08/25/2024 – 9:50
Brazil has made little progress in adopting air quality standards and protecting the health of the population during critical pollution episodes, according to the study Air Quality on Alert. Conducted by the Alana Institute and the Ar Institute, the study analyzed cases of pollution in Brazil and the adoption of emergency action plans in eight other countries: Chile, Colombia and Ecuador (South America); the United States and Mexico (North America); and Spain, France and England (Europe).
According to Evangelina Araújo, a researcher at Instituto Ar, each country is responsible for formulating the rules to be adopted in critical situations, i.e., when pollutant gases are emitted far above the quality standard. When these levels are reached, an action plan is required. “Brazil’s quality standards are determined by a 1990 standard, so there is a 34-year lack of updates, let’s say.”
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Based on the comparison with other countries, the study concluded that Brazil, along with Ecuador, has experienced the most critical episodes of air pollution. “In November of last year, particulate matter in Manaus, due to the fires, reached 400 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3), when the World Health Organization recommends that the level should not exceed 45 micrograms per cubic meter,” he says.
The research also showed that the levels established as quality standards are too permissive and that the federative units and the country itself do not have action plans to preserve the health of the population and the environment. “In Paris, for example, if a critical episode level is triggered, cars no longer circulate in the high-traffic area in the city center, they prohibit cars from circulating. They give free metro rides so that people take the metro and stop taking buses and using their cars. They ask children not to go to school, to stay at home, all to protect their health,” he explains.
According to Evangelina, these measures are part of a protocol that foresees initiatives for each moment in which there is a change in air pollution levels, separated by levels of attention, alert and emergency. These measures range from a warning when there is a change in the level, to more severe protocols such as the interruption of factory production, if the level exceeds what has been established as the quality standard for an emergency.
According to the researcher, although the World Health Organization (WHO) does not establish a standard for emergency measures, the institution considers acceptable levels of pollutant concentrations, for example, up to 45 µg/m3 of particulate matter in the air in 24 hours, and up to 15 µg/m3 on an annual average. In Brazil, levels up to three times higher than the recommended level are accepted, following standards established in 1990.
According to the study, national laws in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain and France define critical pollution levels. Mexico and the United States have established regional rules.
In Brazil, the issue was dealt with through an infra-legal device, with less force than a law. resolution 506/2024 of the National Environmental Council (Conama) updated national air quality standards and established guidelines for application, aiming to protect health and the environment.
Advances
The new rule will begin aligning national standards with those of the WHO in December of this year, with gradual adjustments established until 2044, to reach the recommended standards. For the nature manager of the Alana Institute, JP Amaral, the establishment of deadlines was very positive, but there is still a long process to be followed. “We have a journey of about 20 years to reach this standard, which would be ideal for our air quality today.”
Amaral says that the study was designed to support this debate and the development of public policies to address the problem, such as the regulation of the National Air Quality Policy, created in May of this year. “Part of it will be done by CONAMA – establishing these levels of critical episodes and also the measures that states and municipalities will have to take to have this action plan, because this plan must be done at all levels, but it is a very territorial issue”, he explains.
The study shows this diversity in the different actions adopted as a population protection strategy regarding each air pollutant, in each type of environment. “How we respond to a peak in air pollution due to fires in the Amazon, in Manaus, for example, is different from how we respond to a peak in pollution due to vehicle emissions in São Paulo and other large cities,” he explains.
According to the manager, another announcement received when the survey was delivered to federal public managers was that the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change is creating a technical guide for action plans in critical episodes, to assist states and municipalities.
Guidelines
Amaral emphasizes that as important as advancing public policies and regulating rules that address air quality is understanding that it is no longer possible to contain the effects of polluting gas emissions, such as climate change itself. For him, adaptation is necessary on several fronts, such as the search for broad solutions in municipal, state and federal administrations, but also in individual practices.
“These are practices that we already know. On very intense days with smoke haze, wearing a mask is recommended. That old grandmother’s technique of using a wet towel or bucket to humidify our environments. Sometimes it will even be necessary to isolate this pollution from the outside by closing windows. And most importantly, speaking specifically about children, the best solution for this is always to provide more nature. Take children to a more forested environment, away from urban centers, so they can have a little breather without pollution,” he concludes.
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