Air quality can be managed without compromising economic growth
With Dhaka’s air contaminated with heavy metals and other poisonous particles, a global expert on air pollution has suggested that continuous collection of data on air quality, identification of the polluting sources and apt planning can improve the air quality of the city.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star, Dr James J Schauer, a senior civil and environmental engineer heading the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, yesterday said it is imperative to engage all stakeholders to find a way forward to curb air pollution in Bangladesh.
He said different strategies can be undertaken to reduce the impact of particulate matter (PM), given the complex nature of the sources of these pollutants.
“Chemical composition of PM2.5 [particles so small that they can only be detected with an electron microscope] needs to be investigated,” he said. It should be constantly monitored because the chemical composition tells us what the source of pollution is, Dr Schauer -- currently visiting Bangladesh -- said.
Terming air pollution a serious public and environmental hazard, the renowned scientist said, no one wants to live in dirty, polluted city.
When asked why air quality deteriorates in Bangladesh during dry season, Dr Schauer said, “We have to understand that we cannot change meteorology, but we can think about what [polluting] sources we can control.”
Saying that much of the data on Dhaka is old, the scientist added that dominant polluting sources are transportation, dust from construction and burning of materials as done in brick kilns.
Dr Schauer shared how air quality improved in the US and what Bangladesh can learn from that.
USA has been very successful for the past 20 years in curbing fine particles, he said, adding, “Around 20 years ago, we realised that we need to reduce PM2.5.”
They monitored PM2.5 and adopted a technique called “source apportionment”. The technique, used in air quality management system, has two basic approaches in determining the sources of air pollution.
“We identified what sources are most important and took action accordingly. We made sure that those actions reduce emissions effectively. This is a [air quality] management cycle. It’s not a stagnant idea. We know that the number of cars will increase, need for energy will increase, and number of people will increase in cities. I think it’s a very important message for other places in the world, including Dhaka -- to look at this kind of system and put it in place.”
When told that there are many development works going on in the city that are a big source of air pollution, Dr Schauer said, “I strongly think that Dhaka can move forward with managing air quality in a way that will not affect economic growth. We can see from US history that we can curb air pollution and have economic growth at the same time.”
He said the scientific community has basic understanding of the sources that affect air quality in Dhaka. It’s very important to conduct further source apportionment studies to better understand what sources are affecting the city, during what time of the year, and design a control strategy that can mitigate them, he opined.
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