Pedestrians and traffic enforcers remain
exposed to the lethal amount of cancerous
black carbon in some parts of Edsa highways,
Reynaldo Razalan 64 has been traffic enforcer
for the last 20 years ,He stands under the Shaw
Boulevard flyover ,with nothing but a make
shift mask to protect him from the elements
Razalan said that he had the mask made for
him using his own money ,Not all traffic
enforcers like to use the mask,but in his 20
years of service he prefers it.
Smoke belching is common in Edsa,especially
by public utility vehicles
Some times cars would even pass by they press
the gas and belch smoke into our face,before
driving away.
In addition to rude drivers,Razalan tells the
story of a colleageue whom ,after becoming
a traffic enforcer,developed asthma
The Shaw Boulevard underpass and the Ayala
underpass having alarmingly high rates,based
on data collected by Dr Gerry Bagtasa,an
internationally renowned atmospheric physicist
,who measured black carbon levels along Edsa,
In his studies he found out that back carbon
in other countries range from 1 to 10 micrograms
per cubic meter ,
In the contrast ,measurements in Edsa ,particularly
at the Ayala Station of the MRT and the Shaw
Boulevard underpass,can reach 1,000 micrograms
per-cubic meter-well beyond the acceptable standed
Its fr this reason that Bagtasa dosn't allow his
daughter to play outside during peak hours of
traffic in metro Manila He fears for his own daughter
who like many other children is sensitive to
air quality,
Warned about the immanet threat of cancer
Ranzalan was not surprised to the problem
here,,
DAILY EXPRESS
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