CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION IN SINGAPORE

Singapore, a small city state experiencing rapid industrial growth, found itself faced with the new problem of urban traffic congestion in the seventies. A large population with a strong preference for automobiles, coupled with a concentration of most of the economic industries into the small land area of the central business district led to severe traffic conditions including congestion, reduced traffic speeds, and environmental problems. These problems clearly had to be dealt with.

( http://www.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/air-sing.html)

Apart from local sources of pollutants, Singapore has had in more recent times to deal with the transboundary haze pollution from Indonesia.

The sources of air pollution can be grouped into three categories as follows:

• stationary sources such as power stations, oil refineries and industries;
• mobile sources such as motor vehicles; and
• others such as open burning of waste materials and transboundary air pollution.

(http://app2.nea.gov.sg/psi_faqairquality.aspx 

ea.gov.sg/psi_faqairquality.aspx)

Industrial:

Earlier this year, a plume of black smoke rising from a refinery on the southern island of Bukom alarmed West Coast residents, who feared it could be noxious.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) gave the assurance that, although unusual, the smoke had not affected air quality on the mainland; however, complaints of polluted ai

r from Johor refineries and odours of burnt cocoa from factories elsewhere pop up regularly in Internet forums like Stomp and punggol.org.

The NEA, concerned that the bad air problem will only intensify as industrial hubs like Jurong Island develop, is calling for expert help. It hopes to keep in check the particles more than 10 times smaller than the width of a human hair, and the levels of sulphur dioxide, which contributes to corrosive acid rain.

Ships with black smoke:

Long before man invented the car, bus or train, ships were the preferred mode of transport for adventurers seeking newer pastures.

But for years, the industry has harboured a dirty secret - that of hulking ships steaming through the ocean, coughing out plumes of black smoke.

But as one of the world’s major ports, with some 140,000 vessels calling here every year, air pollution caused by ships has so far fallen outside Singapore’s radar.

Ships carry 90 per cent of the goods traded by countries around the world, and with some estimates putting their contribution to global carbon emissions at 4 per cent - double the amount from the aviation sector - it has become a matter of concern for governments around the world and green groups.

Unlike airplanes or cars, ships largely operate on cheaper residual oil, which has a sulphur content thousands of times greater than the diesel fuel used by taxis here.

Sulphur and nitrogen oxide fumes are tied to smog and acid rain, and can have a significant impact on the health of communities, especially those living near the coastline.

Vehicles:

New-car quotas may be slashed from next year, but there are still nearly a million vehicles here. With industries, they make up the bulk of air pollution in Singapore.

In fact, vehicle exhaust fumes could be the chief contributor to pollution in the air here, given that oil refineries primarily operate offshore, said Changi General Hospital’s Dr Augustine Tee, a consultant at its Respiratory Department.

Haze:

Of all the outdoor air pollution that Singaporeans are subjected to every year, the haze probably wreaks more health havoc than any other.

At least four respiratory specialists in private practice and the Changi General Hospital said they have seen a 20 per cent jump in the number of patients with asthma and chronic lung illnesses in October, a trend which generally mirrors those seen in previous haze seasons here in the last decade.

The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), the indicator used here to measure air quality, crept into the unhealthy range - PSI 108 - for the first time in four years in October this year.

Singapore has not managed to go a year without the haze in the last decade. In most years, it has been in the moderate range.

The haze - fumes blown this way from forest fires burning in Sumatra - contains minute ash particles known to trigger underlying health conditions.

During the last bad haze episode in 2006, Singapore had several days of air in the unhealthy range, with the PSI peaking at 130.

The worst recorded haze here was in 1997, when the air quality hit an all-time high of 226.

(http://www.eco-business.com/news/2010/dec/30/singapore-fine-particles-growing-concern-though-ai/)

 

Lee Hung Ying