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Air quality is a topic that AIDIS has taken increasingly seriously over the past
several years. In 1997, AIDIS organized a world meeting of cities on air pollution
control, which took place in Mexico. In 1998, AIDIS initiated an international seminar on
air quality as part of the non-profit organization’s 27th Inter-American Congress.
As part of this seminar, AIDIS instituted an award for the best paper on air
pollution that was presented at the inter-American congress. AIDIS also established the
International Division on Air Quality to better coordinate air activities. In 1999, the
International Division on Air Quality convened the first Inter-American Congress on Air
Quality and, over the following years, included seminars on air quality as part of the
international meetings of AIDIS.
A second Inter-American Congress on Air Quality was convened in 2001. With the
support of the Government of Taiwan, AIDIS organized a year 2000 Central American
Ministerial Conference on Control of Gaseous Emissions that Cause the Inversion Effect.
That same year, AIDIS organized a training session for technical personnel from the seven
Central American countries.
A third Inter-American Congress on Air Quality is scheduled for July, 2003, in
Porto Alegre, Brazil.
There is still much to do so that the inhabitants of our hemisphere can breathe fresh air
that meets the WHO guidelines. You are encouraged to join this AIDIS, PAHO and CWWA effort
to celebrate a day of air quality, the Inter-American Air Quality Day, on August 9, 2002.
The partner organizations are certain that by creating awareness of the benefits of air
quality to health and our natural resources, leaders will take notice and changes will be
made.
We Care About
Air!!
Inter-American Air Qality Day
August 9, 2002
Information Packet
AIDIS acknowledges and thanks the many
outstanding contributions from partner organizations and experts from throughout the
region, and from the World Health Organization in Geneva, in the development of this
information pamphlet.
Compilation, redrafting, editing and
layout of this booklet by MShimkin Consulting, Alexandria, Virginia, July, 2002,
www.mshimkin.com
Messages from the Partners
Message from AIDIS
Air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, has a significant impact on the health of the
inhabitants of the Americas. Approximately, 100 million people in Latin American cities
breathe air which does not meet the air quality guidelines of the World Health
Organization. North of the Rio Grande, 123 million people in the United States and Canada
breathe air which does not comply with the air quality standards, established by these two
countries. More than 440,000 premature deaths in Latin American and the Caribbean are
attributed to air pollution. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable. Effective
measures must be implemented without delay to address this formidable challenge to human
health in the Americas. On August 9, 2002, The Inter-American Association of Sanitary and
Environmental Engineering (AIDIS), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the
Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) will launch the Inter-American Air
Quality Day to create awareness among the general public about how air pollution effects
health. We aim to encourage people of the Americas to take action to improve air quality.
I invite you to participate enthusiastically.
Carl-Axel P. Soderberg, President, AIDIS
Message from PAHO
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is pleased to sponsor the first Inter-American
Air Quality Day. Since 1965, PAHO has worked with member countries as they strive to
improve air quality nationally, regionally and globally. PAHO’s Health and
Environment Division coordinates air quality and health and offers information and
technical assistance through its country offices, as well as through it technical center,
the Pan American Center for Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences (CEPIS),
located on line at http://www.cepis.ops-oms.org
Air quality is important to the health of
the Americas. With acute respiratory infections leading the causes of child mortality in
our region, we must do something to improve the air and inform the people about the
dangers of air pollution. Indoor and outdoor air pollution is causing sickness and death
in our region, to our most vulnerable populations, such as children, seniors and people
with autoimmune disorders, as well as to the healthy core of our population. Good air
quality will improve our lives, our productivity and our quality of life. PAHO encourages
all countries in the hemisphere to take part in this important endeavor, Inter-American
Air Quality Day.
Dr. Mauricio Pardon Ojeda, Director,
Division of Health and Environment, PAHO
Message from CWWA
Air pollution is largely produced by human activity. In the Caribbean most of it would
originate from vehicle emissions while in the larger islands like Trinidad and Tobago and
Jamaica industrial production and other human activities would be significant contributors
for example uncontrolled burning of solid waste at landfill sites. Air pollutants, singly
or in combination, can affect human health, damage vegetation and property to various
degrees depending on their concentrations
The Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA), following a recent strategic
planning session is expanding its role to deal with wider environmental issues and
supports the establishment of Inter-American Air Quality Day. We see this as a positive
step forward for the region. We are an organization representing a series of small island
states, with fragile eco-systems that are very susceptible to adverse environmental
conditions a key one being, “Air pollution”. We are committed to working with
our partners, AIDIS and PAHO, to launch Inter- American Air Quality Day on August 9, 2002.
Errol Grimes, President, CWWA
Background on Air Quality
The sky is not always blue. This might be
due to the weather or time or season. Sometimes it is because there is so much pollution
in the air that the color seems to have been drained out. Brownish haze floats over
cities, smoke fills the sky where burning to clear land is a common practice. As cities
grow and more cars are used, industry produces more goods, more fuel is needed for
heating, cooling and cooking the air becomes more polluted. Certainly, the air we breathe
in the western hemisphere is being polluted by activities like driving cars, busses and
trucks, burning fuels and manufacturing chemicals. Air is also polluted in homes, schools
and office buildings by tobacco smoke, wood and coal burning, mold, and even by the use of
cleaning products and other chemicals. Many of the air pollutants stay in the air for a
long time and are carried by winds long distances, urban smog and some chemicals, for
example.
Adults breathe more than 3,000 gallons, or 11,355 liters, of air per person every day.
Children breathe even more air and more easily become sick from contaminated air than
adults do. If people breathe contaminated air for many years, many of the body’s
systems may become vulnerable and even cancer can develop. Air pollution can even cause
death. Worldwide about 3 million people die prematurely from sicknesses related to air
pollution. It appears that as many as 20 to 30 percent of the sicknesses of the
respiratory system may be caused by indoor and outdoor air pollution. Children with asthma
are especially sensitive to air pollution. Many outdoor air pollutants bother the
respiratory system and can cause asthma attacks to take place or make asthma conditions
worse. Many households in farming areas use open fires for cooking and heating. About two
billion people throughout the world use open fires for indoor cooking. Experts have
estimated that smoke from these indoor fires sicken more people than the smog in cities.
There are three types of air pollutants: 1) physical such as noise, 2) biological such as
viruses, bacteria and mold and, 3) chemical such as particles, carbon monoxide, ozone, and
radioactive substances. Air pollutants are found in the form of gas or particulate matter,
which is tiny liquid droplets or solid particles of different sizes. They are measured by
how much is found in the air, or, in other words, their concentration. Governments set up
monitoring stations around a country to measure the concentrations of pollution in the
air. In most cases, the information collected at these monitoring stations is available to
the public. Oftentimes, governments put out warnings if the air quality is especially
poor. In some cities, air pollution is sometimes so high that people are advised to stay
indoors and schools might even be closed.
There are many environmental and health experts, as well as many experts with scientific
and technical training who have dedicated hard work to improving the quality of air. Many
governments and organizations have worked for years to improve air quality and succeeded
to do so. Because of this expertise and experience, air quality can be improved
everywhere. Governments are fighting against air pollution by working with industries and
transportation systems to decrease emissions of air pollutants. Governments are also
developing laws and regulations to, for example, remove lead from gasoline, limit air
emissions from industry and vehicles, and develop plans for the implementation of clean
air laws.
Individuals and communities can get involved, as well. Individuals can refrain from using
private vehicles if attractive mass transport systems exist and communities can develop
such transport systems. Small businesses can change how they produce goods, which can
sometimes make air emissions lower and improve air quality.
With more information and understanding, community groups, associations, universities and
individuals can take action to improve the air in their immediate surroundings and
contribute to global air quality improvemen
life requires...
clean aire
for the health in the Americas
Some ideas for
actions
to improve
information on air quality
Communities
Authorities
- Develop a scheme of informing the public about air
quality.
- Provide access to the public on emissions data and allow
citizens to make statements or take actions to show they care about quality air.
- Develop and distribute educational materials on air
quality.
Educators
- Teach special units on air quality and its impact on
health and the environment.
- Arrange visits to air quality monitoring stations and
power plants or industrial facilities with exemplary air pollution control measures.
- Support a science fair that emphasizes projects on air
quality.
Communicators
- Disseminate information on the quality of air.
- Count and report the number of poor air quality days in a
month or year.
- Investigate and report data available on emissions from
industrial plants.
International Air Quality Efforts
and Issues
WHO Guidelines
The World Health Organization (WHO) has
worked for many years to help nations improve air quality. WHO develops and regularly
revises guidelines for air quality to help countries decide how to set laws that work
toward improving the air. Most of these laws are set to limit the amount of pollution. WHO
bases its guidelines on health impacts of air pollution, advising countries to set levels
of acceptable pollution (air quality standards) that will not negatively impact the health
of their citizens. WHO provides assistance at times to countries regarding monitoring the
air, as well.
WHO manages the Air Management Information System (AMIS), which is set up to share
information among cities and countries, and is especially interested in giving help to
developing countries. The AMIS program shares information about how countries or cities
measure pollution, information on concentrations of pollution, and information about
indoor air pollution. AMIS also provides information on how air pollution affects health
and shares ways to combat air pollution. The AMIS program offers training on air
monitoring and management, it sends around technical documents to people and governments
who work on monitoring systems or air management programs, and it publishes information
every year on the state of air quality around the world. The AMIS program in Latin America
and the Caribbean is led by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Among its
activities, PAHO has developed an on-line library on air quality and health that provides
full text technical publications, data, and self-instructional courses.
Climate Change
Climate change is a global issue that needs
everyone to take action to reduce its negative effects. Weather and limate affect the
natural environment and human health. People depend on weather so that crops grow, food is
available, houses are sturdy and safe, and so that drinking water is clean and plentiful.
Severe storms cause flooding, mudslides, loss of crops and livestock, destruction of homes
and loss of life. The storms and floods leave conditions so that more insects can breed
and spread, such as mosquitoes that spread disease. Storms cause water systems to become
contaminated and sanitation systems to stop working. People can get sick from
after-effects of extreme weather events.
The International Panel on Climate Change, supported by more than 1,000 scientists, has
noted that the average temperature around the world has increased over the past 50 years,
and that there are more extreme weather events now than there used to be. If this
continues, the world will see drastic changes in temperature, which in turn causes more
storms and could cause the level of the sea to rise. The sea level rise endangers coastal
and island states.
In the light of new evidence and taking into account the remaining uncertainties, most of
the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in
greenhouse gas concentrations. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases are put
into the air and are part of the reason that climate change is taking place. Two important
worldwide agreements, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol,
were written with the goal of changing human activity so that climate change is slowed.
Many countries have committed to make the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol become formal
world agreements. People and nations need to work together on this important problem to
slow or stop climate change.
Ozone Depletion Increases Exposure
to Ultra Violet Rays
Certain man-made chemicals, called ozone
depleting substances, contribute to the problem of ozone depletion.
These chemicals include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, and methyl bromide, among
others. CFCs, also commonly known as Freon, have been used for cooling systems, like
refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioning systems. They are also used as propellants
in spray cans. Halons have been used in fire extinguishers. Methyl bromide has been used
as a fumigant to control pests in agriculture and horticulture.
When released into the atmosphere, these substances eventually reach the ozone layer,
located in the stratosphere, approximately seven miles above the earth’s surface. The
ozone depleting substances (ODS) begin a series of chemical reactions which end up
breaking down the ozone. Without enough ozone the atmosphere cannot filter out and protect
us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Increased exposure to UV
radiation has been linked to an increase in skin cancers, cataracts, decreased crop
yields, and the destruction of valuable coral reefs. Alternatives to ODS are being
produced, and countries have agreed to the Montreal Protocol to reduce the consumption,
and phase out the use of ODS.
Some ideas for actions
to improve the
global environment
Communities
- Learn about international issues and efforts by accessing
the PAHO on-line library on AMIS.
- Sponsor a “no car day” in your community.
- Make efforts to protect everyone in the family from
ultra-violet rays.
Authorities
- Pass and enforce laws that implement WHO guidelines for
air quality as long-term goals.
- Establish programs to detect illegal use of
chlorofluorocarbons.
- Provide incentives for using public transportation and for
car-pooling.
- Establish energy conservation programs for industry and
commercial buildings.
Educators
- Create a special unit on climate change and its causes.
- Teach children about the greenhouse effect and the
thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer, including the dangers of ultraviolet rays.
Communicators
- Prepare articles about the thinning of the stratospheric
ozone layer.
- Prepare articles about what citizens can do at home to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Air Quality in the Americas
Air pollution can cause sickness and death.
Air pollution is a problem in all countries of the Americas, rich and poor alike.
Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the
third leading cause of death in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than 1/2 of those
deaths are of children. In fact, the leading killer of children less than five years old
in Latin America and the Caribbean is ARI. The elderly are also sickened more easily with
these infections.
Asthma is the number one cause of chronic
sickness in children of the United States and the leading reason why children miss days of
school. The United States estimates that 4.8 million of its children under 18 years old
have asthma. Millions of children throughout the Americas suffer asthma and more and more
children are getting sick with asthma.
State of Air in the Americas
Recent studies by PAHO show that more than
100 million people in the Americas region are exposed to levels
of urban air pollutants that exceed the WHO guidelines. More than 100,000 people suffer
premature deaths
each year due to exposure to particulate matter. Major pollutants of concern are:
- fine particulate matter
- sulphur oxides
- carbon monoxide
- Toxics
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- lead
- nitrogen oxides
- ground-level ozone
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Other interesting studies
that look at three areas at the same time: pollution in the air, people being exposed to
the pollutants, and sicknesses that come from being exposed to the pollutants. These
studies show that the worst health damage in cities in Latin America and the Caribbean
comes from lead and particulate matter. Lead used to be added to gasoline to help make
engines run smoothly. With changes in how automobiles are made, lead is no longer needed
in gasoline and, in fact, cannot be used in newer cars. Many countries in the Americas
have stopped allowing gasoline with lead, which is a great success for our region. While
some countries still need to ban lead from gasoline, the next big job is to reduce
particulate matter in the air of the Americas.
While it may cost our countries a lot of money to improve air quality, studies that
compare cost to the benefits of air quality show that we are better off investing in this
improvement. A study of Mexico City showed that reducing particulate matter and
ground-level ozone by 10% would save $759 million dollars a year and would also avoid 266
infant deaths per year. If Mexico City were able to meet WHO guidelines for air quality,
it could save up to $2 billion per year and 585 fewer infants would die!
Outdoor Air Pollution
Outdoor air pollution is often called
ambient air pollution. Large and middle-sized cities are hit particularly hard with
ambient air pollution. This is mostly because of the pollution caused by many people
living close together. There are motor vehicles, buildings and houses that use cooking and
heating fuel, industries making products, and a lot of other activities. Many urban and
industrial areas have poor air quality and the air quality varies depending on the time of
year and weather. While each city is unique, there are many similarities as far as where
the pollution comes from. Most cities have learned that over 70% of the ambient air
pollution comes from motor vehicles – cars, trucks and busses. While automobile
ownership and usage in the United States and Canada is the highest in the world, it is
also growing in Latin America and the Caribbean. Maintaining a car so that it burns fuel
efficiently and lets off as little exhaust as possible can make a big difference to the
quality of air outside.
To improve air quality in large and
middle-sized cities, many people and organizations need to work together. Usually,
the national governments have the responsibility to set needed policies and laws and take
responsibility to carry them through. Many parts of the national government work together,
including ministries of energy, industry, transport, trade, finance, environment and
health. Other authorities, such as county, provincial, state or city leaders, often are
the ones who make sure laws and regulations are carried out. Local governments typically
manage very specific projects. Other community members and organizations have important
roles, as well. A big job is to train people in communities about their roles and to make
sure technical people keep up with changes in technology. Monitoring stations must be
maintained and well-managed so that data is good.
Urban air quality management in Latin America and the Caribbean
Several countries throughout the Americas
region have taken special efforts to improve air quality. As many of the countries in
Latin America and the Caribbean do not have all of the resources needed to improve the
air, organizations have set up programs to help. There are three regional urban air
quality programs.
The Clean Air Initiative in Latin American
Cities is supported by a partnership of donor agencies, private companies and foundations,
and non-governmental organizations. The World Bank has agreed to coordinate the program.
One of the main goals of this initiative is to develop action plans for cities to improve
their air quality. Seven cities are currently participating in this project: Buenos Aires,
Bogota, Lima-Callao, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, and Sao Paulo. Each city is
looking at different policies and investments needed to improve the quality of urban air.
A program called Aire Puro in Central
America is supported by the Government of Switzerland. Its goal is to make urban air
quality better by improving automobiles. The project trains professionals in the
automobile industry, sets up programs to inspect vehicles, and sets up programs to help
keep automobiles running properly. The project also works to share information so that
citizens know about how much automobiles contribute to poor air quality and so that they
learn how their actions can make a difference.
PAHO has developed a Regional Plan on
Urban Air Quality and Health which suggests to countries actions that they might take to
improve indoor and outdoor air quality. This program helps countries set policies, create
standards and make regulations. It helps take down and keep information on environment and
health. The project works to teach, train and increase public awareness.
Indoor Air Pollution
Pollution is not just outdoors in the
Americas. It is also found in homes, schools and public buildings. The United States
Environmental Protection Agency has done studies that show indoor levels of pollutants may
be 2 to 5 times, and sometimes more than 100 times, higher than outdoor levels. WHO has
noted that indoor air pollutant concentrations often are 10 to 20 times above
concentrations of urban air pollutants. This is important to know because most people
spend between 70-90% of their time indoors. In the Americas region, indoor air pollution
is one of the top four environmental risks to the public. Asbestos from insulation,
chemicals in building materials, preservatives in wood, cleaning agents, tobacco smoke,
mold, dust and radon gas are some of the many pollutants found inside buildings. Using
firewood and other low quality fuels for cooking and heating in poor rural areas,
particularly in the Andean and Central American highlands, is a major source of indoor air
pollution. Indoor air pollution is especially dangerous to women and children who tend to
spend a lot of time indoors around the fires and in the smoke.
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
The United States has developed a program to
improve air quality in schools, called Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools. A kit
provided by this program shows schools how to carry out a plan of action to improve indoor
air problems at little or no cost. It uses straight-forward activities and staff who are
already at the schools. The Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools is supported by
well-known non-governmental organizations in the United States, such as the National
Parent-Teacher Association, the National Education Association, Council for American
Private Education, Association of School Business Officials, American Federation of
Teachers, and the American Lung Association. Tools for Schools aims to improve air quality
in schools so that children learn and work in a healthier environment. It also is better
for teachers and staff, it makes the school more productive, and can actually help save
money. The Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Kit includes checklists for school
employees, problem-solving techniques, fact sheets, examples of what to do and many ways
to help students, teachers and staff improve the learning environment by improving the
quality of air they breathe.
Some ideas for
actions
to improve air
quality in the Americas
Communities
- Make a local campaign to organize car pools.
Keep cars in good repair and demand the removal of lead from gasoline.
- Demand better maintenance of public vehicles, such as
busses, and of trucks and other diesel fuel vehicles.
- Through clinics and health workers, spread information on
air quality and health, teaching parents of sick children how to reduce exposure.
- What do you or your community use that pollutes the air
outdoors? Cars? Coal/wood stoves or grills? Try using these things less.
- Use cleaner fuels for cooking and heating.
Authorities
- Strictly enforce air pollution laws (e.g., vehicle and
industrial emissions).
- Subsidize use of cleaner fuels for cooking and heating and
make long-term plans for infrastructure investments to facilitate use of cleaner fuels.
- Complete the phase-out of leaded gasoline in the Americas.
- Implement an aggressive energy conservation effort in
industries, commercial buildings and individual households.
- Set up air quality monitoring stations.
Educators
- Develop a unit on air quality in your locality and
country. Focus on lead if you are in a country where leaded gasoline is still sold.
- Discuss how cars pollute the air and how maintenance of
cars can lead to much cleaner air in your community and country.
- Consider the sources of air pollution in your community
and what can be done to reduce emissions.
Communicators
- Publish country-specific reports on health effects of air
pollution.
- Write feature articles about the major contributors to air
pollution, such as motor vehicles in urban areas and use of biomass fuels indoors. Write
about the seriousness of indoor air pollution and how to prevent it.
Communities Take Action
Communities Can Make a Difference
In many of the communities throughout the
Americas, actions speak louder than words. Well-informed and active communities get the
attention of political leaders. By taking action, communities improve the air for the
people in the immediate area and around the world.
Increasing public knowledge of the importance of clean air is a key activity for
communities. Requiring people to have well-maintained cars and making recommendations for
use of fuels for cooking and heating can have a large impact on both the indoor and
outdoor air quality. Health clinics and schools can spread information and make
recommendations on ways to improve the air. Community leaders can advise when air quality
is particularly poor and possibly even host indoor activities in schools or other public
venues for those days. Local gasoline stations can keep open later in the day and
encourage people to fuel after dark as a way to reduce ground-level ozone. They can spread
information on this simple step as their clients come
in for business.
Recording information on the environmental conditions of people who enter the health
clinics is particularly important to show data on the impact of environmental health. WHO
has developed a system to record environmental case histories at health clinics. Hospitals
and clinics can support this by using this system as a matter of course.
People Can Act at Home
The estimates show that most women and
children who are at home cooking and heating with indoor fires are suffering poor health
from the indoor pollution because of those activities. Women, especially, need to be
taught how to do things differently. Some steps are simple – open the door while you
are cooking. If you own any kind of fan, use it to ventilate the house while you are
cooking. Let your children be outdoors while indoor fires are burning. See what can be
done in your house to better ventilate the smoke. If it is possible, purchase a propane or
electric burner for cooking.
Smokers beware: environmental tobacco smoke
can harm or kill your children. If the parent smokes, do so outdoors. Join national
voluntary programs to not smoke in houses or around children. If possible, stop smoking
because it may damage your health. Start a community program to teach people about how
dangerous tobacco smoke is to people.
Another action at home to improve air
quality is to keep vehicles well-maintained, making sure they are burning fuel
appropriately and that the exhaust mechanisms are properly functioning. Motor vehicles
account for about 30% of NOx, 50% of hydrocarbons, 60% of lead and 60% of CO in cities.
Keeping a car in good repair can have a positive impact on the air – and if everyone
keeps their cars running smoothly, a community can do a lot to decrease air pollution.
Using gas grills instead of outdoor charcoal
grills, and electric mowers rather than gas powered mowers, can improve individual-level
exposure, as well as community and global contamination.
Public Places can Reduce Air
Pollution
Restaurants, movie theaters, schools,
libraries, stores and more...all of these plus many more can work to improve air quality
by following many of the recommendations above. One of the most significant actions for
public places is to prohibit smoking. Do you know that in some countries, doctors smoke in
hospitals and teachers smoke in classrooms? As the Director of the Pan American Health
Organization Sir George Alleyne recently stated, “Let’s clear the air. Demand
and provide smoke free environments, starting today.“
inhale life
Some ideas for
actions
to help the
communities
Communities
- Begin a smoke-free home campaign.
- Start environmental case history recording at health
clinics and hospitals.
- Promote education through schools and health clinics.
Demand the phase-out of leaded gasoline.
Authorities
- Regulate indoor air pollution in public places.
- Require public facilities to be tobacco smoke free.
- Develop educational materials on indoor air quality,
health impacts of air pollution, what a citizen can do to minimize emissions from
automobiles.
- Establish micro-loans or small grants through housing
ministries to help poor people purchase propane or electric burners to use for cooking.
Educators
- Teach children, parents and families about ways to improve
the home’s indoor air.
- Teach children about caring for the planet’s air
quality and develop actions they can take at a home or community level.
- Create a skit or street carnival on the topic of clean
indoor air practices at home.
Communicators
- Feature articles on adverse effects of leaded gasoline and
investigate why some countries still use leaded gasoline.
- Investigate the economic impact of poor air quality, both
indoors and outdoors and who gains/who loses when regulations are lax.
- Create special interest reports on how to detect problems
of indoor air quality.
How Can You and Your Community
Celebrate
Inter-American Air Quality Day?
- Contact local AIDIS chapters and local PAHO offices and
encourage them to promote activities. Then
support AIDIS/PAHO activities for this day and in the future.
- Use the AIDIS website to share ideas for activities and
learn what others have done:
http://www.aidis.org.br/
- Organize an “air quality week” the week of
August 5-9.
- Prepare events to take place in and around the community.
- Hold a parade with banners, slogans, songs, school bands
– head to a park where local officials can give
speeches on the importance of good air.
- Prepare and distribute posters and fliers about air
quality.
- Hold a community poster contest on the theme of air and
health.
- Carry out a local air monitoring effort with the citizens
and industries in your local community.
- Host a bike-to-work day or a community “no car
day” in August.
Here are some websites to learn more about
indoor and outdoor air
quality
Partner Organization Web Sites:
AIDIS: http://www.aidis.org.br/
PAHO: http://www.paho.org/
CWWA: cwwa@carib-link.net
Sources
“Air Pollution in the Americas,”
presentation by Carl-Axel P. Soderberg, President, Inter-American Association of Sanitary
and Environmental Engineering, May 14, 2002.
“Air Pollution,” WHO Fact Sheet
No. 187, WHO Website: www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact187.html , September, 2000.
Air Quality – General Information, EPA
Website: www.epa.gov/oar/urbanair/ginfo.html , 1/3/02.
“An Introduction to Indoor Air
Quality,” EPA Website: www.epa.gov/iaq/ , July 11, 2001.
“Climate and Health:
Introduction,” WHO Website: http://www.who.int/peh/climate/climate_and_health.htm
“EPA Administrator Christie Whitman
Unveils Campaign to Protect Children from Secondhand Smoke,” EPA Press Release,
EPA Website:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b1ab9f485b098972852562e7004dc686
/7fffff38bb3c565c85256ae7005dda71?OpenDocument
“First Inter-American Congress on Air
Quality, AIDIS ’99: Conclusions and Recommendations,” June 3, 1999.
“Health and Environment in The
Americas: Issues Of Common Concern and Possible Shared Goals,” background paper,
Health and Environment of the Americas Ministerial, March, 2002.
“In-Viro Care is Helping Businesses
Breathe Easier,” Caribbean Business, A7, 5/4/2000.
“Mensaje del Ing. Carl-Axel P.
Soderberg,” I Congreso Interamericano de Calidad de Aire, Carolina, Puerto Rico, 1
junio
de 1999.
“Message from the [AIDIS]
President,” AIDIS Website:
http://www.e-aidis.org/edicion_005/AIDIS-BOL_5_MESSAGE_FROM_
THE_PRESIDENT.htm , November 27, 2001.
“President Bush Announces Clear Skies
& Global Climate Change Initiative,” White House Website: www.whitehouse.gov ,
May 2002.
“Second Hand Smoke Kills: Let’s
Clear the Air,” statement by Dr. George A.O. Alleyne, Director, Pan American Health
Organizations, May 31, 2001.
“Sometimes Pollution Can Be at its
Worst Inside your Home,” Wall Street Journal, B1, December 7, 1998.
World Bank Website at: http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/cleanair/
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