned and support the smog check program.
11. Don’t top off at the gas pumps.
12. Replace your car’s air filter.
13. Keep your tires properly inflated.
14. What about smoking vehicles? Contact the EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards.
* What you do when you are stuck in traffic and not “driving” can be very important as well. Consider turning your engine off if you will be idling for long periods of time.
That’s not all. When shopping for your next car…
15. Look for the most efficient, lowest polluting model–or even use either a non-polluting car or zero emission vehicle. Visit these web sites for information that will help you identify clean and fuel efficient vehicles in any part of the country:
EPA’s Green vehicle Guide
The DOE/EPA Fuel Economy Guide
The U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities Site
If you must drive on days with unhealthy air, drive your newest car. Newer cars generally pollute less than older models.
Choose Air-Friendly Products
Many products you use in your home, in the yard, or at the office are made with smog-forming chemicals that escape into the air. Here are a few ways to put a lid on products that pollute:
16. Select products that are water-based or have low amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
17. Use water-based paints. Look for paints labeled “zero-VOC.”
18. Paint with a brush, not a sprayer.
19. Store solvents in air-tight containers.
20. Use a push or electric lawn mower.
21. Start your barbecue briquettes with an electric probe, or use a propane or natural gas barbecue.
Save Energy
Saving energy helps reduce air pollution. Whenever you burn fossil fuel, you pollute the air. Use less gasoline, natural gas, and electricity (power plants burn fossil fuels to generate electricity):
22. Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
23. Replace energy hungry incandescent lights with fluorescent lighting.
24. Check with your utility company for energy conservation tips, like purchasing energy saving appliances.
25. Use a thermostat that automatically turns off the air conditioner or heater when you don’t need them.
26. Add insulation to your home.
27. Use a fan instead of air conditioning.
28. Use an EPA-approved wood burning stove or fireplace insert.
29. Heat small meals in a microwave oven.
30. Insulate your water heater.
31. Install low flow showerheads.
32. Dry your clothes on a clothesline.
Waste Not
It takes energy to make and sell the products we use. Here are ways to cut energy use, reduce air pollution, and save money.
33. Choose recycled products.
34. Choose products with recyclable packaging.
35. Reuse paper bags.
36. Recycle paper, plastics, and metals.
37. Print and photocopy on both sides of the paper.
Watch out for the small stuff
When you breathe, very small particles — such as dust, soot, and acid droplets — can slip past your lung’s natural defense system. These particles get stuck deep in your lungs and may cause problems — more asthma attacks, bronchitis and other lung diseases, decreased resistance to infections, and even premature death for the elderly or sick. Here are a few things you can do to reduce particulate matter pollution and protect yourself:
38. Don’t use your wood stove or fireplace on days with unhealthy air.
39. Avoid using leaf blowers and other types of equipment that raise a lot of dust. Use a rake or broom instead.
40. Drive slowly on unpaved roads.
41. Drive less, particularly on days with unhealthy air.
42. Avoid vigorous physical activity on days with unhealthy air.
Know The Inside Story
Air pollution is a problem indoors and out. Most people spend at least 80 percent of their lives indoors. Here are some ways you can reduce pollution in your home, office or school:
43. Don’t smoke. Send smokers outside.
44. Products such as cleaning agents, paints, and glues often contain harmful chemicals. Use them outdoors or with plenty of ventilation indoors.
45. Use safer products, such as baking soda instead of harsher chemical cleaners.
46. Don’t heat your home with a gas cooking stove.
47. Have your gas appliances and heater regularly inspected and maintained.
48. Clean frequently to remove dust and molds.
Visit EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Home Page for more information.
Speak Up For Clean Air
Do what you can to reduce air pollution. It will make a difference. Use your civic influence to improve regional and national air pollution standards:
49. Write to your local newspaper. Support action for healthy air.
50. Let your elected representative know you support action for clean air.
U.S. Imposes Highest Acid Rain Fine Ever
by Trey Granger on September 20th, 2007
Washington, D.C. – In a landmark settlement filed today, East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a coal-fired electric utility, has agreed to pay an $11.4 million penalty to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act’s acid rain program, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.
As part of today’s settlement, the U.S. is seeking court-approval for the highest fine ever under the Clean Air Act’s acid rain program. The Commonwealth of Kentucky joined in today’s consent decree.
The settlement requires that the company take steps to reduce approximately 400 tons of harmful emissions each year and offset another approximately 20,000 tons of emissions released from its Clark County, Ky. facility without a permit.
“We enforce the Clean Air Act to protect people’s health,” said Granta Nakayama, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement shows that when you violate the law, EPA will be there to make you pay.”
“East Kentucky Power Cooperative has agreed to install pollution control equipment as well as monitor and reduce emissions harmful to our health and the environment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ronald J. Tenpas for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This is an important agreement that has true benefits to the people of Kentucky.”
The government estimated that the utility’s Dale Generating Station emitted over 15,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 4,000 tons of nitrogen oxide without a permit from approximately 2000-2005. In addition, the government alleged the utility exceeded the federal annual emission rate for nitrogen oxides.
The utility is also required to apply for an acid rain permit, continuously monitor sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and install and operate nitrogen oxide controls. These pollution controls will reduce annual nitrogen oxide emissions by approximately 400 tons per year.
Coal-fired power plants are allowed to emit sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the form of “allowances,” which are granted under federal or state acid rain permits based on a national annual emissions cap.
If a utility emits less, it can sell unused allowances to other utilities, or save them for use later. If it emits more, it must purchase allowances from other utilities and surrender those allowances to EPA.
In this case, East Kentucky is required to purchase and retire allowances representing 20,000 tons of emissions, which represents their emissions during the period of noncompliance.
Coal-fired plants release sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides, which are a primary cause of acid rain that harms trees and lakes and impairs visibility. Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides cause severe respiratory problems, contribute to childhood asthma, and contribute to smog and haze. Emissions from power plants can drift significant distances downwind and degrade air quality in nearby areas.
Today’s agreement allows the company to pay the $11.4 million penalty over six years. East Kentucky will also pay additional penalties if it meets certain thresholds of financial performance.
Last July, East Kentucky agreed to install pollution controls estimated to cost $650 million and to pay a $750,000 penalty to resolve violations of the new source review provisions of the Clean Air Act at the Dale facility and two other plants.
Today’s proposed agreement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in Lexington, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice Web site.
Washington, D.C. – In a landmark settlement filed today, East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a coal-fired electric utility, has agreed to pay an $11.4 million penalty to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act’s acid rain program, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.
As part of today’s settlement, the U.S. is seeking court-approval for the highest fine ever under the Clean Air Act’s acid rain program. The Commonwealth of Kentucky joined in today’s consent decree.
The settlement requires that the company take steps to reduce approximately 400 tons of harmful emissions each year and offset another approximately 20,000 tons of emissions released from its Clark County, Ky. facility without a permit.
“We enforce the Clean Air Act to protect people’s health,” said Granta Nakayama, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement shows that when you violate the law, EPA will be there to make you pay.”
“East Kentucky Power Cooperative has agreed to install pollution control equipment as well as monitor and reduce emissions harmful to our health and the environment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ronald J. Tenpas for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This is an important agreement that has true benefits to the people of Kentucky.”
The government estimated that the utility’s Dale Generating Station emitted over 15,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 4,000 tons of nitrogen oxide without a permit from approximately 2000-2005. In addition, the government alleged the utility exceeded the federal annual emission rate for nitrogen oxides.
The utility is also required to apply for an acid rain permit, continuously monitor sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and install and operate nitrogen oxide controls. These pollution controls will reduce annual nitrogen oxide emissions by approximately 400 tons per year.
Coal-fired power plants are allowed to emit sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the form of “allowances,” which are granted under federal or state acid rain permits based on a national annual emissions cap.
If a utility emits less, it can sell unused allowances to other utilities, or save them for use later. If it emits more, it must purchase allowances from other utilities and surrender those allowances to EPA.
In this case, East Kentucky is required to purchase and retire allowances representing 20,000 tons of emissions, which represents their emissions during the period of noncompliance.
Coal-fired plants release sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides, which are a primary cause of acid rain that harms trees and lakes and impairs visibility. Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides cause severe respiratory problems, contribute to childhood asthma, and contribute to smog and haze. Emissions from power plants can drift significant distances downwind and degrade air quality in nearby areas.
Today’s agreement allows the company to pay the $11.4 million penalty over six years. East Kentucky will also pay additional penalties if it meets certain thresholds of financial performance.
Last July, East Kentucky agreed to install pollution controls estimated to cost $650 million and to pay a $750,000 penalty to resolve violations of the new source review provisions of the Clean Air Act at the Dale facility and two other plants.
Today’s proposed agreement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in Lexington, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice Web site.
Smog Thinner, Skies Healthier over Eastern U.S.
by Trey Granger on September 27th, 2007
Washington, D.C. — Smog-forming emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from power plants and industry have declined significantly in 19 eastern states and the District of Columbia. The NOx Budget Trading Program (NBP) annual report, released today, indicates that summertime NOx emissions were seven percent lower than in 2005, 60 percent lower than in 2000 and 74 percent lower than in 1990.
“The proof is in the numbers. By cutting smog-forming emissions, 55 million Americans in the eastern United States are breathing easier thanks to President Bush’s clean air policies,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “NOx reductions are not just good news for the health of our environment and the health of our residents, they are good news for the health of our economy.”
The reduction of NOx – a precursor to ground-level ozone, or “smog” – has helped reduce ground-level ozone concentrations an average of 5-8 percent in the eastern United States in the last three years. Four out of five eastern ozone non-attainment areas now meet the current standard.
The EPA report tracks summertime emission reductions from 1990 to 2006 and assesses the impact of these reductions on ozone air quality in the eastern region. The largest NOx reductions occurred in the mid-central area of the eastern United States including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia.
The NOx Budget Trading Program is flexible and lets electric generating units choose the best options to reduce NOx emissions during ozone season for their facilities. Options include adding NOx emission-control technologies, replacing existing controls with more advanced technologies or optimizing existing controls. This flexibility, and an active NOx allowance market, has helped lead to an over 99 percent compliance rate with the program’s requirements
Washington, D.C. — Smog-forming emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from power plants and industry have declined significantly in 19 eastern states and the District of Columbia. The NOx Budget Trading Program (NBP) annual report, released today, indicates that summertime NOx emissions were seven percent lower than in 2005, 60 percent lower than in 2000 and 74 percent lower than in 1990.
“The proof is in the numbers. By cutting smog-forming emissions, 55 million Americans in the eastern United States are breathing easier thanks to President Bush’s clean air policies,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “NOx reductions are not just good news for the health of our environment and the health of our residents, they are good news for the health of our economy.”
The reduction of NOx – a precursor to ground-level ozone, or “smog” – has helped reduce ground-level ozone concentrations an average of 5-8 percent in the eastern United States in the last three years. Four out of five eastern ozone non-attainment areas now meet the current standard.
The EPA report tracks summertime emission reductions from 1990 to 2006 and assesses the impact of these reductions on ozone air quality in the eastern region. The largest NOx reductions occurred in the mid-central area of the eastern United States including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia.
The NOx Budget Trading Program is flexible and lets electric generating units choose the best options to reduce NOx emissions during ozone season for their facilities. Options include adding NOx emission-control technologies, replacing existing controls with more advanced technologies or optimizing existing controls. This flexibility, and an active NOx allowance market, has helped lead to an over 99 percent compliance rate with the program’s requirements
INDOOR EMISSIONS FROM HOUSEHOLD COAL COMBUSTION CARCINOGENIC: WOMEN IN LOW- OR MEDIUM-RESOURCE COUNTRIES MOST EXPOSED 2
INDOOR EMISSIONS FROM HOUSEHOLD COAL COMBUSTION CARCINOGENIC: WOMEN IN LOW- OR MEDIUM-RESOURCE COUNTRIES MOST EXPOSED
An IARC Monographs Working Group has concluded that indoor emissions from household combustion of coal are carcinogenic to humans (Group 11), after a thorough review of the published scientific evidence.
At the same time, the Working Group concluded that indoor emissions from household combustion of biomass fuel2 (mostly wood) are probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A1).
To complement these evaluations of indoor air pollutants, the Working Group also assessed the potential carcinogenicity of emissions from high-temperature frying.
These emissions were also evaluated as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A1).
A summary of the IARC evaluation is published in the Policy Watch section of the December issue of The Lancet Oncology, and the results will be presented at the Society for Risk analysis Annual Meeting in Baltimore (USA) on December 4.
Risk reduction measures
Exposure to polluted indoor air from combustion of wood or coal or from frying can be greatly reduced by adequate ventilation, e.g. through the construction of a chimney, as has been shown in China. This seems an obvious first public health measure to start reducing the lung cancer burden for large parts of the world's population. Changing cooking and heating methods should also be considered.
The Working Group, comprising 19 scientists from 8 countries, was convened by the IARC Monographs Programme of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer research agency of the World Health Organization.
Major public health importance
"This new IARC Monograph (volume 95) addresses exposures that are experienced daily by hundreds of millions world-wide," said Dr Peter Boyle, Director of IARC. It is estimated that approximately half the world’s population uses wood or coal for cooking and heating, often in poorly ventilated, and often unventilated, spaces. For instance, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage of households using solid fuels climbs to over 90%. "It is therefore of enormous public health importance that we call attention to the health risks of what is daily practice for so many people", he continued.
Coal risks not new
Occupational exposure to coal combustion products has long been known to cause lung cancer. Products of incomplete combustion contain respirable particles and many organic chemicals, including known human carcinogens such as benzo[a]pyrene, formaldehyde and benzene. Average indoor concentrations of fine particles (< 10 micrometres) can be as high as several milligrams per cubic metre, with peak concentrations ten times higher. On the basis of conclusive epidemiological evidence, the Working Group evaluated indoor emissions from household combustion of coal as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 11). Dr Boyle stressed that “There are parts of the world where women and young children especially are exposed to these high levels of indoor air pollution for most of their day. Fortunately, these exposure levels can be greatly lowered, and the cancer risk reduced.”
Wood smoke a probable carcinogen…
While the association of emissions from coal combustion with lung cancer was relatively clear-cut, the evidence of increased cancer risk associated with emissions from biomass combustion (mainly from wood) was less studied : these emissions were classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A1).
… and so is high-temperature frying
To complete this review of indoor air pollution, the Working Group evaluated the potential carcinogenicity of various ways of frying: stir-frying, deep-frying and panfrying, which involve heating oil to high temperatures, are practiced worldwide and are particularly widespread in East Asia. On the basis of limited data in humans and conclusive evidence in experimental animals, the Working Group concluded that emissions from high-temperature frying are “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A1). This classification was supported by a wealth of experimental data on the mutagenicity of emissions of cooking oil at temperatures around 230 degrees Celsius. The frying method or type of oil used did not seem to have a big influence on the results of the epidemiological studies.
Evaluating carcinogenic risks to humans
The IARC Monographs Programme on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans has traditionally focused its attention on the evaluation of occupational and lifestyle exposures in populations of the developed, industrialized world. This new monograph deals with an exposure that is widespread in low- and medium-resource countries, and reflects how the Monographs Programme has broadened its scope and reach.
1 See the definitions in the Appendix below
2 Biomass includes wood, charcoal, dung and unprocessed vegetal residue.
APPENDIX: ABOUT THE IARC MONOGRAPHS
INDOOR EMISSIONS FROM HOUSEHOLD COAL COMBUSTION CARCINOGENIC: WOMEN IN LOW- OR MEDIUM-RESOURCE COUNTRIES MOST EXPOSED 1
INDOOR EMISSIONS FROM HOUSEHOLD COAL COMBUSTION CARCINOGENIC: WOMEN IN LOW- OR MEDIUM-RESOURCE COUNTRIES MOST EXPOSED
APPENDIX: ABOUT THE IARC MONOGRAPHS
What are the IARC Monographs?
The IARC Monographs identify environmental factors that can increase the risk of human cancer. These include chemicals, complex mixtures, occupational exposures, physical and biological agents, and lifestyle factors. National health agencies use this information as scientific support for their actions to prevent exposure to potential carcinogens.
Interdisciplinary working groups of expert scientists review the published studies and evaluate the weight of the evidence that an agent can increase the risk of cancer. The principles, procedures, and scientific criteria that guide the evaluations are described in the Preamble to the IARC Monographs.
Since 1971, more than 900 agents have been evaluated, of which approximately 400 have been identified as carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic to humans.
Definitions
Group 1: The agent (mixture) is carcinogenic to humans.
The exposure circumstance entails exposures that are carcinogenic to humans.
This category is used when there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. Exceptionally, an agent (mixture) may be placed in this category when evidence of carcinogenicity in humans is less than sufficient but there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals and strong evidence in exposed humans that the agent (mixture) acts through a relevant mechanism of carcinogenicity.
Group 2
This category includes agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances for which, at one extreme, the degree of evidence of carcinogenicity in humans is almost sufficient, as well as those for which, at the other extreme, there are no human data but for which there is evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. Agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances are assigned to either group 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans) or group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans) on the basis of epidemiological and experimental evidence of carcinogenicity and other relevant data.
Group 2A: The agent (mixture) is probably carcinogenic to humans.
The exposure circumstance entails exposures that are probably carcinogenic to humans.
This category is used when there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. In some cases, an agent (mixture) may be classified in this category when there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals and strong evidence that the carcinogenesis is mediated by a mechanism that also operates in humans. Exceptionally, an agent, mixture or exposure circumstance may be classified in this category solely on the basis of limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans.
Group 2B: The agent (mixture) is possibly carcinogenic to humans.
The exposure circumstance entails exposures that are possibly carcinogenic to humans.
This category is used for agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances for which there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and less than sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. It may also be used when there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. In some instances, an agent, mixture or exposure circumstance for which there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but limited evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals together with supporting evidence from other relevant data may be placed in this group.
Group 3: The agent (mixture or exposure circumstance) is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans.
This category is used most commonly for agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances for which the evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans and inadequate or limited in experimental animals. Exceptionally, agents (mixtures) for which the evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans but sufficient in experimental animals may be placed in this category when there is strong evidence that the mechanism of carcinogenicity in experimental animals does not operate in humans.
Group 4: The agent (mixture) is probably not carcinogenic to humans.
This category is used for agents or mixtures for which there is evidence suggesting lack of carcinogenicity in humans and in experimental animals. In some instances, agents or mixtures for which there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but evidence suggesting lack of carcinogenicity in experimental animals, consistently and strongly supported by a broad range of other relevant data, may be classified in this group.
futher in next post~
APPENDIX: ABOUT THE IARC MONOGRAPHS
What are the IARC Monographs?
The IARC Monographs identify environmental factors that can increase the risk of human cancer. These include chemicals, complex mixtures, occupational exposures, physical and biological agents, and lifestyle factors. National health agencies use this information as scientific support for their actions to prevent exposure to potential carcinogens.
Interdisciplinary working groups of expert scientists review the published studies and evaluate the weight of the evidence that an agent can increase the risk of cancer. The principles, procedures, and scientific criteria that guide the evaluations are described in the Preamble to the IARC Monographs.
Since 1971, more than 900 agents have been evaluated, of which approximately 400 have been identified as carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic to humans.
Definitions
Group 1: The agent (mixture) is carcinogenic to humans.
The exposure circumstance entails exposures that are carcinogenic to humans.
This category is used when there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. Exceptionally, an agent (mixture) may be placed in this category when evidence of carcinogenicity in humans is less than sufficient but there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals and strong evidence in exposed humans that the agent (mixture) acts through a relevant mechanism of carcinogenicity.
Group 2
This category includes agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances for which, at one extreme, the degree of evidence of carcinogenicity in humans is almost sufficient, as well as those for which, at the other extreme, there are no human data but for which there is evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. Agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances are assigned to either group 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans) or group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans) on the basis of epidemiological and experimental evidence of carcinogenicity and other relevant data.
Group 2A: The agent (mixture) is probably carcinogenic to humans.
The exposure circumstance entails exposures that are probably carcinogenic to humans.
This category is used when there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. In some cases, an agent (mixture) may be classified in this category when there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals and strong evidence that the carcinogenesis is mediated by a mechanism that also operates in humans. Exceptionally, an agent, mixture or exposure circumstance may be classified in this category solely on the basis of limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans.
Group 2B: The agent (mixture) is possibly carcinogenic to humans.
The exposure circumstance entails exposures that are possibly carcinogenic to humans.
This category is used for agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances for which there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and less than sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. It may also be used when there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. In some instances, an agent, mixture or exposure circumstance for which there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but limited evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals together with supporting evidence from other relevant data may be placed in this group.
Group 3: The agent (mixture or exposure circumstance) is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans.
This category is used most commonly for agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances for which the evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans and inadequate or limited in experimental animals. Exceptionally, agents (mixtures) for which the evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans but sufficient in experimental animals may be placed in this category when there is strong evidence that the mechanism of carcinogenicity in experimental animals does not operate in humans.
Group 4: The agent (mixture) is probably not carcinogenic to humans.
This category is used for agents or mixtures for which there is evidence suggesting lack of carcinogenicity in humans and in experimental animals. In some instances, agents or mixtures for which there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but evidence suggesting lack of carcinogenicity in experimental animals, consistently and strongly supported by a broad range of other relevant data, may be classified in this group.
futher in next post~
Indoor air pollution (Health Effects)- WHO
Health effects
Acute lower respiratory infections
There is consistent evidence that exposure to biomass smoke increases the risk of acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in childhood, particularly pneumonia. Globally, ALRI represent the single most important cause of death in children under 5 years and account for at least 2 million deaths annually in this age group.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Indoor air pollution is considered a risk factor for chronic bronchitis (CB) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD - progressive and incompletely reversible airflow obstruction). The association between exposure to biomass smoke and CB/COPD has been particularly well established for women.
Lung cancer
Smoke from both coal and biomass contains substantial amounts of carcinogens (chemical substances known to increase the risk of cancer). A consistent body of evidence has shown that women exposed to smoke from coal fires in the home have an elevated risk of lung cancer. This effect has not been demonstrated among populations using biomass, but the presence of carcinogens in the smoke implies that the risk may be present.
Other health outcomes
There is emerging evidence which suggests that indoor air pollution in developing countries may also increase the risk of other important child and adult health problems, although this evidence is tentative and based on fewer studies. It includes conditions such as:
low birthweight and perinatal mortality (still births and deaths in the first week of life)
asthma
otitis media (middle ear infection) and other acute upper respiratory infections
tuberculosis
nasopharyngeal cancer
laryngeal cancer
cataract (blindness)
cardiovascular disease
Status of evidence
The table summarizes the status of evidence on the health effects of indoor air pollution.
- The health effects of indoor air pollution exposure in developing countries
Publication by the World Health Organization, 2002.
- Indoor air pollution in developing countries: a major environmental and public health challenge
Article in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2000.
Health impacts of indoor air pollution- WHO
Indoor cooking and heating with biomass fuels (agricultural residues, dung, straw, wood) or coal produces high levels of indoor smoke that contains a variety of health-damaging pollutants.
There is consistent evidence that exposure to indoor air pollution can lead to acute lower respiratory infections in children under five, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer (where coal is used) in adults.
There is consistent evidence that exposure to indoor air pollution can lead to acute lower respiratory infections in children under five, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer (where coal is used) in adults.
Indoor air pollution- WHO
More than three billion people worldwide continue to depend on solid fuels, including biomass fuels (wood, dung, agricultural residues) and coal, for their energy needs.
Cooking and heating with solid fuels on open fires or traditional stoves results in high levels of indoor air pollution. Indoor smoke contains a range of health-damaging pollutants, such as small particles and carbon monoxide, and particulate pollution levels may be 20 times higher than accepted guideline values.
According to The world health report 2002 indoor air pollution is responsible for 2.7% of the global burden of disease.
WHO’s Programme on Indoor Air Pollution
To combat this substantial and growing burden of disease, WHO has developed a comprehensive programme to support developing countries. WHO's Programme on Indoor Air Pollution focuses on:
- Research and evaluation
- Capacity building
- Evidence for policy-makers
ANDA SEBAGAI INDIVIDU BOLEH MEMBUAT PERUBAHAN !!!
ANDA SEBAGAI INDIVIDU BOLEH MEMBUAT PERUBAHAN
1. LAKUKAN PERUBAHAN DI JALAN RAYA
Fikirkan semula jenis sistem pengangkutan yang hendak digunakan.
Amalkan berkongsi kereta / kenderaan bagi perjalanan yang mempunyai tujuan sama
Pertimbangkan sistem pengangkutan awam, berbasikal ataupun berjalan kaki;
Selenggara kenderaan dan pastikan keadaan angin tayar yang baik bagi menjimatkan kos bahan api ;
Pandu kenderaan dengan bijak. Jangan biarkan kenderaan statik dengan enjin kereta! Tutup enjin kenderaan sekiranya tidak bergerak walaupun sekejap – mampu menjimatkan bahan api;
Isi tangki minyak kenderaan pada waktu yang lebih sejuk bagi mengelakkan bahan api terperuwap ke udara .
Gunakan ‘non-ozone depleting refrigerant’ untuk sistem penghawa dingin kenderaan ;
Pastikan bahan pendingin kenderaan dikitar atau diguna semula semasa servis kenderaan. Perbaiki kebocoran sistem penghawa dingin kenderaan ;
2. LAKUKAN PERUBAHAN DI RUMAH
o Gunakan bahan kimia yang terdapat di rumah secara bijak
o Gunakan bahan ‘non-ODS, low VOC paints and solvents’. Pastikan terlebih dahulu membaca panduan penggunaan dan pelupusan bahan tersebut.
o Perbaiki kebocoran sistem penghawa dingin rumah bagi mengelakkan bahan ODS mencemarkan udara;
o Beli sistem penghawa dingin yang mesra alam dan tidak menipiskan laipsan ozon ;
o Jimatkan penggunaan kuasa elektrik ;
o Amalkan pengurusan bahan buangan dengan bijak. Kitar semula tin aluminum, kertas dan kaca ;
o Beli produk yang diperbuat daripada bahan-bahan kitar semula;
o Hentikan pembakaran terbuka.
3. SEKTOR PERINDUSTRIAN BOLEH MEMBUAT PERUBAHAN
Amalkan teknologi bersih ;
Jimat penggunaan kuasa elektrik. Gunakan dan hasilkan produk yang tidak menipiskan lapisan ozon.
Jalankan servis dan penyelenggaraan ke atas mesin-mesin pembuatan.
Hentikan pembakaran terbuka.
Amalkan Teknik Pembakaran Sifar (sektor pertanian).
Kurangkan penggunaan racun makhluk perosak yang tidak mesra alam (sektor pertanian).
1. LAKUKAN PERUBAHAN DI JALAN RAYA
Fikirkan semula jenis sistem pengangkutan yang hendak digunakan.
Amalkan berkongsi kereta / kenderaan bagi perjalanan yang mempunyai tujuan sama
Pertimbangkan sistem pengangkutan awam, berbasikal ataupun berjalan kaki;
Selenggara kenderaan dan pastikan keadaan angin tayar yang baik bagi menjimatkan kos bahan api ;
Pandu kenderaan dengan bijak. Jangan biarkan kenderaan statik dengan enjin kereta! Tutup enjin kenderaan sekiranya tidak bergerak walaupun sekejap – mampu menjimatkan bahan api;
Isi tangki minyak kenderaan pada waktu yang lebih sejuk bagi mengelakkan bahan api terperuwap ke udara .
Gunakan ‘non-ozone depleting refrigerant’ untuk sistem penghawa dingin kenderaan ;
Pastikan bahan pendingin kenderaan dikitar atau diguna semula semasa servis kenderaan. Perbaiki kebocoran sistem penghawa dingin kenderaan ;
2. LAKUKAN PERUBAHAN DI RUMAH
o Gunakan bahan kimia yang terdapat di rumah secara bijak
o Gunakan bahan ‘non-ODS, low VOC paints and solvents’. Pastikan terlebih dahulu membaca panduan penggunaan dan pelupusan bahan tersebut.
o Perbaiki kebocoran sistem penghawa dingin rumah bagi mengelakkan bahan ODS mencemarkan udara;
o Beli sistem penghawa dingin yang mesra alam dan tidak menipiskan laipsan ozon ;
o Jimatkan penggunaan kuasa elektrik ;
o Amalkan pengurusan bahan buangan dengan bijak. Kitar semula tin aluminum, kertas dan kaca ;
o Beli produk yang diperbuat daripada bahan-bahan kitar semula;
o Hentikan pembakaran terbuka.
3. SEKTOR PERINDUSTRIAN BOLEH MEMBUAT PERUBAHAN
Amalkan teknologi bersih ;
Jimat penggunaan kuasa elektrik. Gunakan dan hasilkan produk yang tidak menipiskan lapisan ozon.
Jalankan servis dan penyelenggaraan ke atas mesin-mesin pembuatan.
Hentikan pembakaran terbuka.
Amalkan Teknik Pembakaran Sifar (sektor pertanian).
Kurangkan penggunaan racun makhluk perosak yang tidak mesra alam (sektor pertanian).
Langkah-langkah Kawalan PENCEMARAN UDARA oleh JAS
JAS menguatkuasakan undang-undang yang diperuntukkan di bawah Akta Kualiti Alam Sekeliling 1974 dan Bahagian IV Akta Zon Eksklusif Ekonomi 1984 ;
Bagi memastikan prestasi pematuhan industri, JAS sentiasa mengadakan lawatan penguatkuasaan ke kilang-kilang/punca tetap.
Melaksanakan operasi asap hitam terhadap pengguna-pengguna kenderaan di jalanraya ;
Kemudahan Yang Diluluskan ;
Statistik Penguatkuasaan .
JAS dari masa ke semasa mengadakan rondaan darat dan udara untuk menyiasat / mengesan aktiviti pecemaran udara
Pengawasan kualiti udara secara berterusan (24jam) bagi mengesan sebarang perubahan kepada kandungan kimia udara ambien yang boleh membahayakan kesihatan manusia.
JAS menganjurkan beberapa siri program kempen kesedaran berkaitan lapisan ozon kepada orang awam dan sektor industri ;
Menjalankan kajian kerjasama dengan pihak-pihak berkaitan bagi mengawal pencemaran udara ;
Terlibat dalam mesyuarat / protokol / komitmen dalam penjagaan alam sekitar di peringkat antarabangsa.
Bagi memastikan prestasi pematuhan industri, JAS sentiasa mengadakan lawatan penguatkuasaan ke kilang-kilang/punca tetap.
Melaksanakan operasi asap hitam terhadap pengguna-pengguna kenderaan di jalanraya ;
Kemudahan Yang Diluluskan ;
Statistik Penguatkuasaan .
JAS dari masa ke semasa mengadakan rondaan darat dan udara untuk menyiasat / mengesan aktiviti pecemaran udara
Pengawasan kualiti udara secara berterusan (24jam) bagi mengesan sebarang perubahan kepada kandungan kimia udara ambien yang boleh membahayakan kesihatan manusia.
JAS menganjurkan beberapa siri program kempen kesedaran berkaitan lapisan ozon kepada orang awam dan sektor industri ;
Menjalankan kajian kerjasama dengan pihak-pihak berkaitan bagi mengawal pencemaran udara ;
Terlibat dalam mesyuarat / protokol / komitmen dalam penjagaan alam sekitar di peringkat antarabangsa.
PUNCA PENCEMARAN UDARA MALAYSIA- autoriti Jabatan Alam Sekitar, Malaysia
1. PENDAHULUAN
Bumi secara semulajadinya menerima beban pencemaran udara daripada fenomena alam semulajadi seperti letupan gunung berapi, pembakaran hutan akibat dari panahan petir dan sebagainya. Walaubagaimanapun, Bumi mempunyai 'kaedah semulajadi' bagi menangani pencemaran semulajadi ini. Apabila manusia mula menjalankan aktiviti perindustrian mahupun aktiviti harian, pencemaran alam sekitar semakin berleluasa dan Bumi tidak mampu lagi 'memikul' beban pencemaran tersebut.
2. AKTIVITI PERINDUSTRIAN & PEMBANGUNAN
Perkembangan ekonomi Malaysia bergantung kepada industri pembuatan, terutamanya elektronik, kimia dan juga getah. Namun kadar pengeluaran yang kian meningkat telah menyebabkan penambahan pada pelepasan pencemaran gas organik dan bukan organik, bahan kimia dan juga habuk. Pelbagai jenis industri menghasilkan bahan cemar yang berbeza. Contohnya industri kimia melepaskan pencemar yang mengandungi pelbagai kompaun yang berasaskan nitrogen dan sulfur, manakala kilang penapis minyak mengeluarkan asap yang mengandungi sulfur dioksida dan hidrokarbon. Industri logam pula bertanggungjawab mencemarkan udara dengan sulfur dioksida dan habuk toksik. Sesetengah bahan pencemar, terutamanya karbon dioksida adalah merupakan gas rumah hijau yang amat memudaratkan boleh mengakibatkan perubahan iklim seluruh dunia.
Selain pelepasan bahan toksik ke udara, pembangunan premis atau zon industri tanpa perancangan teliti dan kawalan akan mengakibatkan pencemaran bunyi dan getaran. Aktiviti di tapak pembinaan dan bunyi kipas ekzos di kilang-kilang adalah antara contoh-contoh aktiviti yang menghasilkan paras bunyi yang tinggi.
3. KENDERAAN MOTOR
Masyarakat moden amat bergantung kepada pengangkutan bermotor seperti kereta, lori dan keretapi. Setiap pergerakan kenderaan motor menggunakan tenaga yang banyak dan hampir kesemuanya dihasilkan dengan membakar bahan api fosil, yang menghasilkan asap dan bunyi bising yang membawa kesan buruk kepada keadaan setempat. Kualiti udara persekitaran amat bergantung kepada jenis sistem pengangkutan yang digunakan, jenis sumber tenaga, tahap teknologi enjin dan juga jumlah tenaga yang diperlukan. Di dalam sektor pengangkutan, kenderaan motor adalah penyumbang utama kepada pencemaran udara. Penggunaan pengangkutan awam akan mengurangkan impak pencemaran ke atas alam sekitar. Dalam tahun 2004, 14 juta kenderaan berdaftar digunakan di Malaysia, angka ini dua kali ganda berbanding dengan sedekad lalu. Angka ini akan terus meningkat dari tahun ke tahun dengan meningkatnya pendapatan, pemindahan luar bandar ke bandar dan kekurangan kemudahan pengangkutan awam yang cekap.
4. PENJANAAN KUASA
Hampir kesemua tenaga elektrik dihasilkan dengan membakar bahan api fosil seperti gas asli, minyak dan arang batu. Loji-loji janakuasa jenis ini mempunyai tahap kecekepan antara 35 dan 40 peratus di mana tenaga selebihnya bertukar menjadi haba. Pada masa ini, Malaysia menjana 86 peratus keperluan tenaga elektriknya melalui loji janakuasa konvensional manakala baki 14 peratus dihasilkan oleh stesen janakuasa hidro.
5. AKTIVITI HARIAN
Isi rumah menyumbang kepada pencemaran melalui penggunaan tenaga untuk mesin dan perkakas elektrik seperti peti sejuk. Peti sejuk dan penyaman udara bukan sahaja menggunakan banyak tenaga tetapi alat-alat ini juga mencemarkan udara apabila cecair penyejuk yang digunakan melepaskan Klorofluorokarban (CFC) ke udara seterusnya menipiskan lapisan ozon. Peralatan rumah seperti penyembur aerosol yang mengandungi CFC juga adalah punca pencemaran udara.
6. PEMBAKARAN TERBUKA
Pembakaran pokok tua di kawasan ladang untuk tujuan penanaman semula banyak partikel jelaga. Partikel jelaga ini boleh diterbangkan pada jarak yang jauh oleh angin dan inilah punca jerebu yang kerap menyelubunyi ruang udara Malaysia. Api dari pembakaran ini bukan sahaja menghasilkan asap yang mencemarkan tetapi ia juga memusnahkan segala fauna dan flora di sekitarnya
Bumi secara semulajadinya menerima beban pencemaran udara daripada fenomena alam semulajadi seperti letupan gunung berapi, pembakaran hutan akibat dari panahan petir dan sebagainya. Walaubagaimanapun, Bumi mempunyai 'kaedah semulajadi' bagi menangani pencemaran semulajadi ini. Apabila manusia mula menjalankan aktiviti perindustrian mahupun aktiviti harian, pencemaran alam sekitar semakin berleluasa dan Bumi tidak mampu lagi 'memikul' beban pencemaran tersebut.
2. AKTIVITI PERINDUSTRIAN & PEMBANGUNAN
Perkembangan ekonomi Malaysia bergantung kepada industri pembuatan, terutamanya elektronik, kimia dan juga getah. Namun kadar pengeluaran yang kian meningkat telah menyebabkan penambahan pada pelepasan pencemaran gas organik dan bukan organik, bahan kimia dan juga habuk. Pelbagai jenis industri menghasilkan bahan cemar yang berbeza. Contohnya industri kimia melepaskan pencemar yang mengandungi pelbagai kompaun yang berasaskan nitrogen dan sulfur, manakala kilang penapis minyak mengeluarkan asap yang mengandungi sulfur dioksida dan hidrokarbon. Industri logam pula bertanggungjawab mencemarkan udara dengan sulfur dioksida dan habuk toksik. Sesetengah bahan pencemar, terutamanya karbon dioksida adalah merupakan gas rumah hijau yang amat memudaratkan boleh mengakibatkan perubahan iklim seluruh dunia.
Selain pelepasan bahan toksik ke udara, pembangunan premis atau zon industri tanpa perancangan teliti dan kawalan akan mengakibatkan pencemaran bunyi dan getaran. Aktiviti di tapak pembinaan dan bunyi kipas ekzos di kilang-kilang adalah antara contoh-contoh aktiviti yang menghasilkan paras bunyi yang tinggi.
3. KENDERAAN MOTOR
Masyarakat moden amat bergantung kepada pengangkutan bermotor seperti kereta, lori dan keretapi. Setiap pergerakan kenderaan motor menggunakan tenaga yang banyak dan hampir kesemuanya dihasilkan dengan membakar bahan api fosil, yang menghasilkan asap dan bunyi bising yang membawa kesan buruk kepada keadaan setempat. Kualiti udara persekitaran amat bergantung kepada jenis sistem pengangkutan yang digunakan, jenis sumber tenaga, tahap teknologi enjin dan juga jumlah tenaga yang diperlukan. Di dalam sektor pengangkutan, kenderaan motor adalah penyumbang utama kepada pencemaran udara. Penggunaan pengangkutan awam akan mengurangkan impak pencemaran ke atas alam sekitar. Dalam tahun 2004, 14 juta kenderaan berdaftar digunakan di Malaysia, angka ini dua kali ganda berbanding dengan sedekad lalu. Angka ini akan terus meningkat dari tahun ke tahun dengan meningkatnya pendapatan, pemindahan luar bandar ke bandar dan kekurangan kemudahan pengangkutan awam yang cekap.
4. PENJANAAN KUASA
Hampir kesemua tenaga elektrik dihasilkan dengan membakar bahan api fosil seperti gas asli, minyak dan arang batu. Loji-loji janakuasa jenis ini mempunyai tahap kecekepan antara 35 dan 40 peratus di mana tenaga selebihnya bertukar menjadi haba. Pada masa ini, Malaysia menjana 86 peratus keperluan tenaga elektriknya melalui loji janakuasa konvensional manakala baki 14 peratus dihasilkan oleh stesen janakuasa hidro.
5. AKTIVITI HARIAN
Isi rumah menyumbang kepada pencemaran melalui penggunaan tenaga untuk mesin dan perkakas elektrik seperti peti sejuk. Peti sejuk dan penyaman udara bukan sahaja menggunakan banyak tenaga tetapi alat-alat ini juga mencemarkan udara apabila cecair penyejuk yang digunakan melepaskan Klorofluorokarban (CFC) ke udara seterusnya menipiskan lapisan ozon. Peralatan rumah seperti penyembur aerosol yang mengandungi CFC juga adalah punca pencemaran udara.
6. PEMBAKARAN TERBUKA
Pembakaran pokok tua di kawasan ladang untuk tujuan penanaman semula banyak partikel jelaga. Partikel jelaga ini boleh diterbangkan pada jarak yang jauh oleh angin dan inilah punca jerebu yang kerap menyelubunyi ruang udara Malaysia. Api dari pembakaran ini bukan sahaja menghasilkan asap yang mencemarkan tetapi ia juga memusnahkan segala fauna dan flora di sekitarnya
Pengenalan Kepada Udara- menurut autoriti Jabatan Alam Sekitar, Malaysia
1. APAKAH ATMOSFERA ?
Atmosfera ialah lapisan gas yang menyelaputi bumi. Ia kekal dan stabil di sekelilingi bumi kerana graviti. Ia mempunyai ketebalan 100km. Walaupun ia agak nampak tebal, namun sekiranya dibandingkan dengan ketebalan bumi iaitu 6,400km, nisbahnya adalah sama seperti buah pic dan kulitnya. Atmosfera atau lebuh dikenali sebagai udara adalah campuran pelbagai jenis gas, partikal pepejal dan wap air. Udara mempunyai ketumpatan yang tinggi di paras permukaan bumi yang kita tinggal tetapi ketumpatannya menjadi semakin rendah apabila semakin bergerak tinggi ke atas atmosfera. Planet-planet lain juga mempunyai atmosfera tetapi setakat yang diketahui tiada yang mampu menampung kehidupan.
2. KANDUNGAN UDARA BERSIH
Kandungan utama udara di atmosfera ialah Nitrogen (78%), Oksigen (21%), dan lain-lain gas (1%). Oksigen adalah satu keperluan asas bagi hamper semua benda hidup. Kesemua elemen lain yang ditonjolkan di dalam graf di bawah juga memainkan peranan yang penting dalam menampung kehidupan di bumi. Selain itu, air juga merupakan satu komponen atmosfera yang penting dan ia hadir dalam bentuk wap air yang tersejat dari permukaan Bumi. Daripada wap air ini terbentuklah awan yang akhirnya mengembalikan air ke muka bumi sebagai hujan atau salji. Komponen lain dalam udara ialah partikel pepejal yang halus. Partikel-partikel ini dikenali sebagai ‘aerosol’ dan ia bertindak sebagai condenser membolehkan wap air terpeluap di sekelilingnya dan membolehkan pembentukan awan. Setiap kali bahan pencemar dilepaskan ke armosfera, bererti kita mengganggu kestabilan semulajadi planet kita.
3. BUNYI DAN GETARAN
Bunyi adalah sebahagian daripada alam dan bergerak dalam udara. Bunyi bising adalah pencemaran kerana ia adalah satu bentuk kacau ganggu kepada semua benda hidup. Semua struktur yang bergetar menghasilkan bunyi. Julat mendengar bagi seorang manusia normal dan sihat adalah masing-masing 20 Hz sehingga 20,000 Hz dan 0 dB sehingga 130 dB. Paras bunyi yang melebihi 130 dB akan menyebabkan deria pendengaran manusia mula berasa sakit. Paras getaran bangunan kurang 3 mm/s adalah selamat , manakala paras getaran melebihi 30 mm/s akan menyebabkan kerosakan infrastruktur yang sangat teruk dan besar.
4. STRUKTUR LAPISAN ATMOSFERA
Jika anda mendongak ke langit pada hari yang cerah selalunya anda akan melihat langit yang biru dengan kepulan putih awan terapung-apung dan bergerak perlahan-lahan. Apa yang anda tidak boleh lihat ialah struktur menegak atmosfera yang terdiri daripada 4 lapisan yang dipanggil troposfera, stratosfera, mesosfera dan termosfera. Suhu udara akan meningkat atau menurun di setiap lapisan dan sifatnya berubah di setiap lapisan. Troposfera mempunyai ketebalan dari 9 hingga 16 kilometer dan kebanyakan aktiviti cuaca seperti pembentukan awan dan rebut berlaku di zon ini. Suhu menurun mengikut ketinggian di lapisan ini.
5. PERNAFASAN & OKSIGEN
Dengan setiap nafas yang kita sedut, sel-sel badan diberi tenaga untuk bergerak, membina dan mengganda bagi memastikan kita terus hidup. Udara memasuki paru-paru melalui hidung dan mulut. Di dalam paru-paru ianya diserap ke dalam aliran darah dan kemuidan dibawa ke seluruh badan. Karbon dioksida kemudiannya dipulangkan ke paru-paru dan dikeluarkan daripada badan kita apabila nafas dihembus. Tanpa tumbuhan yang menghasilkan oksigen, manusia dan haiwan tidak boleh terus hidup. Oleh kerana itu kita harus memastikan tumbuh-tumbuhan dipelihara dengan baik.
6. FOTOSINTESIS & OKSIGEN
Fotosintesis yang berlaku dalam tumbuh-tumbuhan berdaun hijau dengan bantuan klorofil adalah satu keajaiban. Ia bermula apabila tumbuhan dan rumpai menyerap cahaya matahari dan menukarnya kepada tenaga kimia. Karbon dioksida dari atmosfera dan air kemudiannya ditukarkan kepada gula manakala oksigen pula dihasilkan sebagai bahan buangan. Tumbuh-tumbuhan memerlukan gula untuk membesar dan akhirnya menjadi makanan untuk manusia dan haiwan.
7. KESAN RUMAH HIJAU SEMULAJADI
Dengan “kesan rumah hijau semulajadi”, suhu udara di permukaan bumi dikekalkan pada purata +150C. Tanpa kesan ini, kesejukan ketara pada tahap -180C akan menjadi satu kebiasaan dan kepelbagaian hidupan di biosfera tidak mungkin boleh berkembang. Gelombang pendek pancaran matahari menembusi bumi dengan kuasa yang hebat. Atmosfera, kepulan awan permukaan bumi memantulkan satu pertiga daripada tenaga radiasi ini. Selebihnya menembusi atmosfera lalu memanaskan bumi. Bumi kemudiannya memancarkan kembali tenaga in sebagai radiasi infra merah. Gas surih ataupun gas rumah hijau yang terdapat di atmosfera, terutamanya wap air, karbon dioksida dan metana menyerap gelombang panjang ini dan memancarkannya kembali ke angkasa lepas dan juga kembali ke muka bumi. Dengan ini ia bertindak seperti seperti kepingan kaca pada sebuah rumah hijau, dan permukaan bumi akan menjadi lebih panas. Kesan daripada aktiviti industri di peringkat global mengakibatkan bertambahnya kandungan gas rumah hijau di atmosfera dalam dekad yang lepas. Akibatnya ialah “kesan rumah hijau tambahan” yang mungkin akan mengubah iklim bumi.
8. PERISAI MATAHARI
Matahari memancarkan tenaga dalam bentuk haba (radiasi infra merah), dan cahaya yang boleh dilihat atau radiasi ultra ungu (UV). UV terpancar dengan gelombang yang pendek dan bertenaga tinggi dan diklasifikasikan sebagai UVC, UVB dan UVA. UVC sangat merbahaya dan mampu membunuh semua kehidupan termasuk bacteria dan lain-lain mikro organisma. UVA boleh menggelapkan kulit manakala UVB bertanggungjawab membakar kulit dan boleh menyebabkan penyakit kanser kulit. Kita bernasib baik kerana UVC diserap sepenuhnya oleh oksigen yang berada di atas lapisan stratosfera. Kebanyakan UVB diserap oleh ozon yang berada di stratosfera selagi mana ianya cukup tebal untuk fungsi tersebut. Hanya Pancaran UVA boleh menembusi atmosfera dengan mudah dan tanpa disekat.
Atmosfera ialah lapisan gas yang menyelaputi bumi. Ia kekal dan stabil di sekelilingi bumi kerana graviti. Ia mempunyai ketebalan 100km. Walaupun ia agak nampak tebal, namun sekiranya dibandingkan dengan ketebalan bumi iaitu 6,400km, nisbahnya adalah sama seperti buah pic dan kulitnya. Atmosfera atau lebuh dikenali sebagai udara adalah campuran pelbagai jenis gas, partikal pepejal dan wap air. Udara mempunyai ketumpatan yang tinggi di paras permukaan bumi yang kita tinggal tetapi ketumpatannya menjadi semakin rendah apabila semakin bergerak tinggi ke atas atmosfera. Planet-planet lain juga mempunyai atmosfera tetapi setakat yang diketahui tiada yang mampu menampung kehidupan.
2. KANDUNGAN UDARA BERSIH
Kandungan utama udara di atmosfera ialah Nitrogen (78%), Oksigen (21%), dan lain-lain gas (1%). Oksigen adalah satu keperluan asas bagi hamper semua benda hidup. Kesemua elemen lain yang ditonjolkan di dalam graf di bawah juga memainkan peranan yang penting dalam menampung kehidupan di bumi. Selain itu, air juga merupakan satu komponen atmosfera yang penting dan ia hadir dalam bentuk wap air yang tersejat dari permukaan Bumi. Daripada wap air ini terbentuklah awan yang akhirnya mengembalikan air ke muka bumi sebagai hujan atau salji. Komponen lain dalam udara ialah partikel pepejal yang halus. Partikel-partikel ini dikenali sebagai ‘aerosol’ dan ia bertindak sebagai condenser membolehkan wap air terpeluap di sekelilingnya dan membolehkan pembentukan awan. Setiap kali bahan pencemar dilepaskan ke armosfera, bererti kita mengganggu kestabilan semulajadi planet kita.
3. BUNYI DAN GETARAN
Bunyi adalah sebahagian daripada alam dan bergerak dalam udara. Bunyi bising adalah pencemaran kerana ia adalah satu bentuk kacau ganggu kepada semua benda hidup. Semua struktur yang bergetar menghasilkan bunyi. Julat mendengar bagi seorang manusia normal dan sihat adalah masing-masing 20 Hz sehingga 20,000 Hz dan 0 dB sehingga 130 dB. Paras bunyi yang melebihi 130 dB akan menyebabkan deria pendengaran manusia mula berasa sakit. Paras getaran bangunan kurang 3 mm/s adalah selamat , manakala paras getaran melebihi 30 mm/s akan menyebabkan kerosakan infrastruktur yang sangat teruk dan besar.
4. STRUKTUR LAPISAN ATMOSFERA
Jika anda mendongak ke langit pada hari yang cerah selalunya anda akan melihat langit yang biru dengan kepulan putih awan terapung-apung dan bergerak perlahan-lahan. Apa yang anda tidak boleh lihat ialah struktur menegak atmosfera yang terdiri daripada 4 lapisan yang dipanggil troposfera, stratosfera, mesosfera dan termosfera. Suhu udara akan meningkat atau menurun di setiap lapisan dan sifatnya berubah di setiap lapisan. Troposfera mempunyai ketebalan dari 9 hingga 16 kilometer dan kebanyakan aktiviti cuaca seperti pembentukan awan dan rebut berlaku di zon ini. Suhu menurun mengikut ketinggian di lapisan ini.
5. PERNAFASAN & OKSIGEN
Dengan setiap nafas yang kita sedut, sel-sel badan diberi tenaga untuk bergerak, membina dan mengganda bagi memastikan kita terus hidup. Udara memasuki paru-paru melalui hidung dan mulut. Di dalam paru-paru ianya diserap ke dalam aliran darah dan kemuidan dibawa ke seluruh badan. Karbon dioksida kemudiannya dipulangkan ke paru-paru dan dikeluarkan daripada badan kita apabila nafas dihembus. Tanpa tumbuhan yang menghasilkan oksigen, manusia dan haiwan tidak boleh terus hidup. Oleh kerana itu kita harus memastikan tumbuh-tumbuhan dipelihara dengan baik.
6. FOTOSINTESIS & OKSIGEN
Fotosintesis yang berlaku dalam tumbuh-tumbuhan berdaun hijau dengan bantuan klorofil adalah satu keajaiban. Ia bermula apabila tumbuhan dan rumpai menyerap cahaya matahari dan menukarnya kepada tenaga kimia. Karbon dioksida dari atmosfera dan air kemudiannya ditukarkan kepada gula manakala oksigen pula dihasilkan sebagai bahan buangan. Tumbuh-tumbuhan memerlukan gula untuk membesar dan akhirnya menjadi makanan untuk manusia dan haiwan.
7. KESAN RUMAH HIJAU SEMULAJADI
Dengan “kesan rumah hijau semulajadi”, suhu udara di permukaan bumi dikekalkan pada purata +150C. Tanpa kesan ini, kesejukan ketara pada tahap -180C akan menjadi satu kebiasaan dan kepelbagaian hidupan di biosfera tidak mungkin boleh berkembang. Gelombang pendek pancaran matahari menembusi bumi dengan kuasa yang hebat. Atmosfera, kepulan awan permukaan bumi memantulkan satu pertiga daripada tenaga radiasi ini. Selebihnya menembusi atmosfera lalu memanaskan bumi. Bumi kemudiannya memancarkan kembali tenaga in sebagai radiasi infra merah. Gas surih ataupun gas rumah hijau yang terdapat di atmosfera, terutamanya wap air, karbon dioksida dan metana menyerap gelombang panjang ini dan memancarkannya kembali ke angkasa lepas dan juga kembali ke muka bumi. Dengan ini ia bertindak seperti seperti kepingan kaca pada sebuah rumah hijau, dan permukaan bumi akan menjadi lebih panas. Kesan daripada aktiviti industri di peringkat global mengakibatkan bertambahnya kandungan gas rumah hijau di atmosfera dalam dekad yang lepas. Akibatnya ialah “kesan rumah hijau tambahan” yang mungkin akan mengubah iklim bumi.
8. PERISAI MATAHARI
Matahari memancarkan tenaga dalam bentuk haba (radiasi infra merah), dan cahaya yang boleh dilihat atau radiasi ultra ungu (UV). UV terpancar dengan gelombang yang pendek dan bertenaga tinggi dan diklasifikasikan sebagai UVC, UVB dan UVA. UVC sangat merbahaya dan mampu membunuh semua kehidupan termasuk bacteria dan lain-lain mikro organisma. UVA boleh menggelapkan kulit manakala UVB bertanggungjawab membakar kulit dan boleh menyebabkan penyakit kanser kulit. Kita bernasib baik kerana UVC diserap sepenuhnya oleh oksigen yang berada di atas lapisan stratosfera. Kebanyakan UVB diserap oleh ozon yang berada di stratosfera selagi mana ianya cukup tebal untuk fungsi tersebut. Hanya Pancaran UVA boleh menembusi atmosfera dengan mudah dan tanpa disekat.
PERATURAN KAWALAN PENCEMARAN UDARA DI BAWAH AKTA KUALITI ALAM SEKELILING 1974
1. SENARAI PERATURAN – PERATURAN KAWALAN PENCEMARAN UDARA DI BAWAH AKTA KUALITI ALAM SEKELILING 1974
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Udara Bersih) 1978;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Kawalan Kepekatan Plumbum ) 1987;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Bunyi Bising Kenderaan Motor) 1985;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Larangan ke Atas Penggunaan Klorofluokarbon dan Lain-Lain Gas Sebagai Propelan dan Agen Pengembang) 1993;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Kawalan Pelepasan Daripada Enjin Diesel) 1996;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Kawalan Pelepasan Daripada Enjin Petrol) 1996;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Pengurusan Refrigeran) 1999;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Pengurusan Halon) 1999;
Kaedah-kaedah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Mengkompaun Kesalahan-Kesalahan) (Pembakaran Terbuka) 2000;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Perwakilan Kuasa) (Penyiasatan Pembakaran Terbuka) 2000;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Perwakilan Kuasa) (Pengurusan Halon) 2000;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Perwakilan Kuasa) (Perbadanan Putrajaya)2002;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Aktiviti Yang Diisytiharkan) (Pembakaran Terbuka) 2003
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Kawalan Pelepasan Daripada Motosikal) 2003;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Dioksin Dan Furan) 2004.
SENARAI GARISPANDUAN BERKAITAN PENCEMARAN UDARA
The Planning Guidelines for Environmental Noise Limits and Control (2004);
The Guidelines for Noise Labeling and Emission Limits of Outdoor Source (2004);
The Planning Guidelines for Vibration Limits and Control (2004).
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Udara Bersih) 1978;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Kawalan Kepekatan Plumbum ) 1987;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Bunyi Bising Kenderaan Motor) 1985;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Larangan ke Atas Penggunaan Klorofluokarbon dan Lain-Lain Gas Sebagai Propelan dan Agen Pengembang) 1993;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Kawalan Pelepasan Daripada Enjin Diesel) 1996;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Kawalan Pelepasan Daripada Enjin Petrol) 1996;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Pengurusan Refrigeran) 1999;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Pengurusan Halon) 1999;
Kaedah-kaedah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Mengkompaun Kesalahan-Kesalahan) (Pembakaran Terbuka) 2000;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Perwakilan Kuasa) (Penyiasatan Pembakaran Terbuka) 2000;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Perwakilan Kuasa) (Pengurusan Halon) 2000;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Perwakilan Kuasa) (Perbadanan Putrajaya)2002;
Perintah Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Aktiviti Yang Diisytiharkan) (Pembakaran Terbuka) 2003
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Kawalan Pelepasan Daripada Motosikal) 2003;
Peraturan-Peraturan Kualiti Alam Sekeliling (Dioksin Dan Furan) 2004.
SENARAI GARISPANDUAN BERKAITAN PENCEMARAN UDARA
The Planning Guidelines for Environmental Noise Limits and Control (2004);
The Guidelines for Noise Labeling and Emission Limits of Outdoor Source (2004);
The Planning Guidelines for Vibration Limits and Control (2004).
MALAYSIA'S ODS HISTORY / MAIN EVENTS
MALAYSIA'S ODS HISTORY / MAIN EVENTS
October 1985
Establishment of the National Steering Committee (NSC) for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.
5 May 1989
Malaysia Participated in the First Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, Helsinki, Finland.
29 August 1989
Ratified the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
20-23 February 1990
International Conference on Tropical Ozone and Atmospheric Change, Penang.
20 June 1990
Malaysia elected as a member of EXCOM for the year 1991-1993 in the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, London.
23 March 1991
Malaysia's First ODS Country Programme and Phase-Out Project Approved by the Multilateral Fund.
18 June 1991
Malaysia elected as Vice President of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Nairobi for the year 1992.
8 November 1992
First Phase-Out Project Agreement Signed by EPU.
8 January 1993
Launching of Ozone Monitoring Station by Meteorological Services Department (MSD).
25 February 1993
Launching of Joint Initiative on Elimination of ODS between the Government, USEPA and JEMA.
24-26 April 1993
KL-USEPA Conference on the Elimination of ODS Solvent Industry.
5 August 1993
Malaysia Ratified the London Amendment (1990).
18 September 1993
Announcement on Control of ODS Under Application Permit System.
23 October 1993
Malaysia elected as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund in Bangkok for the year 1994. Malaysia reelected as a member of the EXCOM for the year 1994.
3 November 1993
Malaysia Ratified the Copenhagen Amendment (1992).
31 December 1993
Gazettment of Environmental Quality (Prohibition on the Use of Chlorofluorocarbons and Halon and Other Gases as Propellants and Blowing Agents) Order 1993.
21 June 1994
Launching of Agreement on MAC Recycling Project.
6 October 1994
Malaysia elected as Vice President of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Nairobi for the year 1995.
20 December 1994
Inaugaral Malaysia Ozone Layer Protection Award (MOLPA).
28 October 1999
Gazetted of Environmental Quality (Refrigeration Management) Regulations 1999.
28 October 1999
Gazetted of Environmental Quality (Halon Management) Regulations 1999.
5 October 2001
Malaysia Ratified the 1997 Montreal Amendment and 1999 Beijing Amendment.
25 Mac 2003
36th Meeting of National Steering Committee on Ozone Protection.
19 May 2003
Working Group on MDI.
13 June 2003
Briefing on Refrigerant and Halon Management Regulation to PETRONAS, Kuala Lumpur.
6-7 July 2003
ASEAN Working Group on Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Kuala Lumpur.
7-11 July 2003
23rd OEWG Meeting, Montreal.
31 July 2003
Seminar ODS Phase-Out Programme (NCFC/P) 2000-2010, Putrajaya.
27-28 August 2003
Refrigerant Recovery, Reclaimation and Recycling Training Course, Shah Alam.
13-19 September 2003
MEAs Workshop – Compliance and Enforcement, Colombo.
15-25 September 2003
Dissemination on ODS in Formations.
25 September 2003
Meeting with ODS Chemical Supplier Individually.
26 September 2003
Meeting with Foam Sector.
27 September 2003
Meeting with CFC Distributors.
29 September –
2 October 2003
Asia Pasific Methyl Bromide Alternative/ Phosphine, Ho Chi Minh City.
6 October 2003
37th Meeting of National Steering Committee on Ozone Protection.
8-11 October 2003
2003 ODSONET Meeting, Phuket.
13-15 October 2003
Workshop on Control and Monitoring of ODS-Custom Consumption, Phuket.
16 October 2003
MAC Sector-air-cond workshop/refrigerants/ compressor distributors.
17 October 2003
Meeting with Refrigeration Sector.
18 October 2003
Meeting with Solvent Sector.
22 October 2003
Briefing and roundtable discussion on MAC Servicing Sector CFC Phase-Out, Putrajaya.
23 October 2003
Seminar HCFC Alternative and Energy Improvered, Putrajaya.
21-25 October 2003
Dissemination of poster, leaflets on ozone protection during Malaysia Environment Week celebration.
27-30 October 2003
Training for operator handling R&R MAC Servicing Workshop, Shah Alam.
8-14 November 2003
15th COP Meeting of MP, Nairobi.
10 November 2003
Working Group on MDI.
20 Disember 2003
Working Group on Refrigeration
October 1985
Establishment of the National Steering Committee (NSC) for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.
5 May 1989
Malaysia Participated in the First Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, Helsinki, Finland.
29 August 1989
Ratified the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
20-23 February 1990
International Conference on Tropical Ozone and Atmospheric Change, Penang.
20 June 1990
Malaysia elected as a member of EXCOM for the year 1991-1993 in the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, London.
23 March 1991
Malaysia's First ODS Country Programme and Phase-Out Project Approved by the Multilateral Fund.
18 June 1991
Malaysia elected as Vice President of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Nairobi for the year 1992.
8 November 1992
First Phase-Out Project Agreement Signed by EPU.
8 January 1993
Launching of Ozone Monitoring Station by Meteorological Services Department (MSD).
25 February 1993
Launching of Joint Initiative on Elimination of ODS between the Government, USEPA and JEMA.
24-26 April 1993
KL-USEPA Conference on the Elimination of ODS Solvent Industry.
5 August 1993
Malaysia Ratified the London Amendment (1990).
18 September 1993
Announcement on Control of ODS Under Application Permit System.
23 October 1993
Malaysia elected as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund in Bangkok for the year 1994. Malaysia reelected as a member of the EXCOM for the year 1994.
3 November 1993
Malaysia Ratified the Copenhagen Amendment (1992).
31 December 1993
Gazettment of Environmental Quality (Prohibition on the Use of Chlorofluorocarbons and Halon and Other Gases as Propellants and Blowing Agents) Order 1993.
21 June 1994
Launching of Agreement on MAC Recycling Project.
6 October 1994
Malaysia elected as Vice President of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Nairobi for the year 1995.
20 December 1994
Inaugaral Malaysia Ozone Layer Protection Award (MOLPA).
28 October 1999
Gazetted of Environmental Quality (Refrigeration Management) Regulations 1999.
28 October 1999
Gazetted of Environmental Quality (Halon Management) Regulations 1999.
5 October 2001
Malaysia Ratified the 1997 Montreal Amendment and 1999 Beijing Amendment.
25 Mac 2003
36th Meeting of National Steering Committee on Ozone Protection.
19 May 2003
Working Group on MDI.
13 June 2003
Briefing on Refrigerant and Halon Management Regulation to PETRONAS, Kuala Lumpur.
6-7 July 2003
ASEAN Working Group on Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Kuala Lumpur.
7-11 July 2003
23rd OEWG Meeting, Montreal.
31 July 2003
Seminar ODS Phase-Out Programme (NCFC/P) 2000-2010, Putrajaya.
27-28 August 2003
Refrigerant Recovery, Reclaimation and Recycling Training Course, Shah Alam.
13-19 September 2003
MEAs Workshop – Compliance and Enforcement, Colombo.
15-25 September 2003
Dissemination on ODS in Formations.
25 September 2003
Meeting with ODS Chemical Supplier Individually.
26 September 2003
Meeting with Foam Sector.
27 September 2003
Meeting with CFC Distributors.
29 September –
2 October 2003
Asia Pasific Methyl Bromide Alternative/ Phosphine, Ho Chi Minh City.
6 October 2003
37th Meeting of National Steering Committee on Ozone Protection.
8-11 October 2003
2003 ODSONET Meeting, Phuket.
13-15 October 2003
Workshop on Control and Monitoring of ODS-Custom Consumption, Phuket.
16 October 2003
MAC Sector-air-cond workshop/refrigerants/ compressor distributors.
17 October 2003
Meeting with Refrigeration Sector.
18 October 2003
Meeting with Solvent Sector.
22 October 2003
Briefing and roundtable discussion on MAC Servicing Sector CFC Phase-Out, Putrajaya.
23 October 2003
Seminar HCFC Alternative and Energy Improvered, Putrajaya.
21-25 October 2003
Dissemination of poster, leaflets on ozone protection during Malaysia Environment Week celebration.
27-30 October 2003
Training for operator handling R&R MAC Servicing Workshop, Shah Alam.
8-14 November 2003
15th COP Meeting of MP, Nairobi.
10 November 2003
Working Group on MDI.
20 Disember 2003
Working Group on Refrigeration
Pengukuran Kualiti Udara- Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia [MOSTI]
LAPORAN TAHUNAN KUALITI UDARA
1. Pengenalan
Sejumlah 22 stesen Rangkaian Pemonitoran Pencemaran Udara terletak di Semenanjung Malaysia dan Malaysia Timur. Bermula dengan hanya 2 stesen pada 1976, rangkaian ini telah berkembang tahun demi tahun. Pada masa yang sama, sejajar dengan keperluan semasa, parameter-parameter telah ditambah di dalam program pemerhatian ini di stesen-stesen terpilih. Kebanyakan stesen-stesen ini terletak agak jauh dari kawasan bandar bagi memastikan hanya keadaan ambien sahaja di pantau. (Rajah 1)
Kebanyakan stesen-stesen ini didirikan di kawasan sama dengan stesen klimatologi supaya pemerhatian kedua-dua parameter meteorologi dan pencemaran udara boleh dibuat serentak dan berterusan. Dengan ini memastikan set data yang komprehensif mengandungi kedua-dua data kualiti udara dan meteorologi boleh didapati bagi tujuan penilaian sebarang episod pencemaran udara.
Bahagian Kajian Alam Sekitar di Perkhidmatan Kajicuaca Malaysia menjalankan pemantauan kualiti udara di seluruh negara dan menilai data-data yang dikumpul dari rangkaiannya. Data dari rangkaian ini digunakan untuk mendokumentasikan arah aliran jangka-panjang dan mengesan perubahan signifikan dalam kepekatan udara untuk memberi amaran awal bencana alam sekitar.
Parameter-parameter yang diukurkan oleh Bahagian adalah:
Keasidan Air Hujan.
Aerosol.
Ozon Atmosfera.
Gas-gas Reaktif.
2. Keasidan Air Hujan
Pengukuran tetap dan bermetodologi komposisi kimia air hujan melalui rangkaian stesen dalam tempoh masa yang panjang memberi petunjuk kualiti udara termasuk arah aliran keasidan dalam negara serta mengenalpasti kawasan yang sedang menghadapi peningkatan amaun komponen basahan pemendapan berasid. Pengukuran tersebut akan menyumbang ke arah penentuan spesies keasidan bagi fluks pemendapan basah dan kering di tapak pengukuran yang mana akan menghala kepada pemahaman yang mendalam terhadapa isu-isu pengasidan atmosfera di rantau ini.
Biasanya keasidan air hujan dilaporkan sebagai pH. pH adalah pengukuran kepekatan ion hydrogen dalam cecair dan mempunyai skala di antara 0 - 14. Air hujan dari tapak yang bersih dan terpencil sedikit berasid dengan pH yang berubah antara 5.2 ke 6.0 disebabkan kehadiran asid semulajadi yang terlarut; oleh itu hujan dikatakan berasid jika pH kurang dari 5.2. Memandangkan jumlah air hujan berubah-ubah, kesemua nilai pH adalah volume weighted.
Perkhidmatan Kajicuaca Malaysia menggunakan sama ada Automatic Wet and Dry Fallout Collector atau Wet-Only Sampler untuk mengumpul air hujan di rangkaian ini. Sampel-sampel air hujan dikumpul dalam seminggu dan dihantar ke Jabatan Kimia Malaysia untuk analisa kimia terhadap anion dan kation prinsipal. Sejenis biosid, thymol digunakan untuk mencegah penguraian biologi.
pH Tahunan
Rajah 2 menunjukkan peta pH air hujan bagi tahun 2002. Amnya, negeri-negeri di bahagian baratan dan selatan Semenanjung Malaysia menerima hujan dengan kepekatan keasidan yang tinggi manakala bahagian-bahagian lain Semenanjung menerima hujan dengan pH antara 4.4 dan 5.2. Kawasan-kawasan yang mengalami tahap keasidan yang tinggi adalah sekitar Lembah Klang dan selatan Johor. Secara kebetulan, ini adalah kawasan-kawasan pembangunan dan perindustrian yang pesat dengan kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi.
Variasi pH Bulanan
Rajah 3 menunjukkan pH bulanan. Dari urutan peta-peta tersebut, secara amnya hujan dari kawasan pantai barat Semenanjung Malaysia lebih berasid berbanding kawasan pantai timur Semenanjung Malaysia dan keasidan air hujannya adalah tinggi semasa bulan Mac hingga Oktober. Pada bulan-bulan ini, bahagian utara baratan Semenanjung Malaysia menerima air hujan dengan pH antara 4.4 - 4.8 manakala bahagian tengah dan selatan menerima air hujan dengan pH kurang dari 4.4. Pada amnya, pH air hujan di Malaysia Timur adalah antara 4.8 - 5.6.
3. Aerosol
Aerosol atau jumlah zarah terampai (TSP) adalah zarah ampaian dalam udara dengan diameter kurang dari 100 mikrometer (m). TSP dengan diameter aerodinamik 10 mikrometer atau kurang digelar zarah PM10 dan ia boleh menjejaskan kesihatan.
Zarah Terampai Total (TSP)
Kepekatan TSP di ukur dengan menggunakan High-Volume Air Sampler di 14 stesen. Rajah 4 menunjukkan arah aliran muatan bulanan TSP. Kepekatan TSP di kebanyakan stesen adalah hampir kepada nilai purata jangka-panjang kecuali Alor Setar, Perai, Kuala Trengganu, Senai dan Bintulu yang mana menunjukkan paras agak tinggi dalam tahun 2002.
Jisim Zarah (PM-10)
Kepekatan Zarah PM-10 diukur di 8 stesen di rangkaian pemonitoran dengan menggunakan High-Volume PM-10 Sampler. Rajah 5 menunjukkan arah aliran bulanan kepekatan PM-10. Paras PM-10 yang dicatatkan di kesemua stesen hampir kepada nilai purata jangka-panjang.
4. Ozon Atmosfera
Ozon adalah gas yang sangat reaktif, dalam kuantiti yang sedikit di atmosfera. Kepekatan min boleh berubah dari sedikit hingga ratusan bahagian per billion (ppb) bergantung pada lokasi dan altitud. Di paras permukaan, ozon dianggap bahan pencemar sekunder yang menyebabkan episod-episod oksidan seperti jerebu dan asbut (smog). Di stratosfera, lapisan ozon mengurangkan kemudaratan radiasi ultra-lembayung yang menghampiri permukaan bumi. Secara global, ozon adalah gas rumah hijau yang menyumbang kepada pemanasan global.
Kolum Ozon Total (Total Ozone Column)
Kolum Ozon total harian di pantau secara automatik di Petaling Jaya dengan menggunakan alat Brewer Spectrophotometer. Rajah 6 menunjukkan pengukuran langsung matahari. Amaun Kolum Ozon Total yang diukur berubah antara 239 hingga 282 Dobson Unit (DU). Terdapat variasi bermusim dalam kepekatan ozon tetapi ia tidak begitu ketara seperti di kawasan-kawasan latitud tengah.
Profil Ozon Tegak (Vertical Ozone Profile )
Profil ozon tegak diukur di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA), Sepang dengan menggunakan sonar ozon (ozonesonde) yang dilepaskan pada setiap awal dan pertengahan bulan. Rajah 7 menunjukkan min bulanan profil ozon tegak. Profil-profil ozon menunjukkan minimum pada 15 kilometer atas paras laut (MSL) yang sepadan dengan lapisan atas tropopaus tropika. Atas 15 kilometer, paras ozon bertambah dengan mendadak hingga maksimum lebih kurang 27 km atas paras laut min.
5. Gas-gas Reaktif
Sekarang ini, Perkhidmatan Kajicuaca Malaysia memantau gas-gas sulfur dioksida (SO2) dan nitrogen dioksida (NO2) di Petaling Jaya dan Tanah Rata menggunakan pasif sampler.
Rajah 8 menunjukkan kepekatan mingguan bagi SO2 dan NO2 yang diukur di Petaling Jaya. Kepekatan SO2 berubah-ubah antara julat 2.0 ppb dan 9.0 ppb sepanjang tahun dengan tiada perbezaan mengikut musim. Kepekatan NO2 adalah tinggi dan berubah-ubah antara julat 14.5 ppbv dan 40.5 ppbv.
Rajah 9 menunjukkan kepekatan SO2 dan NO2 diukur di Tanah. Pada amnya, kepekatan gas-gas ini adalah rendah, jarang melampaui 3.1 ppbv.
1. Pengenalan
Sejumlah 22 stesen Rangkaian Pemonitoran Pencemaran Udara terletak di Semenanjung Malaysia dan Malaysia Timur. Bermula dengan hanya 2 stesen pada 1976, rangkaian ini telah berkembang tahun demi tahun. Pada masa yang sama, sejajar dengan keperluan semasa, parameter-parameter telah ditambah di dalam program pemerhatian ini di stesen-stesen terpilih. Kebanyakan stesen-stesen ini terletak agak jauh dari kawasan bandar bagi memastikan hanya keadaan ambien sahaja di pantau. (Rajah 1)
Kebanyakan stesen-stesen ini didirikan di kawasan sama dengan stesen klimatologi supaya pemerhatian kedua-dua parameter meteorologi dan pencemaran udara boleh dibuat serentak dan berterusan. Dengan ini memastikan set data yang komprehensif mengandungi kedua-dua data kualiti udara dan meteorologi boleh didapati bagi tujuan penilaian sebarang episod pencemaran udara.
Bahagian Kajian Alam Sekitar di Perkhidmatan Kajicuaca Malaysia menjalankan pemantauan kualiti udara di seluruh negara dan menilai data-data yang dikumpul dari rangkaiannya. Data dari rangkaian ini digunakan untuk mendokumentasikan arah aliran jangka-panjang dan mengesan perubahan signifikan dalam kepekatan udara untuk memberi amaran awal bencana alam sekitar.
Parameter-parameter yang diukurkan oleh Bahagian adalah:
Keasidan Air Hujan.
Aerosol.
Ozon Atmosfera.
Gas-gas Reaktif.
2. Keasidan Air Hujan
Pengukuran tetap dan bermetodologi komposisi kimia air hujan melalui rangkaian stesen dalam tempoh masa yang panjang memberi petunjuk kualiti udara termasuk arah aliran keasidan dalam negara serta mengenalpasti kawasan yang sedang menghadapi peningkatan amaun komponen basahan pemendapan berasid. Pengukuran tersebut akan menyumbang ke arah penentuan spesies keasidan bagi fluks pemendapan basah dan kering di tapak pengukuran yang mana akan menghala kepada pemahaman yang mendalam terhadapa isu-isu pengasidan atmosfera di rantau ini.
Biasanya keasidan air hujan dilaporkan sebagai pH. pH adalah pengukuran kepekatan ion hydrogen dalam cecair dan mempunyai skala di antara 0 - 14. Air hujan dari tapak yang bersih dan terpencil sedikit berasid dengan pH yang berubah antara 5.2 ke 6.0 disebabkan kehadiran asid semulajadi yang terlarut; oleh itu hujan dikatakan berasid jika pH kurang dari 5.2. Memandangkan jumlah air hujan berubah-ubah, kesemua nilai pH adalah volume weighted.
Perkhidmatan Kajicuaca Malaysia menggunakan sama ada Automatic Wet and Dry Fallout Collector atau Wet-Only Sampler untuk mengumpul air hujan di rangkaian ini. Sampel-sampel air hujan dikumpul dalam seminggu dan dihantar ke Jabatan Kimia Malaysia untuk analisa kimia terhadap anion dan kation prinsipal. Sejenis biosid, thymol digunakan untuk mencegah penguraian biologi.
pH Tahunan
Rajah 2 menunjukkan peta pH air hujan bagi tahun 2002. Amnya, negeri-negeri di bahagian baratan dan selatan Semenanjung Malaysia menerima hujan dengan kepekatan keasidan yang tinggi manakala bahagian-bahagian lain Semenanjung menerima hujan dengan pH antara 4.4 dan 5.2. Kawasan-kawasan yang mengalami tahap keasidan yang tinggi adalah sekitar Lembah Klang dan selatan Johor. Secara kebetulan, ini adalah kawasan-kawasan pembangunan dan perindustrian yang pesat dengan kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi.
Variasi pH Bulanan
Rajah 3 menunjukkan pH bulanan. Dari urutan peta-peta tersebut, secara amnya hujan dari kawasan pantai barat Semenanjung Malaysia lebih berasid berbanding kawasan pantai timur Semenanjung Malaysia dan keasidan air hujannya adalah tinggi semasa bulan Mac hingga Oktober. Pada bulan-bulan ini, bahagian utara baratan Semenanjung Malaysia menerima air hujan dengan pH antara 4.4 - 4.8 manakala bahagian tengah dan selatan menerima air hujan dengan pH kurang dari 4.4. Pada amnya, pH air hujan di Malaysia Timur adalah antara 4.8 - 5.6.
3. Aerosol
Aerosol atau jumlah zarah terampai (TSP) adalah zarah ampaian dalam udara dengan diameter kurang dari 100 mikrometer (m). TSP dengan diameter aerodinamik 10 mikrometer atau kurang digelar zarah PM10 dan ia boleh menjejaskan kesihatan.
Zarah Terampai Total (TSP)
Kepekatan TSP di ukur dengan menggunakan High-Volume Air Sampler di 14 stesen. Rajah 4 menunjukkan arah aliran muatan bulanan TSP. Kepekatan TSP di kebanyakan stesen adalah hampir kepada nilai purata jangka-panjang kecuali Alor Setar, Perai, Kuala Trengganu, Senai dan Bintulu yang mana menunjukkan paras agak tinggi dalam tahun 2002.
Jisim Zarah (PM-10)
Kepekatan Zarah PM-10 diukur di 8 stesen di rangkaian pemonitoran dengan menggunakan High-Volume PM-10 Sampler. Rajah 5 menunjukkan arah aliran bulanan kepekatan PM-10. Paras PM-10 yang dicatatkan di kesemua stesen hampir kepada nilai purata jangka-panjang.
4. Ozon Atmosfera
Ozon adalah gas yang sangat reaktif, dalam kuantiti yang sedikit di atmosfera. Kepekatan min boleh berubah dari sedikit hingga ratusan bahagian per billion (ppb) bergantung pada lokasi dan altitud. Di paras permukaan, ozon dianggap bahan pencemar sekunder yang menyebabkan episod-episod oksidan seperti jerebu dan asbut (smog). Di stratosfera, lapisan ozon mengurangkan kemudaratan radiasi ultra-lembayung yang menghampiri permukaan bumi. Secara global, ozon adalah gas rumah hijau yang menyumbang kepada pemanasan global.
Kolum Ozon Total (Total Ozone Column)
Kolum Ozon total harian di pantau secara automatik di Petaling Jaya dengan menggunakan alat Brewer Spectrophotometer. Rajah 6 menunjukkan pengukuran langsung matahari. Amaun Kolum Ozon Total yang diukur berubah antara 239 hingga 282 Dobson Unit (DU). Terdapat variasi bermusim dalam kepekatan ozon tetapi ia tidak begitu ketara seperti di kawasan-kawasan latitud tengah.
Profil Ozon Tegak (Vertical Ozone Profile )
Profil ozon tegak diukur di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA), Sepang dengan menggunakan sonar ozon (ozonesonde) yang dilepaskan pada setiap awal dan pertengahan bulan. Rajah 7 menunjukkan min bulanan profil ozon tegak. Profil-profil ozon menunjukkan minimum pada 15 kilometer atas paras laut (MSL) yang sepadan dengan lapisan atas tropopaus tropika. Atas 15 kilometer, paras ozon bertambah dengan mendadak hingga maksimum lebih kurang 27 km atas paras laut min.
5. Gas-gas Reaktif
Sekarang ini, Perkhidmatan Kajicuaca Malaysia memantau gas-gas sulfur dioksida (SO2) dan nitrogen dioksida (NO2) di Petaling Jaya dan Tanah Rata menggunakan pasif sampler.
Rajah 8 menunjukkan kepekatan mingguan bagi SO2 dan NO2 yang diukur di Petaling Jaya. Kepekatan SO2 berubah-ubah antara julat 2.0 ppb dan 9.0 ppb sepanjang tahun dengan tiada perbezaan mengikut musim. Kepekatan NO2 adalah tinggi dan berubah-ubah antara julat 14.5 ppbv dan 40.5 ppbv.
Rajah 9 menunjukkan kepekatan SO2 dan NO2 diukur di Tanah. Pada amnya, kepekatan gas-gas ini adalah rendah, jarang melampaui 3.1 ppbv.
Ahad, 30 September 2007
Our Children At Risk
AIR POLLUTION
INTRODUCTION
Clean air is a delicate balance of nitrogen and oxygen, with small amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, and other gases. Unfortunately, pollutants are altering this mixture by adding myriad ingredients which alone and in concert pose health risks to everyone who breathes the air, particularly children. In fact, children represent the largest subgroup of the population susceptible to the effects of air pollution.[1] Over the last ten years, a considerable number of scientific studies have reported adverse health effects associated with air pollution. The effects have ranged from respiratory symptoms and illness, impaired lung function, hospitalization for respiratory and cardiac disease to increases in mortality.[2]
A recent study estimated that approximately 64,000 people in the United States die prematurely from heart and lung disease every year due to particulate air pollution -- more people than die each year in car accidents.[3] Among children, air pollutants are associated with increased acute respiratory illness, increased incidence of respiratory symptoms and infections, episodes of longer duration, and lowered lung function.[4]
Asthma, the most common chronic disorder of childhood, is on the rise in the United States and in other industrialized nations. During the 1980s, the prevalence of childhood asthma increased nearly 40 percent.[5] Many different factors have been associated with asthma, including genetic makeup, environmental tobacco smoke, dust mites, cockroach allergens, and air pollution, both indoor and outdoor. Several studies have linked ozone and particulate air pollution with exacerbations of asthma in children afflicted with the disease.
Due to their greater respiratory rates, children breathe a proportionately greater volume of air than adults. As a result, children inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight. They also spend more time engaged in vigorous activity than adults. In addition, because of young children's height and play habits (crawling, rolling) they are more likely to be exposed to pollutants or aerosols that are heavier than air and tend to concentrate in their breathing zone near ground level.[6] Children's physiological vulnerability to air pollution arises from their narrower airways and the fact that their lungs are still developing. Irritation caused by air pollutants that would produce only a slight response in an adult can result in potentially significant obstruction in the airways of a young child.
The harm caused by air pollutants has been recognized by medical scientists, government officials, and the public for some time. Historic air pollution disasters -- Meuse Valley, Belgium in 1930, Donora, Pennsylvania in 1948, and London, England in 1952 -- in which large numbers of people fell ill and died, have been clearly associated with high concentrations of particulate and sulfur dioxide pollution.[7] Such acute air pollution episodes have killed children because of their heightened susceptibility to the damage that can be done by air pollutants.[8]
Existing stationary sources of air pollution include coal combustion for power production, oil refineries, and industrial manufacturing facilities. Additional sources of air pollution have emerged; today automobiles are a major polluter of the air: Americans drive some 150 million private cars and nearly 50 million buses and trucks.[9] The exhaust from these vehicles contains nitrogen oxides, and other ozone precursors, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide -- all deleterious to health, even in small quantities. Also of importance in vehicle exhaust are toxic organic compounds including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and benzene. And, even though new cars start out far cleaner than the cars of decades ago, we drive them far more and they fail to remain clean as they age.
To protect citizens, the federal government began setting standards for ambient air quality as early as the 1950s. In 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, the first major national law for air pollution control throughout the United States. This Act, amended in 1977 and 1990, requires the EPA to establish national health standards for ambient air pollutants and to assure that states adopt effective programs for attaining these standards. The most successful parts of the Act, such as the acid rain program, the ozone depletion program, and the introduction of emission standards for automobiles and the reformulation of fuels, established very specific federal standards. Yet these standards are not enough. In 1995, about 127 million Americans -- half of the nation's population -- lived in regions with air quality that did not meet federal standards for certain pollutants.[12] Based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates of the population by age group, 18 million children under the age of ten lived in these "nonattainment" areas. The health risks from air pollution are greatest in these regions, and those at greatest risk include children.
Citizens must seek additional remedies to assure the health of their families in the face of increasing air pollution threats. Toward that end, this chapter describes scientific research on the health effects of air pollutants on children, suggested measures that concerned parents and others can take, and model programs of local solutions that have worked throughout the nation, as well as government reforms that should be supported.
BACKGROUND: HOW LUNGS WORK
Children: The Most Vulnerable Among Us
The nation has failed to protect its most precious citizens -- its children -- from the adverse health effects of air pollution. Emission reduction efforts and federal air quality standards have been insufficient to shield children from potentially serious health damage.[13] Ozone and particulate matter are of special concern. In June 1993, the Committee on Environmental Hazards of the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that the federal standard for ozone in effect at that time contained "little or no margin of safety for children engaged in active outdoor activity."[14] In July 1997, the EPA revised both the ozone and particulate matter air quality standards in order to protect children and other members of the population. The American Lung Association estimated that 27 million children under the age of 13 reside in areas with ozone levels above EPA's revised standard, and that two million children with asthma, or half of the pediatric asthma population under the age of eighteen, lived in these areas.[15]
HAZARDS OF AIR POLLUTION
Cellular Damage
Even short-term exposure to low levels of pollutants can damage lungs at the cellular level. For instance:
Sulfuric acid compounds can interfere with the lungs' mucociliary clearance system,[16] and ozone at levels below the pre-1997 federal ozone standards may hinder the immune system's ability to defend against infection.[17]
Ozone exposure at levels below the pre-1997 federal standards contributes to persistent inflammation of airways, sometimes days after exposure ceases.[18] Exposure to acidic aerosols may aggravate the effect.[19]
Sulfur dioxide can induce bronchial constriction in asthmatics.[20]
Even short-term ozone exposure increases lung cell permeability, which may hinder the body's ability to regulate the movement of gases and liquids between the lungs and the bloodstream. This effect potentially facilitates the body's uptake of inhaled substances and may promote enhanced allergic sensitization.[21]
Reduced Lung Function
Lungs must inhale and exhale an adequate volume of air to remove carbon dioxide and replenish oxygen to maintain health, but studies show that even brief exposure to pollutants can result in impairment of lung function. These effects are generally temporary, but they are still of great importance, for two reasons. Chief among these is that the impairment of lung function may be a sign of invisible, sub-clinical damage inside the lungs, such as inflammation produced deep in the lungs from ozone, as discussed above. Though the impairment of lung function generally disappears after exposure, it may mask continuing cellular damage. Secondly, people whose lung function is already compromised may be unable to tolerate additional impairments caused by air pollution, however modest or temporary they might be. The medical literature shows that ozone, sulfur dioxide and sulphate aerosols, and airborne particulate matter affect lung function, and that chronic exposure to air pollutants can impair lung function permanently.[22]
Respiratory Illness and Asthma
Breathing polluted air increases a person's chances for respiratory illness. Epidemiological studies show a significant correlation between exposure to air pollution and the frequency of respiratory symptoms -- ranging from cough symptoms to hospital admission.[23]
Currently affecting at least 6 percent of American children, asthma is the number one cause of absenteeism for school children.[24] During the 1980s, asthma incidence among children increased by nearly 40 percent.[25] One study estimated the total costs -- both direct and indirect -- related to asthma in the young and old in 1990 to be $6.2 billion.[26] Asthmatics suffer recurrent attacks of breathing distress caused by temporary inflammation and constriction of the airways. In many cases, asthma is caused by an allergic response that develops as a result of the airways becoming sensitized to one or several substances.
Common air pollutants, especially ozone, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, present a challenge to asthmatics. A considerable body of scientific evidence links increases in levels of these pollutants to worsening of asthma (increased emergency room visits, increased medication use, increased hospitalization, and increased symptoms.)[27] Some of the investigations reveal asthma exacerbations occurring at pollutant levels at or below the pre-1997 federal air pollution standards. In one case, hospital emergency visits rose by 37 percent on days when ozone reached hourly concentrations of 0.11 parts per million (ppm), which is below the pre-1997 federal standard.[28]
Higher Mortality Rates
Research on mortality rates in heavily polluted areas reveals statistically significant links between high levels of air pollutants and increased numbers of deaths, primarily among the elderly. Particulates show the clearest link, and elevated death rates have been found even at particulate concentrations that are well below the pre-1997 federal health standards; death rates start to inch upward when particulates reach levels below the pre-1997 federal standard.[29]
In December 1993, Harvard researchers published the results of a sixteen-year-long community health study that tracked the health of 8,000 adults in six U.S. cities with differing levels of air pollution. After adjusting for age and smoking, researchers found that residents of the most polluted city had a 26 percent higher mortality rate than those living in the least polluted city.[30] This translated into a one- to two-year shorter lifespan for residents of the most polluted cities.[31] Another major study corroborated these findings. The study correlated American Cancer Society data on the health of 1.2 million adults with air pollution data in 151 U.S. metropolitan areas. The study found that people living in the most polluted area had a 17 percent greater risk of mortality than people living in the least polluted city.[32]
Long-Term Effects of Chronic Exposure A variety of animal studies suggest that long-term exposure to air pollution damages lung cells.[33] In one animal study, researchers found that low-level ozone exposure resulted in the progression of lung injury into structural changes.[34] Acute inflammation in the animals' lungs evolved into chronic inflammation, with healing by a process known as fibrosis, or scarring that stiffens the lung and may make it less capable of efficient gas exchange.
Corresponding evidence from epidemiological research includes one study of humans who were exposed to elevated ozone levels over several days. Lung function loss persisted for a week after exposure, which suggested to researchers that cell death and inflammatory reactions were involved, not just reflex airway constriction.[35]
Chronic exposure to air pollutants may reduce lung capacity. The most comprehensive study was performed on populations living in two different parts of the Los Angeles Basin. People living in the more polluted area had substantially worse lung function than when they were initially tested, and they showed a significantly more rapid deterioration of lung function over time.[36] Chronic exposure to a mixture of air pollutants, as shown in this study, results in less rapid growth of lung function in children and a greater rate of deterioration in adulthood.
In addition, a lifetime of exposure to air pollution may lead to premature aging of the lungs. The aging process in the lungs, which occurs naturally throughout adulthood, is marked by increased deposits of scar tissue, and it may render the lung tissue less elastic and less efficient in delivering oxygen to the blood. Ozone is strongly implicated in the premature aging of lungs. For instance, research on laboratory animals shows that common ozone exposure can lead to a variety of changes in lung tissue, including changes in the structure of the cells that line the smallest airways, such as death of the ciliated cells that are critical in the lung's defense system against particles and bacteria,[37] reduced ability to remove foreign material,[38] inflammation,[39] biochemical changes that suggest damage to tissues and greater permeability of the air sacs,[40] and stiffening of the lung due to the formation of scar tissue.[41]
An autopsy study performed on 107 young accident victims (fourteen to twenty-five years of age) in Southern California, most of them lifelong residents, showed evidence of lung disease. Though few had outward signs of breathing disorders when alive, the lungs of 104 of them showed early signs of chronic lung disease, including low-level bronchitis, chronic interstitial pneumonia, and an unprecedented rate of severe chronic inflammation of the respiratory bronchioles. While the results of this study are not definitive since the subjects were not screened for the use of tobacco or marijuana, one of the researchers commented that the subjects "had lungs of older people," saying that, "air pollution is highly suspect for a substantial contributory role."[42]
Special Vulnerability of Children
During the last decade, hundreds of published reports have documented the effects of air pollutants on children, who are more susceptible than adults to the adverse effects of air pollution. Children's greater sensitivity is a function of both greater exposure to air pollutants and unique physiological susceptibility.
Greater Exposure and Susceptibility
Children breathe more air relative to their body weight and lung surface area than do adults; consequently, they also receive proportionately higher doses of air pollutants.[43] Children spend more time outdoors, often during midday and afternoons when pollutant levels are generally highest.[44] Children are three times more active than adults while outdoors, significantly increasing their oxygen demand and consequently raising their breathing rates.[45]
Young children generally spend more time low to the ground by virtue of both their shorter stature and the nature of their typical physical activity. Children, therefore, experience greater exposure to pollutants emitted close to the ground, such as automobile exhaust and high-density pollutants brought downward by gravity.[46] In addition, when the sources of air pollutants such as automobiles are close to playgrounds and other areas where children play, children and infants in strollers may be heavily exposed.
Children often fail to recognize the significance of respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath, and they frequently fail to move indoors or curtail exercise during air pollution episodes. Children tend to breathe more through the mouth than through the nose due to their increased physical exertion, thus reducing the effectiveness of one level of filtration. In addition, young children's small noses are easily blocked by congestion, constriction, or other illnesses.
Children's airways have small diameters. Environmental irritants capable of obstructing air passages are more likely to do so in children than in adults.[47] Early in life, children have far fewer alveoli than adults, creating less "reserve volume" from which to draw oxygen. They also have relatively less reserve surface area in their lungs available for times of stress or increased metabolic demand.[48] In adults, air moves from one alveolus to another through holes in the alveoli and channels between the small airways and the alveoli, allowing air to be distributed deeply throughout the lung, circumventing obstructed areas. Infants and young children have few such pathways that provide for this restorative air drift.[49]
Children at greatest risk from the effects of air pollution include: children with sensitized respiratory systems, such as allergic or asthmatic children, children who live near industrial pollution sources, areas of heavy traffic, or in homes with cigarette smokers, and children who lack adequate medical attention, nourishment, or sanitary living conditions.
Adverse Health Effects in Children
Data gathered by a researcher from a variety of recent studies[50] reveals that air pollutants are associated with a wide variety of adverse health effects in children, including:
increased death rates in very severe pollution episodes and increased mortality risks for those living in highly polluted areas,
increased risk of acute respiratory illness,
aggravation of asthma, increased respiratory symptoms, and increased sickness rates (as indicated by kindergarten and school absences), and
decreases in lung function.
Increased Mortality Risk
The most serious effect of air pollution is death. Although the elderly are at greater mortality risk from air pollution, children are also susceptible. In the London air pollution episode in December 1952, mortality in children increased.[51] A new study has found an association in the United States between particulate pollution and an increased risk of infant mortality.[52] A recent report from S‹o Paulo, Brazil, indicated that death in children under the age of five due to respiratory diseases from 1990 to 1991 was positively associated with air pollution levels of nitrogen oxides.[53] In the Czech Republic, the risk of respiratory mortality among infants increased in relation to worsening air pollution (particulates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide) after adjusting for socioeconomic factors.[54] Researchers in Taiwan found a higher rate of infant mortality from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at times of elevated particulate air pollution as measured by reduced visibility.[55]
Increased Acute Respiratory Illness
Several studies indicate that air pollution is associated with increased acute respiratory illness, as measured by hospital admissions and other indices. Two epidemiological studies, conducted in central Utah, on the relationship between hospital admissions for respiratory illness and ambient air pollution found that admissions were strongly correlated with particulate levels, and that the correlation was especially pronounced in preschool-aged children. In one study, bronchitis and asthma admissions for preschool children were twice as frequent when the local pollution source (steel mill) was operating than when it was shut down.[56] Another study in the same region also indicated that hospital admission for respiratory illness is strongly associated with particulate air pollution and that the association is stronger for children than adults. During months with peak particulate pollution levels, average hospital admissions for respiratory illness in children nearly tripled, whereas for adults comparable hospital admissions increased by 44 percent.[57]
Similarly, researchers found that summertime hospital admissions in Ontario for children are associated with increases in ambient ozone and sulfate levels.[58] Other researchers report that over a six-year period, respiratory admissions were closely associated with ozone levels at 168 hospitals in Ontario. They also showed that 15 percent of summer hospital admissions for infants were associated with air pollution, as compared with 4 percent of such admissions for elderly patients.[59] Studies of hospital admissions in Toronto suggested that increases in ozone, sulfates, aerosol hydrogen ion levels, and particulate air pollution with a diameter of 10 microns or less (PM10) can all be directly correlated to increases in hospital admissions.[60]
In a diary study of 625 Swiss children between birth and five years of age, respiratory symptoms were associated with particulate concentrations, while the duration of symptoms was associated with levels of nitrogen oxide. These symptoms included coughing, upper respiratory episodes, and breathing difficulty.[61]
Another study compared the frequency of upper respiratory infections in Finnish children residing in a polluted city with that in children living in two less polluted cities. The researchers found a significant association between the occurrence of upper respiratory infections and living in an air-polluted area.[62] The finding was consistent in both the fourteen- to eighteen-month-olds and six-year-olds when comparing the polluted city with the reference cities and when comparing the more and less polluted areas within the polluted city. A study in East Germany found that levels of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides were associated with an increased risk of developing upper respiratory infections in nine- to eleven-year-olds.[63]
Increased Respiratory Symptoms
Elevated levels of various air pollutants have been linked with an increased incidence of respiratory symptoms in children. In an ongoing study comparing air pollution in six U.S. cities and the respiratory health of individuals living in those cities, the frequencies of coughs, bronchitis, and lower respiratory illnesses in preadolescent children were significantly associated with increased levels of particulates and acidic fine particles.[64] Illness and symptom rates were higher by approximately a factor of two in the community with the highest air pollution concentrations compared to the community with the lowest concentrations. A follow-up study reported that rates of chronic cough, bronchitis, and chest illness during one school year were positively associated with particulate pollution.[65] Another study in these six cities also found a significant association between particulate pollution and the incidence of coughing and other lower respiratory symptoms.[66] One study suggested that though all children are at risk for increased respiratory symptoms due to particulate pollution, children with preexisting respiratory conditions (wheezing, asthma) are at greater risk.[67]
Decreased Lung Function
To maintain a normal rate of gas exchange -- the removal of carbon dioxide and replenishment of oxygen -- the lungs must be able to inhale and exhale an adequate volume of air. In determining how well a person's lungs function, researchers take measurements of the lungs at rest, the volume of air that can be inhaled and exhaled, and the time it takes to exhale.
Numerous studies have showed that even brief exposure to air pollutants can impair lung function.[68] One study in Utah Valley indicated that elevated particulate levels were associated with a decline in lung function among elementary school-age children as measured by peak expiratory flow (the maximum rate at which air is exhaled from a maximum inhalation).[69] Another study examined the health effects of exposure to acidic air pollution among children in twenty-four communities in the United States and Canada and found that acidic air pollution is associated with reductions in pulmonary function, as measured by forced vital capacity (the volume of air forcibly exhaled from a deep inhalation) and forced expiratory volume (the volume of air exhaled over a specific period of time from a maximum inhalation).[70]
Much of the evidence that air pollution reduces lung function in children focuses on summertime exposure to acidic particles or acid aerosols.[71] Reductions in pulmonary function in children have also been linked to ozone exposure.[72] One study found a significant decline in forced expiratory volume after ozone exposure, a change that appeared to persist for sixteen to twenty hours.[73]
Exacerbation of Asthma
Approximately 4.8 million children in the United States under the age of 18 have asthma, the most common chronic illness among children.[74] The incidence of the disease is on the rise, increasing nearly 40 percent among U.S. children between 1981 and 1988.[75] Other countries are also observing rising rates of asthma. Blacks, Hispanics, and people living in urban areas appear to be at greatest risk for the disease.[76] Asthma is a complex disease associated with many factors including genetics, allergies (cockroaches and dust mites), mildew, molds, and the environment. Asthma is a condition of the airways characterized by chronic inflammation and episodic limitation of the flow of air into and out of the lungs. Symptoms of the disease include coughing, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, and wheezing. Exacerbations of asthma have been linked with exposure to ambient air pollutants, indoor air pollutants, as well as allergens.
Based on increased hospital admissions, increased hospital emergency room visits, and increased medication use, ambient air pollution is associated with aggravation of asthma. In a recent study of children at an asthma summer camp, ozone air pollution was significantly correlated with an increase in the use of asthma medication and the worsening of other asthma symptoms.[77] The children were 40 percent more likely to suffer asthma attacks on high pollution summer days. In another study, researchers reported a 37 percent increase in hospital emergency visits for childhood asthma after periods of maximum ozone pollution levels.[78] A study in Mexico City showed an association between increased levels of particulate matter and ozone and a worsening of respiratory symptoms among mildly asthmatic children.[79] Hospital admissions among children with asthma in Toronto were higher after days with elevated ozone levels.[80]
Children of Color
While dirty air is a threat to all Americans, communities of color often suffer disproportionately from air pollution. This is also true of low-income communities. Such communities have historically been used as dumping grounds for the toxic by-products of industrial society. Several studies have demonstrated that proportionately more landfills, power plants, toxic waste sites, bus depots and rail yards, sewage treatment plants, and industrial facilities are sited in them.[81] In a landmark report[82] prepared by the United Church of Christ's Commission for Racial Justice, investigators discovered that three of the five largest hazardous waste landfills in the United States are in Black or Latino neighborhoods and that the mean percentage of people of color in areas with toxic waste sites is twice that of areas without toxic waste sites. An update to this report found that, in 1993, the percentage of people of color remains three times higher in areas with the highest concentration of commercial hazardous waste facilities than areas without commercial hazardous waste facilities.[83]
The health risks from air pollution are likely to be more serious for children who are already exposed to toxic chemicals, because they live or attend school near landfills, toxic waste sites, bus depots and rail yards, industrial plants, or similar facilities. Because of low-quality housing, overcrowding, and lack of air conditioning, children in low-income communities may also spend more time outdoors on smoggy summer days. (In the absence of air conditioning, indoor concentrations of ozone can approach 80 percent of outdoor levels.[85]) In addition, children in low-income families are less likely to receive sufficient health care.
Scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory have found that minority population subgroups experience greater exposure to substandard outdoor air quality. In particular, their research indicates that minorities live in greater concentrations both in areas with above-average numbers of air polluting facilities and in air quality non-attainment areas. [86] For instance, 52 percent of all whites live in counties with high ozone concentrations. For African-Americans the figure is 62 percent, and for Hispanics it is 71 percent. Population group distributions were found to be similar for carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, and particulate matter, with higher percentages of African-Americans and Hispanics than whites residing in counties with excessive levels of these pollutants. Moreover, 57 percent of all whites, 65 percent of African-Americans, and 80 percent of Hispanics live in counties that failed to meet at least one of the EPA's ambient air quality standards. Five percent of whites, 10 percent of African-Americans, and 15 percent of Hispanics live in counties that exceed standards for four air quality standards.
To compound the greater likelihood that children of color reside in the areas of worst air pollution, Black and Hispanic children are potentially more susceptible to air pollution due to their increased rates of asthma. Black and Hispanic children have a higher incidence of asthma than white children. Black children are more likely to have asthma than white children.[87] Moreover, Black children aged five to fourteen years are four times more likely than whites to die from asthma, and African-Americans under the age of twenty-four are 3.4 times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma.[88] Children of Hispanic (mainly Puerto Rican) mothers have a rate of asthma two and a half times higher than whites and more than one and a half times higher than Blacks.[89] Within the Hispanic-American population, the highest prevalence of asthma among children was in Puerto Ricans (11.2 percent), followed by Cuban-Americans (5.2 percent), and Mexican-Americans (2.7 percent). By comparison, the asthma incidence in non-Hispanic Blacks is 5.9 percent and in non-Hispanic whites it is 3.3 percent.[90]
What You Can Do
The following are suggestions for protecting children and other family members during air pollution episodes.
Regularly check air pollution levels in your area and plan accordingly. Pollution patterns and concentrations can differ radically from one area to another. Some areas might be particularly susceptible to carbon monoxide violations, while for others it might be ozone. Be sure you are able to recognize the air district jurisdiction under which your area falls. Call your county health department to identify your local air pollution control agency. Pollution patterns also change over the course of a single day. During hot summer months in some areas, for instance, levels of ozone are five times higher in the afternoon than in the morning, while in the winter the mid or late afternoon may be the time of lowest pollution. Depending upon the area in which you live, newspapers and newscasts often discuss each day's air pollutant levels. You can also contact your local air district for specific information and advice.
Limit children's outdoor exercise when smog levels are high. Laboratory studies have revealed that heavy exercise during smog episodes contributes to adverse health effects. Though our bodies have a variety of protective mechanisms against the adverse affects of air pollution, children are especially vulnerable and should be encouraged to stay indoors during smog episodes. At these times, keep doors and windows closed whenever possible while taking into account the sensitivities of asthmatics and others with breathing difficulty that may be exacerbated due to indoor air pollutants.
Be sure your child's school is prepared for smog episodes. Every school should have plans for smog episodes, including alerting teachers, curtailing sports or exercise programs, and providing alternative activities that do not involve heavy physical exertion.
Encourage curriculum development on air pollution issues. Children need help identifying air pollution hazards and the health symptoms that might indicate sensitivity to air pollution. Encourage your child's school to develop curriculum units centered on these issues.
Be aware of sensitivities that put family members at increased risk. Children, people with asthma and other chronic lung diseases, the elderly, and the chronically ill are especially vulnerable to air pollution. During episodes of poor air quality, monitor the health of these individuals and contact a physician if needed.
Avoid highly polluted areas during smog episodes. If you must be outside during a smog episode, avoid busy streets and highways that can significantly increase your exposure. Sitting in a car during a hot summer day in the middle of a traffic jam can expose you to elevated levels of carbon monoxide.
Keep indoor air as clean as possible. Do not smoke cigarettes indoors. Keep your house free from dust and mildew. To control dust in the home, remove wall-to-wall carpets when possible and replace them with small area rugs that can be thoroughly cleaned. Periodically remove and launder heavy curtains. Be sure that fumes from gas stoves and heaters are properly vented, and reduce indoor sources of pollutants such as insecticides, wood fires, cleaners, solvents, and deodorizing sprays. When painting or using chemical cleaning agents, assure full ventilation.
Help get polluters off the road. Report vehicles with visibly excessive tailpipe emissions to your local air quality management district. In some areas, an anonymous 800 number is available for this purpose. Minimize your own use of the automobile. Take your car to a reliable service station if your automobile "smokes " or if the "check engine " light remains illuminated. Carpool whenever possible. Use public transportation, bicycle, or walk as frequently as you can.
Consult the Toxics Release Inventory. The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), part of the 1986 Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act, is a powerful tool for uncovering local sources of air pollution. The information, available thorough the regional US EPA office or state air pollution board, is free to any citizen who requests it. The TRI data identify by name and location industrial facilities that release toxic substances into the air, water, or land. Contact the EPA's Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Information Hotline at 800/535-0202.
Model Programs and Local Solutions
In a number of communities across the country, community pressure, progressive business decisions, and government programs have worked to promote feasible, non-polluting alternatives that make economic sense. The job includes not only pressuring local businesses, but regulators as well. Below are some examples.
The Scott Paper Company was opening a new facility in Owensboro, Kentucky. When a local group learned of their plans, they pressed the company to live up to its environmental commitments. Under this pressure, Scott researchers came up with a new process that eliminated airborne emissions of formaldehyde and dramatically reduced emissions of epichlorohydrin, and the community got 500 new jobs and a healthy environment.[117]
Concerned about emissions from a new incinerator, the North Carolina Waste Awareness and Education Network coordinated efforts throughout the state and helped block the siting of a commercial hazardous waste incinerator. But they didn't stop there. Recognizing the state's need to address hazardous waste generation and disposal, the group presented state officials with a "Waste Reduction Assurance Plan " as an alternative to the EPA-required "Capacity Assurance Plan, " which helped guide the state to more environmentally safe solutions.[118]
A chemical facility in Manchester, Texas, run by Rhone-Poulenc was operating an incinerator that burned liquid waste. Changes in environmental regulations reclassified some of this waste as hazardous, requiring changes in the company's operating permit. One week before a meeting to discuss the permit modification, a release of sulfur dioxide from the plant sent twenty-seven people to the hospital. A group of concerned citizens from the largely Hispanic, low-income neighborhood along the Houston ship channel joined forces with Texans United, a statewide environmental group, and together they persuaded the company to open up some of its decision-making processes to a Community Advisory Committee.[119]
In 1983, the Ashland Oil refinery in northeastern Kentucky on the Big Sandy River installed new equipment to process low-quality crude oil into gasoline. It wasn't long before a fine powdery soot began to settle over the area, causing paint to peel from homes and automobiles and citizens to experience skin burns and eye irritation. While Ashland Oil officials stated that the powder was "safe enough to eat, " a chemist with the West Virginia Air Pollution Control Commission called the substance, "as corrosive as drain cleaner. " In 1987, more than 700 people filed personal damage claims against Ashland; while most claims were settled out of court, some went to trial. In one case, four residents were awarded $10.3 million, which stirred more hostility against the plaintiffs than against Ashland. Then, in 1992, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition published a report, with facts supplied by the company and the EPA, showing that the Ashland refinery releases significantly more of each pollutant than other refineries. As a result, a 24-hour video monitoring system has been installed by the state at the company's expense. In addition, an $8.85 million settlement fund has been set aside for resolving outstanding fines for numerous state and federal air quality violations.[120]
In 1993, NRDC launched a campaign to substitute natural gas-powered buses for diesel buses in New York and Los Angeles. Natural gas buses emit 60 percent less particulates and nitrogen oxides than the most advanced diesel engines. In 1997, New York Governor George Pataki announced that New York City would purchase at least 500 clean-fuel buses over the next five years and convert three inner-city diesel bus depots to natural gas. Similarly, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority has committed to buying only natural gas buses.
CURRENT REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
While the first federal standards regulating air pollutants were established in the 1950s, it was not until 1970 that the first major legislative breakthrough occurred when Congress passed the Clean Air Act (CAA). The CAA requires the EPA to set federal standards to limit exposures to major air pollutants including ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. Accordingly, the EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for each of these pollutants, which is a legally permissible upper limit on the concentration of that particular substance in the air. Individual states are allowed to establish air pollution standards that are stricter than the federal standards. States are required to develop state implementation plans indicating how they will comply with the Clean Air Act requirements. The EPA must approve the state implementation plan or the EPA can take over enforcement of the Clean Air Act in that state. The 1990 amendments to the CAA require the EPA to develop regulations to reduce emissions of 189 hazardous air pollutants. The CAA also requires improvements in motor vehicles to decrease tailpipe emissions, phases out chemicals that deplete atmospheric ozone, and reduces emissions of acid rain precursors. In spite of recent improvements in air quality, many areas of the country exceed the NAAQS for a variety of pollutants. Strong implementation of the CAA is critical to improving air quality.
REFORMS NEEDED
In essence, there are two primary ways in which the government can help improve the quality of the air our nation's children breathe: set more stringent health standards for key air pollutants and carry out more aggressive clean air strategies.
Improve Health Standards
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set air pollutant standards based on health criteria. Despite this, children face substantial health risks from breathing air with levels of pollutants significantly below those permitted by the current EPA standards. If the EPA or local air quality boards were to set more stringent air quality standards, then more areas of the country would reap substantial health benefits. Even though many areas of the nation are far from achieving even inadequate standards, it is crucial that some of the present standards be revised to protect against the grave health risks of air pollution reflected in the medical evidence.
The EPA's air quality standards are structured in a variety of ways to guard against health threats from both acute pollution episodes and chronic exposure. One-hour and 24-hour standards are primarily intended to guard against acute episodes that can be extremely hazardous to sensitive individuals and have been known to incapacitate some and even lead to death for others. Seasonal or annual measuring times, on the other hand, are becoming increasingly important in the wake of mounting evidence about additional, cumulative health impacts. Annual or quarterly standards exist for PM10, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and lead. In general, the criteria used by federal and state regulators do not provide sufficient protection against repeated and chronic exposures, or combinations of pollutants.
Implement revised ozone and particulate matter standards. On July 16, 1997, the EPA issued new air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter.[121] The previous standard, set in 1979, limited ozone to 120 parts per billion in a single hour. The new limit is 80 parts per billion measured over eight hours. For particulate matter, the EPA's new standard allows daily concentrations up to 65 micrograms per cubic meter of air and annual average concentrations of up to 15 micrograms per cubic meter for the smallest particles (less than 2.5 microns in diameter). The standards will protect the health of 125 million Americans, including 35 million children, from the hazards of air pollution. Industry and some members of Congress are seeking to block the enforcement of the new standards.
Protect against chronic exposure. The mounting evidence of risk from exposure over a lifetime calls for a different approach to health standards and clean air policy as a whole. Standards continue to be set to protect against the risks from single, short-term exposures to single pollutants. Current control measures encourage "peak shaving, " which, rather than reducing average levels and exposures, focuses only on specific episodes.
Study the pollutant "soup. " Evidence suggests that combined effects of pollutants may be greater than the sum of their individual effects. Regulators should support more research aimed at identifying the health risks from simultaneous exposure to different combinations of air pollutants and revise standards accordingly.
Provide adequate margins of safety. Air quality regulators are required by law to protect the public not only against demonstrable hazards, but also against those that are suspected or have not yet been quantified. Consequently, even when medical evidence merely suggests health impacts, measures must be taken. This is particularly critical in the case of children's health since most of the existing standards are based upon studies conducted on adults. The only way to ensure the protection of children is to establish conservative margins of safety.
Strengthen nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide standards. Federal standards for nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide must be tightened to provide protection against short-term pollution episodes in response to medical evidence of adverse health effects from short-term exposure to these substances. NRDC recommends that federal 24-hour sulfur dioxide standards be tightened. In addition, a short-term standard must be developed to protect children and others with asthma who can be affected by exposures as short as five minutes.
More Aggressive Clean Air Strategies
With several important exceptions, states are allowed to go beyond the minimum federal requirements by adopting more aggressive control programs and more stringent health standards. California, for instance, has set the strongest air pollution health standards in the country. For the nation to achieve clean air, the rest of the country must move, at a minimum, to emulate California's tighter health standards and more aggressive pollution control programs.
NRDC has identified a variety of ways in which national and state air quality programs can be improved:
Improve and enforce implementation plans. The most heavily polluted areas in the nation often lack integrated, comprehensive implementation plans to reduce air emissions. Few air quality regulators have the geographic reach or authority to develop and execute regionally coordinated plans of action, despite the regional nature of what they are regulating. And even if an area has well-crafted implementation plans, that does not assure adequate implementation, monitoring, or enforcement. This has been because, in the case of federal regulations, Congress has historically pushed back attainment dates at the request of cities or states, thus increasing public cynicism over the ultimate value of the laws.
Tighten emissions requirements for new vehicles. Transportation-related emissions account for about 50 percent of the ozone problem and almost all of the carbon monoxide problem. Some of our greatest emission reduction opportunities and greatest political problems arise in the transportation area. NRDC has helped lead a successful campaign to persuade the EPA to approve a "low emission vehicle " program for the Northeast. This program will require substantial improvements in emission standards for automobiles and require the introduction of a limited number of zero-emission vehicles. Additional changes are necessary to require manufacturers to produce more durable emission control systems for new vehicles and to strengthen emission standards for minivans and sport utility vehicles.
Reformulate fuels and clean up existing cars. The benefits of air emissions control programs will never be fully realized until the existing fleet of cars is retired, which typically takes from twelve to twenty years. Auto inspection and maintenance programs can control very large amounts of pollution at much less cost than pollution control measures on factories. There are several kinds of initiatives at work throughout the country that have reduced emissions for these vehicles:
Reformulating to cleaner gasoline and diesel, which can reduce emissions about 30 percent in every vehicle.
Upgrading vehicle inspection and maintenance programs to ensure that vehicle owners keep their engines and pollution control equipment in good order.
Establishing "clunker scrap programs " that promote early retirement of high emission cars, possibly a cost-effective way to reduce pollution levels.
Replacing dirty diesel vehicles, especially in municipal fleets of buses and trucks, with clean fuel vehicles that operate on natural gas, electric power, or other emerging technologies.
Improve transportation strategies and alternatives. For every ton of pollutants eliminated by the development and use of better technology today, more than a ton is added because of additional automobile travel. Accordingly, the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments require seriously polluted regions to develop coherent transportation and trip reduction strategies over the next few years. No city in the nation has developed such a program, despite the existence of many cost-effective transportation control strategies.
Policymakers must learn to integrate transportation planning into their air quality programs in order to get drivers out of their cars and into alternative forms of transportation -- buses, shuttles, bicycles, walking.
If U.S. cities continue to grow through suburban sprawl, auto use will only continue to increase and efforts to change travel behavior will fail. Compact, transit-oriented development, mixed-use development, and the strategic designation of dedicated open space can all help reduce automobile use.
Provide economic incentives and disincentives. The costs of road construction and maintenance, police patrols, and accident response -- as well as environmental costs -- are all heavily subsidized by public agencies and financed through taxes. If motorists were assessed these costs in proportion to the number of miles they drive or their annual vehicle emissions, for instance, they would have a powerful incentive to drive less and use less polluting means of travel.
Reduce emissions from small stationary pollution sources. It is essential to control the pollution emitted by solvent use, "area sources, " and consumer and commercial products. Solvents, often held in large open vats for degreasing operations, contribute significant amounts of air pollution through evaporation, for instance. Some areas of the country must cut emissions from such sources by a staggering degree in order to meet federal clean air standards, and the most promising strategies include market incentives.
Better educate the public. The general public is forced to sift through myriad conflicting claims about air quality matters. For this reason, air quality officials and policymakers must expand and enhance current public education and involvement programs to build a stronger base of support for what are often politically difficult air pollution control measures.
Target communities with the greatest needs. As noted early in this chapter, researchers have found that communities of color and low-income communities tend to suffer disproportionately from air pollution. NRDC is concerned that current laws and regulations are inadequate to protect the communities most at risk, and we recommend that air quality researchers investigate communities at special risk from air pollution. In addition, officials should intensify pollution control efforts in these communities and target the most dangerous sources.
INTRODUCTION
Clean air is a delicate balance of nitrogen and oxygen, with small amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, and other gases. Unfortunately, pollutants are altering this mixture by adding myriad ingredients which alone and in concert pose health risks to everyone who breathes the air, particularly children. In fact, children represent the largest subgroup of the population susceptible to the effects of air pollution.[1] Over the last ten years, a considerable number of scientific studies have reported adverse health effects associated with air pollution. The effects have ranged from respiratory symptoms and illness, impaired lung function, hospitalization for respiratory and cardiac disease to increases in mortality.[2]
A recent study estimated that approximately 64,000 people in the United States die prematurely from heart and lung disease every year due to particulate air pollution -- more people than die each year in car accidents.[3] Among children, air pollutants are associated with increased acute respiratory illness, increased incidence of respiratory symptoms and infections, episodes of longer duration, and lowered lung function.[4]
Asthma, the most common chronic disorder of childhood, is on the rise in the United States and in other industrialized nations. During the 1980s, the prevalence of childhood asthma increased nearly 40 percent.[5] Many different factors have been associated with asthma, including genetic makeup, environmental tobacco smoke, dust mites, cockroach allergens, and air pollution, both indoor and outdoor. Several studies have linked ozone and particulate air pollution with exacerbations of asthma in children afflicted with the disease.
Due to their greater respiratory rates, children breathe a proportionately greater volume of air than adults. As a result, children inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight. They also spend more time engaged in vigorous activity than adults. In addition, because of young children's height and play habits (crawling, rolling) they are more likely to be exposed to pollutants or aerosols that are heavier than air and tend to concentrate in their breathing zone near ground level.[6] Children's physiological vulnerability to air pollution arises from their narrower airways and the fact that their lungs are still developing. Irritation caused by air pollutants that would produce only a slight response in an adult can result in potentially significant obstruction in the airways of a young child.
The harm caused by air pollutants has been recognized by medical scientists, government officials, and the public for some time. Historic air pollution disasters -- Meuse Valley, Belgium in 1930, Donora, Pennsylvania in 1948, and London, England in 1952 -- in which large numbers of people fell ill and died, have been clearly associated with high concentrations of particulate and sulfur dioxide pollution.[7] Such acute air pollution episodes have killed children because of their heightened susceptibility to the damage that can be done by air pollutants.[8]
Existing stationary sources of air pollution include coal combustion for power production, oil refineries, and industrial manufacturing facilities. Additional sources of air pollution have emerged; today automobiles are a major polluter of the air: Americans drive some 150 million private cars and nearly 50 million buses and trucks.[9] The exhaust from these vehicles contains nitrogen oxides, and other ozone precursors, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide -- all deleterious to health, even in small quantities. Also of importance in vehicle exhaust are toxic organic compounds including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and benzene. And, even though new cars start out far cleaner than the cars of decades ago, we drive them far more and they fail to remain clean as they age.
To protect citizens, the federal government began setting standards for ambient air quality as early as the 1950s. In 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, the first major national law for air pollution control throughout the United States. This Act, amended in 1977 and 1990, requires the EPA to establish national health standards for ambient air pollutants and to assure that states adopt effective programs for attaining these standards. The most successful parts of the Act, such as the acid rain program, the ozone depletion program, and the introduction of emission standards for automobiles and the reformulation of fuels, established very specific federal standards. Yet these standards are not enough. In 1995, about 127 million Americans -- half of the nation's population -- lived in regions with air quality that did not meet federal standards for certain pollutants.[12] Based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates of the population by age group, 18 million children under the age of ten lived in these "nonattainment" areas. The health risks from air pollution are greatest in these regions, and those at greatest risk include children.
Citizens must seek additional remedies to assure the health of their families in the face of increasing air pollution threats. Toward that end, this chapter describes scientific research on the health effects of air pollutants on children, suggested measures that concerned parents and others can take, and model programs of local solutions that have worked throughout the nation, as well as government reforms that should be supported.
BACKGROUND: HOW LUNGS WORK
Children: The Most Vulnerable Among Us
The nation has failed to protect its most precious citizens -- its children -- from the adverse health effects of air pollution. Emission reduction efforts and federal air quality standards have been insufficient to shield children from potentially serious health damage.[13] Ozone and particulate matter are of special concern. In June 1993, the Committee on Environmental Hazards of the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that the federal standard for ozone in effect at that time contained "little or no margin of safety for children engaged in active outdoor activity."[14] In July 1997, the EPA revised both the ozone and particulate matter air quality standards in order to protect children and other members of the population. The American Lung Association estimated that 27 million children under the age of 13 reside in areas with ozone levels above EPA's revised standard, and that two million children with asthma, or half of the pediatric asthma population under the age of eighteen, lived in these areas.[15]
HAZARDS OF AIR POLLUTION
Cellular Damage
Even short-term exposure to low levels of pollutants can damage lungs at the cellular level. For instance:
Sulfuric acid compounds can interfere with the lungs' mucociliary clearance system,[16] and ozone at levels below the pre-1997 federal ozone standards may hinder the immune system's ability to defend against infection.[17]
Ozone exposure at levels below the pre-1997 federal standards contributes to persistent inflammation of airways, sometimes days after exposure ceases.[18] Exposure to acidic aerosols may aggravate the effect.[19]
Sulfur dioxide can induce bronchial constriction in asthmatics.[20]
Even short-term ozone exposure increases lung cell permeability, which may hinder the body's ability to regulate the movement of gases and liquids between the lungs and the bloodstream. This effect potentially facilitates the body's uptake of inhaled substances and may promote enhanced allergic sensitization.[21]
Reduced Lung Function
Lungs must inhale and exhale an adequate volume of air to remove carbon dioxide and replenish oxygen to maintain health, but studies show that even brief exposure to pollutants can result in impairment of lung function. These effects are generally temporary, but they are still of great importance, for two reasons. Chief among these is that the impairment of lung function may be a sign of invisible, sub-clinical damage inside the lungs, such as inflammation produced deep in the lungs from ozone, as discussed above. Though the impairment of lung function generally disappears after exposure, it may mask continuing cellular damage. Secondly, people whose lung function is already compromised may be unable to tolerate additional impairments caused by air pollution, however modest or temporary they might be. The medical literature shows that ozone, sulfur dioxide and sulphate aerosols, and airborne particulate matter affect lung function, and that chronic exposure to air pollutants can impair lung function permanently.[22]
Respiratory Illness and Asthma
Breathing polluted air increases a person's chances for respiratory illness. Epidemiological studies show a significant correlation between exposure to air pollution and the frequency of respiratory symptoms -- ranging from cough symptoms to hospital admission.[23]
Currently affecting at least 6 percent of American children, asthma is the number one cause of absenteeism for school children.[24] During the 1980s, asthma incidence among children increased by nearly 40 percent.[25] One study estimated the total costs -- both direct and indirect -- related to asthma in the young and old in 1990 to be $6.2 billion.[26] Asthmatics suffer recurrent attacks of breathing distress caused by temporary inflammation and constriction of the airways. In many cases, asthma is caused by an allergic response that develops as a result of the airways becoming sensitized to one or several substances.
Common air pollutants, especially ozone, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, present a challenge to asthmatics. A considerable body of scientific evidence links increases in levels of these pollutants to worsening of asthma (increased emergency room visits, increased medication use, increased hospitalization, and increased symptoms.)[27] Some of the investigations reveal asthma exacerbations occurring at pollutant levels at or below the pre-1997 federal air pollution standards. In one case, hospital emergency visits rose by 37 percent on days when ozone reached hourly concentrations of 0.11 parts per million (ppm), which is below the pre-1997 federal standard.[28]
Higher Mortality Rates
Research on mortality rates in heavily polluted areas reveals statistically significant links between high levels of air pollutants and increased numbers of deaths, primarily among the elderly. Particulates show the clearest link, and elevated death rates have been found even at particulate concentrations that are well below the pre-1997 federal health standards; death rates start to inch upward when particulates reach levels below the pre-1997 federal standard.[29]
In December 1993, Harvard researchers published the results of a sixteen-year-long community health study that tracked the health of 8,000 adults in six U.S. cities with differing levels of air pollution. After adjusting for age and smoking, researchers found that residents of the most polluted city had a 26 percent higher mortality rate than those living in the least polluted city.[30] This translated into a one- to two-year shorter lifespan for residents of the most polluted cities.[31] Another major study corroborated these findings. The study correlated American Cancer Society data on the health of 1.2 million adults with air pollution data in 151 U.S. metropolitan areas. The study found that people living in the most polluted area had a 17 percent greater risk of mortality than people living in the least polluted city.[32]
Long-Term Effects of Chronic Exposure A variety of animal studies suggest that long-term exposure to air pollution damages lung cells.[33] In one animal study, researchers found that low-level ozone exposure resulted in the progression of lung injury into structural changes.[34] Acute inflammation in the animals' lungs evolved into chronic inflammation, with healing by a process known as fibrosis, or scarring that stiffens the lung and may make it less capable of efficient gas exchange.
Corresponding evidence from epidemiological research includes one study of humans who were exposed to elevated ozone levels over several days. Lung function loss persisted for a week after exposure, which suggested to researchers that cell death and inflammatory reactions were involved, not just reflex airway constriction.[35]
Chronic exposure to air pollutants may reduce lung capacity. The most comprehensive study was performed on populations living in two different parts of the Los Angeles Basin. People living in the more polluted area had substantially worse lung function than when they were initially tested, and they showed a significantly more rapid deterioration of lung function over time.[36] Chronic exposure to a mixture of air pollutants, as shown in this study, results in less rapid growth of lung function in children and a greater rate of deterioration in adulthood.
In addition, a lifetime of exposure to air pollution may lead to premature aging of the lungs. The aging process in the lungs, which occurs naturally throughout adulthood, is marked by increased deposits of scar tissue, and it may render the lung tissue less elastic and less efficient in delivering oxygen to the blood. Ozone is strongly implicated in the premature aging of lungs. For instance, research on laboratory animals shows that common ozone exposure can lead to a variety of changes in lung tissue, including changes in the structure of the cells that line the smallest airways, such as death of the ciliated cells that are critical in the lung's defense system against particles and bacteria,[37] reduced ability to remove foreign material,[38] inflammation,[39] biochemical changes that suggest damage to tissues and greater permeability of the air sacs,[40] and stiffening of the lung due to the formation of scar tissue.[41]
An autopsy study performed on 107 young accident victims (fourteen to twenty-five years of age) in Southern California, most of them lifelong residents, showed evidence of lung disease. Though few had outward signs of breathing disorders when alive, the lungs of 104 of them showed early signs of chronic lung disease, including low-level bronchitis, chronic interstitial pneumonia, and an unprecedented rate of severe chronic inflammation of the respiratory bronchioles. While the results of this study are not definitive since the subjects were not screened for the use of tobacco or marijuana, one of the researchers commented that the subjects "had lungs of older people," saying that, "air pollution is highly suspect for a substantial contributory role."[42]
Special Vulnerability of Children
During the last decade, hundreds of published reports have documented the effects of air pollutants on children, who are more susceptible than adults to the adverse effects of air pollution. Children's greater sensitivity is a function of both greater exposure to air pollutants and unique physiological susceptibility.
Greater Exposure and Susceptibility
Children breathe more air relative to their body weight and lung surface area than do adults; consequently, they also receive proportionately higher doses of air pollutants.[43] Children spend more time outdoors, often during midday and afternoons when pollutant levels are generally highest.[44] Children are three times more active than adults while outdoors, significantly increasing their oxygen demand and consequently raising their breathing rates.[45]
Young children generally spend more time low to the ground by virtue of both their shorter stature and the nature of their typical physical activity. Children, therefore, experience greater exposure to pollutants emitted close to the ground, such as automobile exhaust and high-density pollutants brought downward by gravity.[46] In addition, when the sources of air pollutants such as automobiles are close to playgrounds and other areas where children play, children and infants in strollers may be heavily exposed.
Children often fail to recognize the significance of respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath, and they frequently fail to move indoors or curtail exercise during air pollution episodes. Children tend to breathe more through the mouth than through the nose due to their increased physical exertion, thus reducing the effectiveness of one level of filtration. In addition, young children's small noses are easily blocked by congestion, constriction, or other illnesses.
Children's airways have small diameters. Environmental irritants capable of obstructing air passages are more likely to do so in children than in adults.[47] Early in life, children have far fewer alveoli than adults, creating less "reserve volume" from which to draw oxygen. They also have relatively less reserve surface area in their lungs available for times of stress or increased metabolic demand.[48] In adults, air moves from one alveolus to another through holes in the alveoli and channels between the small airways and the alveoli, allowing air to be distributed deeply throughout the lung, circumventing obstructed areas. Infants and young children have few such pathways that provide for this restorative air drift.[49]
Children at greatest risk from the effects of air pollution include: children with sensitized respiratory systems, such as allergic or asthmatic children, children who live near industrial pollution sources, areas of heavy traffic, or in homes with cigarette smokers, and children who lack adequate medical attention, nourishment, or sanitary living conditions.
Adverse Health Effects in Children
Data gathered by a researcher from a variety of recent studies[50] reveals that air pollutants are associated with a wide variety of adverse health effects in children, including:
increased death rates in very severe pollution episodes and increased mortality risks for those living in highly polluted areas,
increased risk of acute respiratory illness,
aggravation of asthma, increased respiratory symptoms, and increased sickness rates (as indicated by kindergarten and school absences), and
decreases in lung function.
Increased Mortality Risk
The most serious effect of air pollution is death. Although the elderly are at greater mortality risk from air pollution, children are also susceptible. In the London air pollution episode in December 1952, mortality in children increased.[51] A new study has found an association in the United States between particulate pollution and an increased risk of infant mortality.[52] A recent report from S‹o Paulo, Brazil, indicated that death in children under the age of five due to respiratory diseases from 1990 to 1991 was positively associated with air pollution levels of nitrogen oxides.[53] In the Czech Republic, the risk of respiratory mortality among infants increased in relation to worsening air pollution (particulates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide) after adjusting for socioeconomic factors.[54] Researchers in Taiwan found a higher rate of infant mortality from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at times of elevated particulate air pollution as measured by reduced visibility.[55]
Increased Acute Respiratory Illness
Several studies indicate that air pollution is associated with increased acute respiratory illness, as measured by hospital admissions and other indices. Two epidemiological studies, conducted in central Utah, on the relationship between hospital admissions for respiratory illness and ambient air pollution found that admissions were strongly correlated with particulate levels, and that the correlation was especially pronounced in preschool-aged children. In one study, bronchitis and asthma admissions for preschool children were twice as frequent when the local pollution source (steel mill) was operating than when it was shut down.[56] Another study in the same region also indicated that hospital admission for respiratory illness is strongly associated with particulate air pollution and that the association is stronger for children than adults. During months with peak particulate pollution levels, average hospital admissions for respiratory illness in children nearly tripled, whereas for adults comparable hospital admissions increased by 44 percent.[57]
Similarly, researchers found that summertime hospital admissions in Ontario for children are associated with increases in ambient ozone and sulfate levels.[58] Other researchers report that over a six-year period, respiratory admissions were closely associated with ozone levels at 168 hospitals in Ontario. They also showed that 15 percent of summer hospital admissions for infants were associated with air pollution, as compared with 4 percent of such admissions for elderly patients.[59] Studies of hospital admissions in Toronto suggested that increases in ozone, sulfates, aerosol hydrogen ion levels, and particulate air pollution with a diameter of 10 microns or less (PM10) can all be directly correlated to increases in hospital admissions.[60]
In a diary study of 625 Swiss children between birth and five years of age, respiratory symptoms were associated with particulate concentrations, while the duration of symptoms was associated with levels of nitrogen oxide. These symptoms included coughing, upper respiratory episodes, and breathing difficulty.[61]
Another study compared the frequency of upper respiratory infections in Finnish children residing in a polluted city with that in children living in two less polluted cities. The researchers found a significant association between the occurrence of upper respiratory infections and living in an air-polluted area.[62] The finding was consistent in both the fourteen- to eighteen-month-olds and six-year-olds when comparing the polluted city with the reference cities and when comparing the more and less polluted areas within the polluted city. A study in East Germany found that levels of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides were associated with an increased risk of developing upper respiratory infections in nine- to eleven-year-olds.[63]
Increased Respiratory Symptoms
Elevated levels of various air pollutants have been linked with an increased incidence of respiratory symptoms in children. In an ongoing study comparing air pollution in six U.S. cities and the respiratory health of individuals living in those cities, the frequencies of coughs, bronchitis, and lower respiratory illnesses in preadolescent children were significantly associated with increased levels of particulates and acidic fine particles.[64] Illness and symptom rates were higher by approximately a factor of two in the community with the highest air pollution concentrations compared to the community with the lowest concentrations. A follow-up study reported that rates of chronic cough, bronchitis, and chest illness during one school year were positively associated with particulate pollution.[65] Another study in these six cities also found a significant association between particulate pollution and the incidence of coughing and other lower respiratory symptoms.[66] One study suggested that though all children are at risk for increased respiratory symptoms due to particulate pollution, children with preexisting respiratory conditions (wheezing, asthma) are at greater risk.[67]
Decreased Lung Function
To maintain a normal rate of gas exchange -- the removal of carbon dioxide and replenishment of oxygen -- the lungs must be able to inhale and exhale an adequate volume of air. In determining how well a person's lungs function, researchers take measurements of the lungs at rest, the volume of air that can be inhaled and exhaled, and the time it takes to exhale.
Numerous studies have showed that even brief exposure to air pollutants can impair lung function.[68] One study in Utah Valley indicated that elevated particulate levels were associated with a decline in lung function among elementary school-age children as measured by peak expiratory flow (the maximum rate at which air is exhaled from a maximum inhalation).[69] Another study examined the health effects of exposure to acidic air pollution among children in twenty-four communities in the United States and Canada and found that acidic air pollution is associated with reductions in pulmonary function, as measured by forced vital capacity (the volume of air forcibly exhaled from a deep inhalation) and forced expiratory volume (the volume of air exhaled over a specific period of time from a maximum inhalation).[70]
Much of the evidence that air pollution reduces lung function in children focuses on summertime exposure to acidic particles or acid aerosols.[71] Reductions in pulmonary function in children have also been linked to ozone exposure.[72] One study found a significant decline in forced expiratory volume after ozone exposure, a change that appeared to persist for sixteen to twenty hours.[73]
Exacerbation of Asthma
Approximately 4.8 million children in the United States under the age of 18 have asthma, the most common chronic illness among children.[74] The incidence of the disease is on the rise, increasing nearly 40 percent among U.S. children between 1981 and 1988.[75] Other countries are also observing rising rates of asthma. Blacks, Hispanics, and people living in urban areas appear to be at greatest risk for the disease.[76] Asthma is a complex disease associated with many factors including genetics, allergies (cockroaches and dust mites), mildew, molds, and the environment. Asthma is a condition of the airways characterized by chronic inflammation and episodic limitation of the flow of air into and out of the lungs. Symptoms of the disease include coughing, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, and wheezing. Exacerbations of asthma have been linked with exposure to ambient air pollutants, indoor air pollutants, as well as allergens.
Based on increased hospital admissions, increased hospital emergency room visits, and increased medication use, ambient air pollution is associated with aggravation of asthma. In a recent study of children at an asthma summer camp, ozone air pollution was significantly correlated with an increase in the use of asthma medication and the worsening of other asthma symptoms.[77] The children were 40 percent more likely to suffer asthma attacks on high pollution summer days. In another study, researchers reported a 37 percent increase in hospital emergency visits for childhood asthma after periods of maximum ozone pollution levels.[78] A study in Mexico City showed an association between increased levels of particulate matter and ozone and a worsening of respiratory symptoms among mildly asthmatic children.[79] Hospital admissions among children with asthma in Toronto were higher after days with elevated ozone levels.[80]
Children of Color
While dirty air is a threat to all Americans, communities of color often suffer disproportionately from air pollution. This is also true of low-income communities. Such communities have historically been used as dumping grounds for the toxic by-products of industrial society. Several studies have demonstrated that proportionately more landfills, power plants, toxic waste sites, bus depots and rail yards, sewage treatment plants, and industrial facilities are sited in them.[81] In a landmark report[82] prepared by the United Church of Christ's Commission for Racial Justice, investigators discovered that three of the five largest hazardous waste landfills in the United States are in Black or Latino neighborhoods and that the mean percentage of people of color in areas with toxic waste sites is twice that of areas without toxic waste sites. An update to this report found that, in 1993, the percentage of people of color remains three times higher in areas with the highest concentration of commercial hazardous waste facilities than areas without commercial hazardous waste facilities.[83]
The health risks from air pollution are likely to be more serious for children who are already exposed to toxic chemicals, because they live or attend school near landfills, toxic waste sites, bus depots and rail yards, industrial plants, or similar facilities. Because of low-quality housing, overcrowding, and lack of air conditioning, children in low-income communities may also spend more time outdoors on smoggy summer days. (In the absence of air conditioning, indoor concentrations of ozone can approach 80 percent of outdoor levels.[85]) In addition, children in low-income families are less likely to receive sufficient health care.
Scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory have found that minority population subgroups experience greater exposure to substandard outdoor air quality. In particular, their research indicates that minorities live in greater concentrations both in areas with above-average numbers of air polluting facilities and in air quality non-attainment areas. [86] For instance, 52 percent of all whites live in counties with high ozone concentrations. For African-Americans the figure is 62 percent, and for Hispanics it is 71 percent. Population group distributions were found to be similar for carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, and particulate matter, with higher percentages of African-Americans and Hispanics than whites residing in counties with excessive levels of these pollutants. Moreover, 57 percent of all whites, 65 percent of African-Americans, and 80 percent of Hispanics live in counties that failed to meet at least one of the EPA's ambient air quality standards. Five percent of whites, 10 percent of African-Americans, and 15 percent of Hispanics live in counties that exceed standards for four air quality standards.
To compound the greater likelihood that children of color reside in the areas of worst air pollution, Black and Hispanic children are potentially more susceptible to air pollution due to their increased rates of asthma. Black and Hispanic children have a higher incidence of asthma than white children. Black children are more likely to have asthma than white children.[87] Moreover, Black children aged five to fourteen years are four times more likely than whites to die from asthma, and African-Americans under the age of twenty-four are 3.4 times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma.[88] Children of Hispanic (mainly Puerto Rican) mothers have a rate of asthma two and a half times higher than whites and more than one and a half times higher than Blacks.[89] Within the Hispanic-American population, the highest prevalence of asthma among children was in Puerto Ricans (11.2 percent), followed by Cuban-Americans (5.2 percent), and Mexican-Americans (2.7 percent). By comparison, the asthma incidence in non-Hispanic Blacks is 5.9 percent and in non-Hispanic whites it is 3.3 percent.[90]
What You Can Do
The following are suggestions for protecting children and other family members during air pollution episodes.
Regularly check air pollution levels in your area and plan accordingly. Pollution patterns and concentrations can differ radically from one area to another. Some areas might be particularly susceptible to carbon monoxide violations, while for others it might be ozone. Be sure you are able to recognize the air district jurisdiction under which your area falls. Call your county health department to identify your local air pollution control agency. Pollution patterns also change over the course of a single day. During hot summer months in some areas, for instance, levels of ozone are five times higher in the afternoon than in the morning, while in the winter the mid or late afternoon may be the time of lowest pollution. Depending upon the area in which you live, newspapers and newscasts often discuss each day's air pollutant levels. You can also contact your local air district for specific information and advice.
Limit children's outdoor exercise when smog levels are high. Laboratory studies have revealed that heavy exercise during smog episodes contributes to adverse health effects. Though our bodies have a variety of protective mechanisms against the adverse affects of air pollution, children are especially vulnerable and should be encouraged to stay indoors during smog episodes. At these times, keep doors and windows closed whenever possible while taking into account the sensitivities of asthmatics and others with breathing difficulty that may be exacerbated due to indoor air pollutants.
Be sure your child's school is prepared for smog episodes. Every school should have plans for smog episodes, including alerting teachers, curtailing sports or exercise programs, and providing alternative activities that do not involve heavy physical exertion.
Encourage curriculum development on air pollution issues. Children need help identifying air pollution hazards and the health symptoms that might indicate sensitivity to air pollution. Encourage your child's school to develop curriculum units centered on these issues.
Be aware of sensitivities that put family members at increased risk. Children, people with asthma and other chronic lung diseases, the elderly, and the chronically ill are especially vulnerable to air pollution. During episodes of poor air quality, monitor the health of these individuals and contact a physician if needed.
Avoid highly polluted areas during smog episodes. If you must be outside during a smog episode, avoid busy streets and highways that can significantly increase your exposure. Sitting in a car during a hot summer day in the middle of a traffic jam can expose you to elevated levels of carbon monoxide.
Keep indoor air as clean as possible. Do not smoke cigarettes indoors. Keep your house free from dust and mildew. To control dust in the home, remove wall-to-wall carpets when possible and replace them with small area rugs that can be thoroughly cleaned. Periodically remove and launder heavy curtains. Be sure that fumes from gas stoves and heaters are properly vented, and reduce indoor sources of pollutants such as insecticides, wood fires, cleaners, solvents, and deodorizing sprays. When painting or using chemical cleaning agents, assure full ventilation.
Help get polluters off the road. Report vehicles with visibly excessive tailpipe emissions to your local air quality management district. In some areas, an anonymous 800 number is available for this purpose. Minimize your own use of the automobile. Take your car to a reliable service station if your automobile "smokes " or if the "check engine " light remains illuminated. Carpool whenever possible. Use public transportation, bicycle, or walk as frequently as you can.
Consult the Toxics Release Inventory. The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), part of the 1986 Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act, is a powerful tool for uncovering local sources of air pollution. The information, available thorough the regional US EPA office or state air pollution board, is free to any citizen who requests it. The TRI data identify by name and location industrial facilities that release toxic substances into the air, water, or land. Contact the EPA's Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Information Hotline at 800/535-0202.
Model Programs and Local Solutions
In a number of communities across the country, community pressure, progressive business decisions, and government programs have worked to promote feasible, non-polluting alternatives that make economic sense. The job includes not only pressuring local businesses, but regulators as well. Below are some examples.
The Scott Paper Company was opening a new facility in Owensboro, Kentucky. When a local group learned of their plans, they pressed the company to live up to its environmental commitments. Under this pressure, Scott researchers came up with a new process that eliminated airborne emissions of formaldehyde and dramatically reduced emissions of epichlorohydrin, and the community got 500 new jobs and a healthy environment.[117]
Concerned about emissions from a new incinerator, the North Carolina Waste Awareness and Education Network coordinated efforts throughout the state and helped block the siting of a commercial hazardous waste incinerator. But they didn't stop there. Recognizing the state's need to address hazardous waste generation and disposal, the group presented state officials with a "Waste Reduction Assurance Plan " as an alternative to the EPA-required "Capacity Assurance Plan, " which helped guide the state to more environmentally safe solutions.[118]
A chemical facility in Manchester, Texas, run by Rhone-Poulenc was operating an incinerator that burned liquid waste. Changes in environmental regulations reclassified some of this waste as hazardous, requiring changes in the company's operating permit. One week before a meeting to discuss the permit modification, a release of sulfur dioxide from the plant sent twenty-seven people to the hospital. A group of concerned citizens from the largely Hispanic, low-income neighborhood along the Houston ship channel joined forces with Texans United, a statewide environmental group, and together they persuaded the company to open up some of its decision-making processes to a Community Advisory Committee.[119]
In 1983, the Ashland Oil refinery in northeastern Kentucky on the Big Sandy River installed new equipment to process low-quality crude oil into gasoline. It wasn't long before a fine powdery soot began to settle over the area, causing paint to peel from homes and automobiles and citizens to experience skin burns and eye irritation. While Ashland Oil officials stated that the powder was "safe enough to eat, " a chemist with the West Virginia Air Pollution Control Commission called the substance, "as corrosive as drain cleaner. " In 1987, more than 700 people filed personal damage claims against Ashland; while most claims were settled out of court, some went to trial. In one case, four residents were awarded $10.3 million, which stirred more hostility against the plaintiffs than against Ashland. Then, in 1992, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition published a report, with facts supplied by the company and the EPA, showing that the Ashland refinery releases significantly more of each pollutant than other refineries. As a result, a 24-hour video monitoring system has been installed by the state at the company's expense. In addition, an $8.85 million settlement fund has been set aside for resolving outstanding fines for numerous state and federal air quality violations.[120]
In 1993, NRDC launched a campaign to substitute natural gas-powered buses for diesel buses in New York and Los Angeles. Natural gas buses emit 60 percent less particulates and nitrogen oxides than the most advanced diesel engines. In 1997, New York Governor George Pataki announced that New York City would purchase at least 500 clean-fuel buses over the next five years and convert three inner-city diesel bus depots to natural gas. Similarly, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority has committed to buying only natural gas buses.
CURRENT REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
While the first federal standards regulating air pollutants were established in the 1950s, it was not until 1970 that the first major legislative breakthrough occurred when Congress passed the Clean Air Act (CAA). The CAA requires the EPA to set federal standards to limit exposures to major air pollutants including ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. Accordingly, the EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for each of these pollutants, which is a legally permissible upper limit on the concentration of that particular substance in the air. Individual states are allowed to establish air pollution standards that are stricter than the federal standards. States are required to develop state implementation plans indicating how they will comply with the Clean Air Act requirements. The EPA must approve the state implementation plan or the EPA can take over enforcement of the Clean Air Act in that state. The 1990 amendments to the CAA require the EPA to develop regulations to reduce emissions of 189 hazardous air pollutants. The CAA also requires improvements in motor vehicles to decrease tailpipe emissions, phases out chemicals that deplete atmospheric ozone, and reduces emissions of acid rain precursors. In spite of recent improvements in air quality, many areas of the country exceed the NAAQS for a variety of pollutants. Strong implementation of the CAA is critical to improving air quality.
REFORMS NEEDED
In essence, there are two primary ways in which the government can help improve the quality of the air our nation's children breathe: set more stringent health standards for key air pollutants and carry out more aggressive clean air strategies.
Improve Health Standards
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set air pollutant standards based on health criteria. Despite this, children face substantial health risks from breathing air with levels of pollutants significantly below those permitted by the current EPA standards. If the EPA or local air quality boards were to set more stringent air quality standards, then more areas of the country would reap substantial health benefits. Even though many areas of the nation are far from achieving even inadequate standards, it is crucial that some of the present standards be revised to protect against the grave health risks of air pollution reflected in the medical evidence.
The EPA's air quality standards are structured in a variety of ways to guard against health threats from both acute pollution episodes and chronic exposure. One-hour and 24-hour standards are primarily intended to guard against acute episodes that can be extremely hazardous to sensitive individuals and have been known to incapacitate some and even lead to death for others. Seasonal or annual measuring times, on the other hand, are becoming increasingly important in the wake of mounting evidence about additional, cumulative health impacts. Annual or quarterly standards exist for PM10, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and lead. In general, the criteria used by federal and state regulators do not provide sufficient protection against repeated and chronic exposures, or combinations of pollutants.
Implement revised ozone and particulate matter standards. On July 16, 1997, the EPA issued new air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter.[121] The previous standard, set in 1979, limited ozone to 120 parts per billion in a single hour. The new limit is 80 parts per billion measured over eight hours. For particulate matter, the EPA's new standard allows daily concentrations up to 65 micrograms per cubic meter of air and annual average concentrations of up to 15 micrograms per cubic meter for the smallest particles (less than 2.5 microns in diameter). The standards will protect the health of 125 million Americans, including 35 million children, from the hazards of air pollution. Industry and some members of Congress are seeking to block the enforcement of the new standards.
Protect against chronic exposure. The mounting evidence of risk from exposure over a lifetime calls for a different approach to health standards and clean air policy as a whole. Standards continue to be set to protect against the risks from single, short-term exposures to single pollutants. Current control measures encourage "peak shaving, " which, rather than reducing average levels and exposures, focuses only on specific episodes.
Study the pollutant "soup. " Evidence suggests that combined effects of pollutants may be greater than the sum of their individual effects. Regulators should support more research aimed at identifying the health risks from simultaneous exposure to different combinations of air pollutants and revise standards accordingly.
Provide adequate margins of safety. Air quality regulators are required by law to protect the public not only against demonstrable hazards, but also against those that are suspected or have not yet been quantified. Consequently, even when medical evidence merely suggests health impacts, measures must be taken. This is particularly critical in the case of children's health since most of the existing standards are based upon studies conducted on adults. The only way to ensure the protection of children is to establish conservative margins of safety.
Strengthen nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide standards. Federal standards for nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide must be tightened to provide protection against short-term pollution episodes in response to medical evidence of adverse health effects from short-term exposure to these substances. NRDC recommends that federal 24-hour sulfur dioxide standards be tightened. In addition, a short-term standard must be developed to protect children and others with asthma who can be affected by exposures as short as five minutes.
More Aggressive Clean Air Strategies
With several important exceptions, states are allowed to go beyond the minimum federal requirements by adopting more aggressive control programs and more stringent health standards. California, for instance, has set the strongest air pollution health standards in the country. For the nation to achieve clean air, the rest of the country must move, at a minimum, to emulate California's tighter health standards and more aggressive pollution control programs.
NRDC has identified a variety of ways in which national and state air quality programs can be improved:
Improve and enforce implementation plans. The most heavily polluted areas in the nation often lack integrated, comprehensive implementation plans to reduce air emissions. Few air quality regulators have the geographic reach or authority to develop and execute regionally coordinated plans of action, despite the regional nature of what they are regulating. And even if an area has well-crafted implementation plans, that does not assure adequate implementation, monitoring, or enforcement. This has been because, in the case of federal regulations, Congress has historically pushed back attainment dates at the request of cities or states, thus increasing public cynicism over the ultimate value of the laws.
Tighten emissions requirements for new vehicles. Transportation-related emissions account for about 50 percent of the ozone problem and almost all of the carbon monoxide problem. Some of our greatest emission reduction opportunities and greatest political problems arise in the transportation area. NRDC has helped lead a successful campaign to persuade the EPA to approve a "low emission vehicle " program for the Northeast. This program will require substantial improvements in emission standards for automobiles and require the introduction of a limited number of zero-emission vehicles. Additional changes are necessary to require manufacturers to produce more durable emission control systems for new vehicles and to strengthen emission standards for minivans and sport utility vehicles.
Reformulate fuels and clean up existing cars. The benefits of air emissions control programs will never be fully realized until the existing fleet of cars is retired, which typically takes from twelve to twenty years. Auto inspection and maintenance programs can control very large amounts of pollution at much less cost than pollution control measures on factories. There are several kinds of initiatives at work throughout the country that have reduced emissions for these vehicles:
Reformulating to cleaner gasoline and diesel, which can reduce emissions about 30 percent in every vehicle.
Upgrading vehicle inspection and maintenance programs to ensure that vehicle owners keep their engines and pollution control equipment in good order.
Establishing "clunker scrap programs " that promote early retirement of high emission cars, possibly a cost-effective way to reduce pollution levels.
Replacing dirty diesel vehicles, especially in municipal fleets of buses and trucks, with clean fuel vehicles that operate on natural gas, electric power, or other emerging technologies.
Improve transportation strategies and alternatives. For every ton of pollutants eliminated by the development and use of better technology today, more than a ton is added because of additional automobile travel. Accordingly, the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments require seriously polluted regions to develop coherent transportation and trip reduction strategies over the next few years. No city in the nation has developed such a program, despite the existence of many cost-effective transportation control strategies.
Policymakers must learn to integrate transportation planning into their air quality programs in order to get drivers out of their cars and into alternative forms of transportation -- buses, shuttles, bicycles, walking.
If U.S. cities continue to grow through suburban sprawl, auto use will only continue to increase and efforts to change travel behavior will fail. Compact, transit-oriented development, mixed-use development, and the strategic designation of dedicated open space can all help reduce automobile use.
Provide economic incentives and disincentives. The costs of road construction and maintenance, police patrols, and accident response -- as well as environmental costs -- are all heavily subsidized by public agencies and financed through taxes. If motorists were assessed these costs in proportion to the number of miles they drive or their annual vehicle emissions, for instance, they would have a powerful incentive to drive less and use less polluting means of travel.
Reduce emissions from small stationary pollution sources. It is essential to control the pollution emitted by solvent use, "area sources, " and consumer and commercial products. Solvents, often held in large open vats for degreasing operations, contribute significant amounts of air pollution through evaporation, for instance. Some areas of the country must cut emissions from such sources by a staggering degree in order to meet federal clean air standards, and the most promising strategies include market incentives.
Better educate the public. The general public is forced to sift through myriad conflicting claims about air quality matters. For this reason, air quality officials and policymakers must expand and enhance current public education and involvement programs to build a stronger base of support for what are often politically difficult air pollution control measures.
Target communities with the greatest needs. As noted early in this chapter, researchers have found that communities of color and low-income communities tend to suffer disproportionately from air pollution. NRDC is concerned that current laws and regulations are inadequate to protect the communities most at risk, and we recommend that air quality researchers investigate communities at special risk from air pollution. In addition, officials should intensify pollution control efforts in these communities and target the most dangerous sources.
Langgan:
Catatan (Atom)
