Official
reports on air pollution in Santiago are
now kept secret.
Since May
27, the citizens of Santiago no longer
have access to information about the
level of contaminants in their air
because of a resolution recently
published in the official government
gazette. The public’s right to know is
now subject to the discretion of the
National Environmental Commission (CONAMA),
which coordinates government policies
regarding the environment.
Among
other restrictions, citizens will no
longer have access to the information
that forms the basis for air quality
standards and emission controls, or the
pollution levels that affect their
health and quality of life. The measure
is part of a process of environmental
deregulation being applied by the
administration of President Ricardo
Lagos, under pressure from the most
powerful industrial interests of the
country (LP, July 1, 2002).
This is
happening at a time when severe episodes
of pollution have more than doubled in
Santiago in comparison with previous
years, an indication that measures to
protect air quality in the capital
during the southern hemisphere winter
have failed again.
Recent
studies indicate that when the Index of
Air Quality for Particulate Matter (ICAP)
goes above 100, the impact of air
pollution on health results in increased
sickness and death.
Results
obtained by Luis Cifuentes, a Catholic
University of Chile engineer, indicate
that between 4 percent and 11 percent of
non-accidental deaths registered in
Santiago can be attributed to moderate
levels of contamination — an ICAP
above 300. These are considered
premature deaths. In other words,
contamination worsened the condition of
people suffering from cardiovascular and
chronic respiratory diseases, resulting
in death that might have occurred years
later according to the normal
progression of the disease.
On June
2, Andrei Tchernitchin, head physician
at the Laboratory for Experimental
Endocrinology and Environmental
Pathology at the University of Chile,
warned of a sharp rise in premature
deaths in the capital after one or two
days of exposure to high concentrations
of breathable particulates.
Besides
worsening congestion and
bronco-pulmonary problems, exposure to
air pollution creates conditions
favorable to respiratory viruses present
during winter months.
This
phenomenon primarily affects the western
areas of the capital, where the poorest
neighborhoods are located. Residents
suffer from the accumulation of
contaminants carried there by winds and
as a result are subject to greater
health risks.
In those
places, furniture, walls, curtains and
anything else exposed to smog acquire a
gray color in 10 days. Western Santiago
is also the area with the greatest
incidence of respiratory congestion
during the winter months.
What may
prove most dangerous for those who live
in that area of the capital, however, is
that the prevention measures such as
"Environmental Alert" or
"Pre-emergency," which close
certain industries and restrict the
number of cars and buses allowed on
roads, are decided by taking a 24-hour
air quality average.
With this
system people may be exposed to critical
or dangerous levels of contamination for
several hours until the cycle to
determine the average used by the
government to take protective measures
is completed.
The
number of critical air-quality episodes
in Santiago has gradually increased
during recent years. As of May 6, there
had been 12 environmental-alert days and
four pre-emergency days this year. In
the same period last year, there were
nine alerts and two pre-emergencies, and
in 2001 there were just six alerts and
no pre-emergencies.
Various
sectors of society have criticized the
government’s lack of political will to
tackle this issue, citing the
restriction of free access to
information as one example. Manuel
Baquedano, president of the Institute on
Ecological Policy, has pointed out
"that this way people will not be
able to know for sure the pollution
levels that affect their health, thus
exposing them to a new form of
psychological torture: environmental
silence."
One of
the most frequent objections made by
experts is the slow progress in
producing legislation to control the
most dangerous particulates — which
are smaller than 2.5 microns and can
enter the body though the respiratory
system. Legislation should establish
levels to determine severe episodes. In
January 2001 a deadline was set to have
a bill presented to congress by
mid-2003, but citizens are still in the
dark.
Meanwhile,
the Metropolitan Region’s Prevention
and Decontamination Plan, formulated in
2001, has yet to be enacted.
Nevertheless,
some measures included in the plan have
already been applied, such as reducing
the number of companies required to shut
down during an environmental emergency
from 2,000 to 500. There is also a
prohibition against the use of
fireplaces in homes, although there is
little local governments can do about it
because funding has not been provided
for enforcement.
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