Free post: Air pollution in Santiago
Air pollution in Santiago is one of the
many problems this city has and few people want to talk about it. Year after
year air pollution, especially, gets worse and according to Raúl
O’Ryan and Luis Larraguibel, who wrote “Contaminación
del aire en Santiago: ¿qué es, qué se ha hecho, qué falta?” (http://www.dii.uchile.cl/~Revista/ArticulosVol4-N1/ORyan-R%20y%20Larraguibel-L.pdf) the contaminated air we breathe in the
capital city is one of the worst in the world. Therefore, people who bike and
run might observe associated health impacts because they practice these
activities outdoor.
The present and past governments are not
doing enough so we can say they are honestly worried about air pollution and
trying to reduce the levels. Politicians have a lot to deal with (and I really
hope they do contribute somehow to change the Educational System in this
country) but I don’t understand why air pollution does not motivate them to
discuss and create more and new regulations.
In Latin America, according to the World
Health Organization (WHO), the most polluted city is Lima but that doesn’t mean
we don’t need more control on the growing number of cars in Santiago, for
example. While further south, in Santiago and because of the levels of
contamination, children and the elderly suffer the various typical winter
illnesses like the respiratory syncitial virus. Winter after winter this
situation has been out there and babies seem to have adapted to some kind of different
and more contaminated air bronchitis after bronchitis.
Air pollution is “contamination of the indoor or the outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases, which can be fatal”, says the WHO.
Air pollution is “contamination of the indoor or the outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases, which can be fatal”, says the WHO.
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