Current Condition of the Air

Quality of the Philippines

AQI ANALYSIS
Baguio City, Metro Manila,
Davao City

EN E 212 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONEMNETAL ENGINEERING

Banta, Jyra Rancel C.

Basco,
Bautista
Mariano
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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ................................... 2
AIR QUALITY INDEX........................... 2
AQI CALCULATION ............................. 3
AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING IN THE PHILIPPINES 6
REFERENCES ........................................ 8
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INTRODUCTION

Air quality has significant impacts on how humans, animals, and plants live. Government and
private agencies employ air quality monitoring and studies to provide information on current conditions
of the air we breathe.

AIR QUALITY INDEX

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is the common tool for reporting information about air quality. AQI
basically tells us how healthy is the air we breathe. AQI also features health effects we may experience
within hours or days being exposed to air of corresponding AQI.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 2014) calculates AQI for 5 major air
pollutants namely ground-level ozone, particle pollution (particulate matter), CO, SO2, and NO2. To
protect public health, EPA established limits or standards for each said pollutants.

AQI has an assigned range of 0-500. Higher AQI means higher degree of air pollution and health
risk. AQI is summarized in Figure 1.

Fig. 1 AQI values and corresponding health concern (EPA,2014)

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INTRODUCTION

When the air quality is Good (AQI value of 0-50), it is satisfactory and poses minimum or no
health risk.

A moderate AQI (51-100) means acceptable air quality but may pose moderate health concern
for a number of individuals. These individuals include those who are uncommonly sensitive to ozone or
particle pollution and may suffer respiratory symptoms under moderate AQI.

An AQI value of 101-150 is Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. Members of sensitive groups may
suffer health effects, but the public is mostly unaffected. People who are sensitive to ozone or particle
pollution including those with heart or lung disease, children, older adults, and those who are active
outdoors are at greater risk.

At an Unhealthy AQI (151-200), the general public is affected and may experience health risks.
Sensitive groups suffer more serious health effects.

A Very Unhealthy AQI (201-300) may cause serious health effects to everyone. AQI values over
300 is considered Hazardous and is considered an emergency condition. The entire population may
experience very serious health effects.

AQI CALCULATION
Air quality monitors are placed in multiple locations to record concentrations of each pollutants
daily at the required time interval. Concentration values are fed to the monitoring system to automatically
calculate and record individual AQI for every pollutant. The highest AQI will be considered as the
general AQI of the day.

EPA has formulated a standard formula for AQI:

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INTRODUCTION

where
Ip = the index for pollutant p
Cp = the truncated concentration of pollutant p
BPHi = the concentration breakpoint that is greater than or equal to Cp
BPLo = the concentration breakpoint that is less than or equal to Cp
IHi = the AQI value corresponding to BPHi
ILo = the AQI value corresponding to BPLo

The breakpoint values and corresponding pollution index is summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Breakpoint values and pollution index (EPA, 2018)

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INTRODUCTION

Before using the AQI equations, concentration values of each pollutant are truncated as follows:
Ozone (ppm) – truncate to 3 decimal places
PM2.5 (µg/m3) – truncate to 1 decimal place
PM10 (µg/m3) – truncate to integer
CO (ppm) – truncate to 1 decimal place
SO2 (ppb) – truncate to integer
NO2 (ppb) – truncate to integer

To show how AQI is calculated, a sample calculation is shown below.

A 24-hr monitoring shows the highest concentration of 75 μg/m3 PM10 in an area. This gives the
following values:
Cp = 75
BPHi = 154
BPLo = 55
IHi = 100
ILo = 51

Using the AQI equation:

100 − 51
𝐼𝑝 = (75 − 55) + 51 = 60.8989 ≈ 61
154 − 55

The AQI for 75 μg/m3 PM10 is between 51 to 200 which is considered moderate air quality based on
Figure 1.
Data from AQI readings not only inform the public of the air quality of an area but also provide
data for air quality forecasts for the next days. Forecasts help residents and the local government protect
public health by planning for outdoor activities, programs and other services.
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INTRODUCTION

AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING IN THE PHILIPPINES

In line with Part II, Rule VII, Section 4 of RA 8749 IRR, the Environmental Management Bureau
(EMB) under the Department of Natural Resources (DENR) established a set of pollution standard index
(Table 2) of air quality to protect public health, safety and general welfare. The Philippine AQI includes
6 major pollutants namely, total suspended particles (TSP), particulate matter (PM10), SO2, O3, CO, NO2.

Table 2. Air Quality Index breakpoints, Annex of RA 8749-IRR

a When 8-hour O3 concentrations exceed 0.374 ppm, AQI values of 301 or higher must be calculated with 1-hour O3 concentrations.
b NO2 has no 1-hour term

Most regions in the country monitor ambient air quality at present. The EMB carry out quality
assurance and quality control of these data.
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Baguio City
a. General info of the city (known for? Culture? Products? Fun facts? Etc)
b. Land area, population, etc
c. AQI sampling sites (description, rationale for choice of site, show map/s)
d. Results of AQI
e. Other info

Metro Manila
a. General info of the city (known for? Culture? Products? Fun facts? Etc)
b. Land area, population, etc
c. AQI sampling sites (description, rationale for choice of site, show map/s)
d. Results of AQI
e. Other info

Davao City
a. General info of the city (known for? Culture? Products? Fun facts? Etc)
b. Land area, population, etc
c. AQI sampling sites (description, rationale for choice of site, show map/s)
d. Results of AQI
e. Other info

Synthesis
a. Compare/Contrast
b. Summary/Conclusion
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REFERENCES

REFERENCES (APA format po thanks)

Outreach and Information Division. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards (2014). AQI Air Quality Index: A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health,
1–12. NC.
Air Quality Assessment Division. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards (2018). Technical Assistance Document for the Reporting of Daily Air Quality –
the Air Quality Index (AQI)1–22. NC.
Environmental Management Bureau. Department of Natural Resources. (2015) Air Quality. Retrieved
November 15, 2019 from https://emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1-Air-Quality-1.8-
National-Air-Quality-Status-Report-2008-2015.pdf