Polluted cities and health risk
A shrouded in smog busy
expressway in Beijing, China, this week. Beijing issued an orange alert for
heavy smog on Monday after recording the highest level esta year. Photograph:
How Hwee Young / EPA
Every day, hundreds of
millions of people get up in an insecure external environment for human
survival. Air pollution kills 3.3 million people each year, mainly in the
cities; more than HIV, malaria and influenza combined. Research on this silent
mass murderer insidiously reveals something surprising. While the governments
of more than 190 nations meet in Paris to discuss a possible new global
agreement on climate change, it not even knows Count pollution kills more
people.
In China, about 1.6 million
Chinese die from breathing polluted air every year. Beijing is an emblematic
case. In 2015, it was the reported level of PM 2.5 to 391 micrograms per cubic
meter (mg / m3), so that Chinese authorities advised residents to stay in their
homes. According to WHO, the acceptable annual average limit is 10 ug / m3.
The list is dominated by
the ultra-Miasmic India and Pakistan, cities with Delhi first. On an average
day, residents of the Indian capital breathe polluted air with fine particles
with a concentration of 153μg / m3. Three times the level of Beijing and 15
times the WHO of 10 ug / m3.
A large part of humanity
breathes daily unknowingly poison. The implication is profound, because without
knowing the air is bad, nothing will be done to address or solve the problem.
WHO says "The cities
that collect and disseminate information on outdoor air quality must be praised
for their action. This is the crucial first step to identifying if there is a
problem of outdoor air pollution and begin to take corrective measures."
The positive aspect is that
the stigma of pollution in Delhi forces politicians to act. The government
tries to introduce stricter regulations on vehicle manufacturers and build a
ring road around the city. In China, a recent survey found that 94% of adults
believe that air pollution is a problem that the government must prioritize;
therefore already they have been taken substantial measures. The Beijing
government runs a program of alternative driving days according to registration
numbers and closing coal plants.
2.5 pm, material particles,
or PM, is the term for particles found in the air, including dust, dirt, soot,
smoke and liquid droplets. The particles may be suspended in the air for long
periods of time. Some particles are large or dark enough and are seen as soot
or smoke. Others are so small they can only be detected with an electron
microscope.
Many natural and artificial
sources emit PM directly or emit other pollutants react in the atmosphere to
form PM. These solid and liquid particles come in a wide range of sizes.
Particles smaller than 10 microns in diameter (PM10) pose a health problem
because they can be inhaled and accumulate in the respiratory system. Particles
less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM 2.5) are known as "fine
particles" and pose the greatest health risks. Due to its small size
(approximately 1/30 of the average width of a human hair) fine particles can
lodge deep in the lungs.
Where do PM2.5 come ? All
types of combustion activities (automobiles, power plants, wood, etc.) and
certain industrial processes generate these particles. The "coarse"
particles have diameters between 2.5 and 10 micrometers are called
"thick"; between sources are crushing or grinding dust or paved
roads. Other particles can be formed in the air from the chemical change of
gases. Indirectly formed when gases from burning fuels react with sunlight and
water vapor. These may be the result of fuel combustion in motor vehicles, in
power plants and other industrial processes.
Air pollution in Lima
almost three times the level permitted by the World Health Organization (WHO),
registering 12.5 tons per square kilometer per month of sediment atmospheric
dust (PAS), the National Institute of Statistics and Information reported.
Sometimes alternative
measures are used. In Lima, Peru, the average particle suspension set (PAS,
settleable atmospheric dust) by WHO is 5 tons per square kilometer per month,
while in Lima the average is 12.5 tons. Apparently, the situation is not so
bad. When figures districts, the area of greatest air pollution in October 2015
was San Juan de Lurigancho with 37.7 t / km2 / month, nearly eight times higher
than allowed by WHO are reviewed, while Bellavista was the least polluted with
an average of 3.9 t / km2 / month.
In a Green Talk in the
2014m at the University of Lima, a specialist of the Court of Environmental
Control Agency Assessment and Environmental Control, I mention the causes of
air pollution in Peru and protocols and agreements that seek to control this
pollution. Peru is subscribed to the Vienna Convention and the Montreal
Convention, both linked to the care of the ozone layer; and the Kyoto Protocol,
which seeks to decrease between 2008 and 2012 emissions of carbon dioxide,
nitrous oxide, methane and fluorinated gases. The State also promulgated rules
aimed at preserving air quality, such as those relating to regulation of the
levels of United National Air Pollution Alert or the National Standards for
Environmental Air Quality. Unfortunately, as with most laws, these rules are
literally painted on the wall, neither the authorities nor citizens worry too
much about them. The national get is Carpe Diem, live now, the future is not
interested.
For its part, the National
Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (SENAMHI) reported that in January 2015,
the average value of particulate matter less than 2.5 micrograms (PM2.5) in the
district of Ate was 34, 5 ug / m3, San Borja 13.1 ug / m3, Jesus Maria (Campus
Martius) 20.3 ug / m3, Santa Anita 18.5 ug / m3, Villa Maria del Triunfo 19.6
ug / m3, Huachipa 29 9 ug / m3, San Juan de Lurigancho 20.7 ug / m3, San Martin
de Porres 16.5 ug / m3, Carabayllo 23.2 ug / m3 in Puente Piedra and 27.8 ug /
m3.
In Latin America, the city
with the worst air quality indicators is Lima and has cleaner air is Salvador
de Bahia (Brazil), according to a report by the World Health Organization
(WHO). When you have more than 10 micrograms per cubic meter, there is
pollution. Lima has an average of 38 mg of PM 2.5 / m3; Salvador has 9
micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter.
On average Lima is 38
micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter, in the north of the Peruvian capital cone
58 micrograms was measured, ie almost six times the level set by WHO. Ate and
El Agustino top the list of the seven districts with the most polluted air in
Lima, according to the latest technical report from the National Institute of
Statistics and Informatics (INEI). The presence of particulate matter in these
communes (ie waste by burning fuels, coal and wood) was 119 micrograms per
cubic meter (ug / m) in October. Followers Villa Maria
del Triunfo (109 ug / m³), Santa Anita (66) San Borja (53.4) and Jesus Maria (40.1). There is no difference with Miasmic cities in
India: Exceed more than 10 times the PM 2.5. This figure reveals the futility
and mendacity INEI statistics. Actually the figures were manipulated or not
done any actual field work (like the fraudulent 2005 census, which was
conducted just a sampling).
WHO declares that the
situation is worsening in most places, especially in developing countries.
References
