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ADB Hosts Workshop
to Raise Public Awareness of Lead Pollution
Manila,
February 1, 2000 - To address the dangerous levels of lead
pollution in the Philippines, a two-day workshop entitled "Public
Awareness Campaign for Eliminating Leaded Gasoline" will be held on
February 1-2, 2000, at the Asian Development Bank.
Co-sponsors of the
workshop include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
Department of Energy, Asian Development Bank, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, U.S. Agency for International Development and the
United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP).
The Honorable Manuel
Villar, Jr., Speaker of the House of the Representatives, will present
the keynote address, and Congressman Nereus Acosta will wrap up the
two-day event with the closing speech. Energy Secretary Mario Tiaoqui,
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Antonio Cerilles, and
representatives from the Philippine Institute of Petroleum (PIP) and the
Concerned Citizens Against Pollution (COCAP) have been invited to speak
during the opening session.
The workshop is an
important and timely opportunity to plan a successful campaign to
strengthen public acceptance of unleaded gasoline. The Philippine Clean
Air Act of 1999 mandates the elimination of leaded gasoline nationwide
by January 1, 2001. In support of the Act, the Department of Energy and
the major oil companies in the country have agreed to an accelerated
elimination by April 1, 2000, in Metro Manila. The Clean Air Act mandate
is an important component of the ADB-funded Metro Manila Air Quality
Improvement Sector Development Program.
There is a great need for
the Philippines to undertake an effective and immediate campaign to
eliminate lead in gasoline and present accurate information to the
public. Eliminating lead will halt the decline in children�s IQs and
hundreds of premature deaths and cases of heart disease, and allow the
Philippines to keep pace with its Asian neighbors and the worldwide
trend to protect public health from the dangers of lead poisoning.
The level of lead
exposure found in Metro Manila�s children has been shown by the
Philippine Department of Health to result in an average loss of five IQ
points. Total health damages including the effects of IQ loss are
estimated to cost 3.18 billion pesos. According to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "Lead is one of the most
important causes of health damage due to air pollution. Lead in gasoline
also increases vehicle maintenance costs and reduces the life of
automobile engines."
Jane Armstrong, Senior
Policy Advisor in the EPA�s Office of Transportation and Air Quality,
will talk about the rationale for eliminating lead and provide an
overview of worldwide experience and issues. Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana,
director of the Air Quality and Noise Management Division of the
Pollution Control Department of Thailand, will discuss his country�s
successful conversion to unleaded gasoline.
Each of the stakeholders,
including government, civil society and the private sector, have a vital
role to play in implementing a successful public information campaign on
the elimination of leaded gasoline.
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