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Thursday, August 3, 2017

Developments in the Philippines: A Double-Edged Sword


The Philippines has seen in increase in industrialization, urbanization, and use of motor vehicles. These developments have resulted in high concentrations of ambient particulate matter (PM) that have been linked to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) by epidemiological studies. Other studies have shown that air pollutants in the country have affected the mortality rates due to CVDs and have therefore become a risk factor in poor health outcomes. Not only does the air pollution in the Philippines affect the heart health of its people, but air pollution has been known to cause other pulmonary diseases as well. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some cities in the Philippines have had concentration levels of PM at 96.9μg/m(Air Quality Index [AQI] of 71), which exceeds the baseline level of 50μg/m(AQI of 46). In developing countries like the Philippines, where advancement is sought after, but brings about poor health outcomes, where does the country begin to look for a solution?  

If you are interested in finding out your current local air quality conditions, click the link and enter in your zip code: https://airnow.gov

AirNow also offers a calculating tool that allows users to convert particulate matter to AQI, found here: https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.calculator

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