An environmental benefits analysis of the dispersion of particulate matter emitted by jeepneys over Metro Manila

• Main Author: Garcia, Jose Alberto S.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: Particulate matter; Air quality—Philippines; Air quality—Standards; Air—Pollution—Philippines; Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment; Physics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6190; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=13274&context=etd_masteral
• Institution: De La Salle University

Particulate matter pollution is a serious threat to populations under high exposure. Areas such as Metro Manila are situated in a highly urbanized location. With this, a great concern of environmentalists is the amount of particulate matter in the region. Due to the high demand for transportation in the area, public utility jeepneys are widely used by many Filipinos. These jeepneys are configured with outdated engines that release toxic substances –of many, particulate matter poses a serious threat. These fine particles were found to cause many premature deaths; hence, it is important to derive future abatement strategies through numerical weather modeling. The Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry was used to numerically describe future policy scenarios and their corresponding health and monetized benefit. The EURO4 engine standards, Hybrid PUJ standard, and the total phase-out of jeepneys scenarios were investigated in this study. Initial results showed that, currently, there are numerous areas of air noncompliance with the set air quality guidelines towards the densely populated areas of northern Metro Manila. The Hybrid PUJ and total phase-out of jeepneys posed the greatest decrease in particulate matter pollution. Consequently, an estimate of around 18000 avoided deaths with a monetary value of around USD 1.3 billion can be saved with respect to the total phase-out of jeepneys.