POLLUTION DANGER

Preliminary reviews by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) have shown that all Jamaican sites being monitored for the air pollutant, PM2.5, have exceeded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) limit of 5 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3).

PM2.5 is a fraction of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less.

This local review confirms a recent WHO report that found that almost the entire global population is breathing in air that exceeds its quality limits.

Studies have shown that the pollutant is linked to a number of adverse health outcomes because of its relatively small size – being 20 to 30 times smaller than a strand of human hair – and its lifetime in the atmosphere.

“One of the main anthropogenic sources of local PM2.5, similar to the global scale, is fossil fuel combustion. So, the impetus is now in terms of making the move to cleaner vehicles, refraining from open burning, vegetating bare sites, and the use of cleaner fuels and technologies, coupled with emissions controls at industrial-scale facilities,” NEPA told The Gleaner in an email response.

The WHO report also said people living in lower- and middle-income countries are most exposed to air pollution.

Though the situation is improving, these countries are also the least reflected in air-quality measurement.

According to NEPA, Jamaica currently monitors for particulate matter and some gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which are all established as criteria air pollutants.

“Ambient monitoring is conducted using a shared modality executed by NEPA and major private and industrial facilities. In recent years, NEPA has expanded the air-quality monitoring network to include the monitoring of PM2.5 in urban areas,” the agency said.

NEPA operates PM2.5 monitors in Montego Bay, Spanish Town, Portmore, Constant Spring, and Mandeville.

The agency said that these locations were prioritised for assessment of population exposure, as a higher density of people live, work, or commute to and from these areas.

However, it noted that the immediate and long-term plan is to improve network coverage to other urban communities and areas with little or no monitoring coverage.

NEPA said plans are also in place to increase the suite of pollutants being monitored.

CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), Dr Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, told The Gleaner that NEPA depends primarily on private industries for air-quality data.

She explained that the current ambient air-quality monitoring network consists of 75 stations, 69 of which are operated by private industries, mainly the bauxite sector.

“It is not clear if and how NEPA does independent verification of these stations. If there is no independent verification, then how can we, or NEPA, be certain that what is being shared by private industries is accurate?” she asked.

The CEO said that in 2017, JET reviewed the air-quality regulations and recommended that PM2.5 be added to the air-quality standard as a matter of priority.

However, to date, this has not been done, even though the WHO has stated that there is no safe level for PM10 or PM2.5.

Rodriguez-Moodie said 80 per cent of Jamaica’s air-quality network is located outside Kingston and St Andrew.

“The fact that our standards do not include monitoring for PM2.5 and there isn’t extensive coverage in the urban areas can skew the interpretation of the trends – whether it is improving or declining air quality,” the JET CEO said.

NEPA outlined that PM2.5 monitoring in Jamaica’s urban centres shows compliance with the existing United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) annual standards of 12 ug/m3.

On average, Mandeville records 9 ug/m3 annually, while Montego Bay has recently become borderline non-compliant with 13 ug/m3.

Spanish Town, however, has shown an excess of 21 ug/m3.

“Montego Bay and Spanish Town are indicative of the impact of vehicular emissions, emphasising the need to grow the air-quality monitoring network as previously mentioned. Major Saharan dust intrusions are frequently associated with daily elevated readings at all sites. For instance, 15 breaches of the USEPA daily PM2.5 standard of 35 ug/m3 were recorded in 2020, all of which occurred during major Saharan dust intrusions,” NEPA said, adding that concentrations after these episodes returned to, or remained below, the standard.

Spanish Town Road and Rockfort remain threatened from particulate matter pollution.

NEPA said it has embarked on several projects over the years aimed directly at reducing emissions and greater compliance with the standards.

“The impact in these areas is not limited to industrial activities, as the impact of vehicular emissions, unvegetated areas, and open burning remain as other aspects to be addressed. In the context of the current air-quality network, Manchester remains one of the regions with the lowest air-quality readings,” NEPA explained.

Meanwhile, in 2018, the Government said it would spend $9 million to strengthen the national air-quality management programme.

NEPA told The Gleaner that the investment has led to tremendous success, as the agency was incentivised to grow the ambient monitoring network in the urban areas for PM2.5.

The environmental agency said the expansion of the network will continue as funding becomes available.

STEPS OUTLINED BY NEPA TO IMPROVE AIR-QUALITY MONITORING COVERAGE:

a) Proactively seek additional funding to procure more monitors to expand the monitoring network coverage and, concurrently, for the maintenance network;

b) Conduct more specialised monitoring, such as roadside and kerbside monitoring, which will allow better assessments of the impact of localised pollution sources relative to background levels;

c) Improve remote access to monitoring sites to facilitate more timely responses to the public, such as during Saharan dust intrusions or other incidents;

d) Explore and assess the accuracy of low-cost sensors and satellite data sets. These can also assist in improving coverage, especially in regions where access impacted by terrain or other challenges is present.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com