Air pollution kills nearly 5,000 Metro residents yearly

MANILA, Philippines -- While the phaseout of leaded gasoline has improved air quality in the country, more than 18 million people still live in cities with unhealthy levels of airborne particulate matter.Of the urban cities, Metro Manila has the largest ``health burden? from air pollution.Estimates showed there were nearly 4,968 premature deaths each year in Manila due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases from exposure to poor air quality, according to the Philippine Environment Monitor, a joint report of the World Bank and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) released Tuesday.These accounted for 12 percent of all deaths in the metropolis, the highest in any urban area in the country, it said.The latest report examined the role of environment in people's health in the Philippines.Rahul Raturi, sector manager of the WB's Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environmental Sector, said that one-fifth of reported cases of disease were due to air pollution, water pollution, poor sanitation and hygiene.``The cost of treatment and lost income from these environmental diseases is roughly estimated at P14 billion per year,? he said in his address at the launch.Raturi said the poor were more exposed to environmental risks. Low-income groups had lower access to basic sanitation and safe water supply. They were also exposed to water and air pollution.According to the report, several government interventions over the past 10 years had improved air quality.For instance, the closure of a number of coal-fired power plants near Manila in 2001 led to a reduction in sulfur dioxide concentrations, while the phaseout of leaded gasoline led to a ten-fold reduction in ambient lead levels since 2001, it said.But air pollution remained higher in urban centers than in rural areas, the Environment Monitor said.Concentrations of particulate matter, often used as an indicator of air pollution, were estimated to be three times higher on average in ``urban roadsides? than in rural areas, it said.Many cities in the country had air pollution levels above national standards, it added.Particulate matter is the generic term used for a type of air pollution that consists of complex and varying mixtures of particles suspended in the air.``Some 18 million people live in cities that exceed DENR standards. Metro Manila with its large population and high pollution levels, has the largest health burden from air pollution, with motor vehicles and utility vehicles being the greatest culprits,? he added.Particulate emissions in Manila largely came from motor vehicles (84 percent), solid waste burning (10 percent), and industries (5.5 percent).Seventy percent of car emissions came from more than 200,000 diesel-powered utility vehicles, like jeepneys, and 170,000 gasoline-powered motorcycles and tricycles.