ILOILO City – The ambient air in this city and the “first towns”, or municipalities from Iloilo province nearest to the city, is within the standard values.
The Metro Iloilo Airshed (MIA) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau has recently revealed that the 2022 ambient air monitoring results from the MIA stations and identified transport terminals are within the standard values.
MIA focal person Stella Tipanan said the ambient air monitoring assessment is being conducted to determine if there is a presence or high concentration of particulate matter that may cause serious health problems when inhaled.
Monitoring stations at the Festive Walk Terminal, La Paz and the University of San Agustin were all adherent to the standard values based on the parameters set for ambient air assessment and sampling, the MIA added.
Ambient air monitoring in the first towns, Leganes, Oton, Pavia and San Miguel, showed that all were within the standard values of air quality as well.
Currently, all the mentioned stations are operational except for San Miguel station which is underway for a Memorandum of Agreement signing to function.
In Pavia, the MIA used the newly-introduced monitoring instrument Robust Optical Aerosol Monitor (ROAM) alternative Air Quality Monitor devised by the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman-Institute of Chemistry.
To date, the ROAM unit’s collocation installed in the said municipality is the second operational station in the country, making Western Visayas one of the pilot sites of the technology deployment next to the CALABARZON region.
Researchers from the UP Diliman-Institute of Chemistry revealed that the ROAM is used to monitor air quality and the concentration of particulate matter in the air and is also capable of reading temperature and humidity within a five-minute interval.
Joined by the Community Advocacy Management, Resource Accessing Management, and Air Quality Standard Management-Technical Working Groups, MIA undertakes air quality assessments as one of the key measures of ensuring environmental and health safety in the locality.(PIA 6)/PN
