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Tackling Air Pollution
Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to people’s health. It is the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical, or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 99% of the global population breathes air that contains high levels of pollutants that affect the health of people. Polluted air may lead to diseases like stroke, heart diseases, lung cancer, chronic and acute respiratory diseases like asthma.
Ambient or outdoor air pollution in both rural and city areas has caused an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2016. Around 91% of those premature deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, greatest in South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions.
Common sources of air pollution include household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities, and common fires. However, this problem can be resolved through different solutions such as cleaner transportation, energy-efficient homes, power generation, and better municipal waste management.
Air Pollution versus the Filipinos
Health experts in the Philippines are advocating for tighter implementation of laws on clean air and environmental preservation to address the threats they represent to public health. These experts are alarmed by the rising effects of air pollution in this nation of more than 108 million people.
According to a 2018 World Health Organization research, air pollution is one of the largest health catastrophes in the Asia-Pacific region, with the Philippines recording 45.3 air pollution-related deaths for every 100,000 people(about 50 thousand people), the third-highest rate in the world. With 81.5 documented deaths, China tops the list, followed by Mongolia with 48.8. These fatalities are linked to tiny airborne particles that enter the lungs and cardiovascular systems of humans and increase their risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory infections including pneumonia.
According to a research by the World Health Organization, the Western Pacific Region, which includes the Philippines, accounts for around 2.2 million of the 7 million premature deaths worldwide each year caused by home and ambient air pollution.
Coal-fired power facilities are one of the main contributors to air pollution, according to Jadloc. Additionally, several respiratory ailments have been connected to the pollution from coal storage and combustion. According to the Philippine Department of Energy's (DOE) most recent figures, coal makes up 44.5 percent of the nation's energy mix. As of July 2016, there were 83 small-scale coal mining operators, 48 coal operating contracts in the exploration phase, and 30 coal operating contracts in the development and production phase.