Firecracker zones pushed

The smog that blanketed the capital on New Year’s Day only highlighted the need for local government units to designate firecracker zones in their cities, according to Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino.

Putting up communal fireworks areas where people could converge and view aerial displays might ease up the harmful pollutants that contributed to smog, which severely affected aerial visibility and hampered air traffic, Tolentino said.

“Each of the 17 cities and one municipality of Metro Manila must pass a relative ordinance if it were to designate firecracker zones in their respective localities,” the official said over the phone.

Assigning communal areas for firecracker use could lessen the risk of injuries inflicted on persons without proper training in handling firecrackers, he continued.

Staging fireworks displays for communities would also ensure that these explosive materials were carefully handled by professionals, according to the MMDA chairman, reiterating an advice of Health Secretary Enrique Ona weeks ago regarding the proposed communal zones.

More than 700 persons have been hurt in the revelry to greet 2012, monitoring from the Department of Health showed Monday, not to mention the thousands of people suffering severed limbs or severe injuries over the years.

Despite crackdown by the police on illegal firecrackers, some of them continue to penetrate the market.

Metro Manila residents on Sunday woke up to smog in the air, sending pollution readings off the charts, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The readings also detected various kinds of pollutants in the air like sulfur, potassium and carbon particulates, which were similar to chemicals used in manufacturing gunpowder, the DENR had said.

The agency warned about the ill effects of the toxic air, pointing out that the elderly and children were at risk of developing respiratory ailments with the quality of air on Sunday.