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UNKNOWN
to most parents, the unnecessary idling of vehicles that
pick up children after school can endanger the health of
kids as idling cars release harmful fumes that increase
the risk of asthma and other adverse health effects
among children.
A waste
and pollution watchdog drew attention to the injurious
practice of school vehicle drivers, as well as parent or
family drivers, to idle when waiting for their student
passengers or waiting for their turn to park.
“We need
to eliminate needless idling by the school buses and
jeepneys, as well as family cars, if we want to save our
children from air toxics, or chemicals in the air that
are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious
health effects,” Sonia Mendoza said in a statement.
Mendoza is a chairman of the Mother Earth Foundation, a
member of the EcoWaste Coalition.
Also
known as hazardous air pollutants, air toxics such as
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and
particulate matter have been linked to reproductive
problems, birth defects, respiratory ailments, heart
conditions and cancers. The US Environmental Protection
Agency estimates that air toxics from motor vehicles
account for half of all cancers due to air pollution.
“We urge
the school authorities, the parent-teacher associations
and the concerned groups in transportation sector to
actively promote idle-free driving to improve the air
quality and protect our children from harmful fumes,”
added Mendoza, who has four school-going grandchildren.
Latest
available data from the Philippines’ Land Transportation
Office web site show that there are 5,331,574 registered
motor vehicles in the country.
Out of
the 886,978 registered motor vehicles for hire, some 721
school jeepneys and 1,288 school buses are used to
transport students with permits issued by the Land
Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
The
EcoWaste Coalition advises school bus, school jeepney
and family-car drivers to turn off the engine if they
are going to park for more than 10 seconds. This will
reduce the release of air toxics and minimize the
combustion of fossil fuels, which are driving global
climate change.
To
support its call for idling-free driving as one solution
against toxic pollution and climate change, the group
cited information from Canada’s Office of Energy
Efficiency estimating that if every driver of a
light-duty vehicle in Canada stopped idling for just
five minutes a day‚ Canadians would save 680 million
liters of fuel per year, and also avoid more than 1.6
million tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from
entering the atmosphere annually.
The
EcoWaste Coalition noted that diesel-powered buses and
jeepneys are known to spew out toxic air contaminants.
Referring to information from the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the group said that diesel
fumes contain 40 toxic chemicals, including 15
carcinogens. EPA studies have linked diesel exhaust to
the development of asthma and cancer in children.
The
EcoWaste Coalition likewise cited efforts in Canada, USA
and other countries to protect the health and safety of
children from harmful diesel bus emissions by enacting
laws and ordinances calling for the reduction of the
unnecessary idling of school buses in front of schools.
“Proactively preventing the idling of vehicles at
schools is a good start to improve the air quality
within the school vicinity. As a long-term measure, the
authorities should also look into the unchecked idling
of government cars, tourist buses, delivery trucks and
other mobile sources of air pollution and launch an
idle-free campaign targeting all vehicles,” Mendoza
said. |
