‘No exposed soil’ policy pushed

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje is pitching to Metro Manila officials the adoption of a “no exposed soil” policy in a bid to reduce air pollution in the metropolis.

The policy, according to Paje, would lessen the dust coming from the streets and open and bare lands in the metropolis and which get blown into the air.

Under the no exposed soil scheme, he said that roads would have to be cleaned by regularly sweeping them.

At construction sites, which tend to stir up a lot of dust and dirt, practices such as prohibiting the use of bagged cement and on-site mixing of concrete and mortar would have to be enforced.

Enclosure and covers would also be required to minimize the dust particles that could pollute the air, he added.

Another component of the scheme would be the planting of trees and shrubs and the paving of roads and other access points, he said. These would reduce bare land where exposed soil could be found.

“When nothing is planted on land, not even grass, the dust would fly through the air and these add to the suspended particulates which we breathe in,” he said in a statement.

Suspended particulates are dust particles in the air, and are used as the basis for determining the level of air pollution.

Paje said he had written Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Francis Tolentino to propose the idea of implementing the no exposed soil policy, which is being practiced in other countries.

“The sooner we act, the sooner we can enjoy the benefits of clear air not only for our health but for the environment in general,” he said.

Another major component of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ plan to reduce air pollution is the reduction of smoke emissions from motor vehicles.

Paje said the DENR under the Aquino administration had made inroads in the fight against air pollution.

This year, it aims to reduce the level of air pollution in Manila by 30 percent.

Paje said the amount of total suspended particulates in Metro Manila has been constantly decreasing since December 2010, although it rose in March and then declined in April.

He said the spike in March was due to the dryness of the summer season, since it aggravates the level of dust in the air.

The DENR said that based on World Bank estimates, the country has an annual productivity loss worth P7.6 billion because of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases caused by exposure to air pollution of some 18 million Filipinos.