MANILA, Philippines - As they say, what you don’t know can’t kill you but in this case they can’t be more wrong.
A joint report of the World Bank and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shows that air pollution causes 5,000 premature deaths each year in Manila. But images of blackened skylines and smoke-belching vehicles aside, do people really know enough about what’s killing them with every breath they take?
Here’s a closer look at nitrogen oxides (NOx), considered one of the six primary air pollutants and one of the primary culprits of air pollution related fatalities:
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) is the generic term for a group of reactive gasses containing nitrogen and oxygen in varying amounts.
NOx forms when fuel is burned at high temperatures, for example, in a combustion process. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 49 percent of all emissions come from motor vehicles. Other NOx sources include electric utilities, fossil fuel combustion and even soil.
NOx’s health and environmental impact has caught the attention of the scientific community and it is one of six principal air pollutants (along with carbon monoxide, lead, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and sulfur dioxide) whose levels are monitored by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
As more motor vehicles take to the streets, NOx levels rise. At elevated levels, NOx can impair lung function, irritate the respiratory system and, at very high levels, make breathing difficult, especially for people who already suffer form asthma or bronchitis.
The dangers of NOx are not only confined to the air; but also to water. High nitrate levels in drinking water are a health hazard, particularly for infants, as it can contribute to the “blue baby” syndrome. High nitrate levels in water may also increase cancer risks for all ages.
Due to the many compounds that are a part of NOx (predominantly nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide), the pollutant contributes to a wide variety of environmental problems.
For one, smog is formed when NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in the presence of sunlight. Impacts of smog include damaged vegetation and reduced crop yields.
Also, a particular NOx gas, N2O, is a greenhouse gas. It’s considered over 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming impact.
In the US, the EPA considers reducing NOx emissions as a crucial component of their clean air strategy. This is not the case in the Philippines. At present, NOx is still largely unheard of and there have been no marked efforts that specifically target NOx reduction.
But with the drastic environmental and health impacts that NOx represents, isn’t it high time that Filipinos prevent NOx from knocking?