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ENVIRONMENT:
Clean
Transportation Reduces Premature
Deaths
Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, (IPS) - A
sharp reduction in
transportation-related pollution
in Brazil's large cities could
save 50 billion dollars over the
next 20 years by preventing the
premature deaths of 47,000
people and sparing hundreds of
thousands more from disease.
These calculations from the
University of Sao Paulo Medical
School are based on the results
of the first phase of the Motor
Vehicle Air Pollution Control
Programme (PROCONVE),
established by the National
Environmental Council in 1986.
The programme has cut polluting
emissions from new vehicles by
between 80 and 90 percent,
preventing 4,500 premature
deaths between 1997 and 2000 and
saving between three and four
billion dollars in health care
costs, according to a study
prepared by the medical school.
The study was presented at the
4th International Conference on
Vehicle Emissions, held
Wednesday and Thursday in
Brasilia to foster the exchange
of information and experiences
among experts, environmental
authorities and business
representatives from different
countries and to promote
policies for reducing air
pollution.
Air pollutants emitted by motor
vehicles - suspended particles,
lead, nitrogen oxides, sulphur
dioxide, carbon monoxide and
ozone - can provoke serious
health problems, from
neurological disorders and
reduced IQ in children to
chronic respiratory ailments,
hypertension, eyesight problems
and even premature death,
according to experts.
Mexico is a prime example of the
fact that rapid improvement of
air quality can be achieved with
efficient control measures,
noted Roberto Pereira, president
of the South American Vehicle
Emission Control Equipment
Manufacturers Association (AFEEVAS),
which organised the conference.
In just a few short years,
Mexico went from being one of
the countries most seriously
afflicted by motor vehicle
emissions to a regional leader
in the control of this source of
air pollution, Pereira told IPS.
This change was the result of
measures pushed through by the
government despite stiff
opposition from industry, he
added.
As a consequence, in order to
export automobiles to Mexico,
Brazilian manufacturers are
forced to comply with stricter
demands than those set for the
domestic market.
The technology involved raises
the costs of production, but
lower taxes than those charged
in Brazil make up for these
added expenditures, Pereira
explained.
Chile has also made significant
progress in this area, but as an
importer of both vehicles and
fuel, it is in a position to
demand less-polluting products,
PROCONVE coordinator Paulo
Macedo commented to IPS.
In a country like Brazil,
however, achieving similar
progress would depend on
coordinated advances within the
"triad" formed by government
regulations and the automotive
and fuel industries. This means
that the government cannot
simply impose regulations, but
instead must negotiate with all
of the sectors involved, said
Macedo.
On the other hand, Brazil has an
advantage that is not shared by
any other country, in that it is
a major producer of fuel
alcohol, or ethanol, derived
from sugar cane, which is far
less polluting than fossil
fuels. It is used as fuel in
Brazil both on its own and in a
25/75 percent mix with gasoline.
It is no coincidence that the
three countries highlighted -
Mexico, Chile and Brazil - are
home to the region's most
populous and polluted cities,
namely Mexico City, Santiago and
Sao Paulo.
In Brazil, PROCONVE has
succeeded in promoting the use
of increasingly cleaner vehicles
and fuel, which has prevented
further deterioration of
environmental conditions in the
country's major cities.
But the number of motor vehicles
in Brazil doubled between 1990
and 2003, with a leap from 18
million to 36 million in total,
posing a serious health threat
to the country's 182 million
inhabitants, especially in large
urban areas.
The next big battle is to
improve the quality of gas-oil
or diesel fuel, used primarily
by large vehicles like buses and
trucks, noted AFEEVAS technical
consultant Gabriel Branco.
"It was easier to improve
gasoline and the engines that
run on that fuel, which is why
PROCONVE initially and
successfully targeted these
particular products," Branco
told IPS.
Now the programme's main goal is
to reduce emissions of sulphur,
which causes acid rain, and
levels of what is currently the
most serious urban contaminant,
ozone.
Brazilian diesel fuel emissions
still contain large amounts of
sulphur. The diesel fuel sold in
urban areas has a sulphur
content of 2,000 parts per
million (ppm), while that used
outside large cities has a
concentration of 3,500 ppm.
The goal is to initiate a
drastic reduction as of 2009 to
eventually reach a sulphur
content of 50 ppm.
Once the necessary improvement
in fuel quality has been
achieved, the automotive
industry can begin to
manufacture cleaner vehicles by
installing emission-reducing
catalytic converters, which
would be damaged by the current
high sulphur content, explained
Branco.
Diesel-powered engines are also
responsible for 80 percent of
nitrogen oxide emissions, which
lead to the formation of ozone.
While ozone in the upper
atmosphere protects life on
earth from the sun's rays,
ground-level ozone is harmful to
human health. It is created by a
chemical reaction between
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and
volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
in the presence of heat and
sunlight.
It would be impossible to
significantly reduce emissions
of sulphur and nitrogen oxides
without new refining techniques.
As a result, Petrobras, the
state-owned company responsible
for most of Brazil's production
of oil and other fuels, has
decided to invest 3.3 billion
dollars in its refineries by
2010.
This will not completely solve
the problem, however, since the
diesel fuel substitution process
will be gradual, beginning with
only 10 percent of the total,
and this will undoubtedly create
difficulties with distribution,
noted Pereira. Other companies
and smaller refineries have
still not joined in the
programme, he lamented.
Progress in curbing emissions
needs to be significantly
stepped up, because within two
or three decades, air pollution
will be exacerbated by the
increase in the number of
vehicles on the road, despite
the adoption of the measures
already foreseen, warned
Pereira, who is also the
director of Brazilian operations
for the Belgian company Umicore.
AFEEVAS is a non-profit
association linking 15
transnational firms that
manufacture equipment and
technology designed to control
the emission of pollutants by
motor vehicles.
Its mission is to provide
technical information on vehicle
emission control in order to
contribute to the establishment
of effective national and
international policies to
improve air quality and
subsequently the quality of
life.
Incorporating new technologies
implies higher costs, but
diseases caused by pollution are
even more costly, and "no price
tag can be placed on human
life," maintained Pereira.
In the meantime, Macedo noted
that Brazil's large cities are
also suffering the effects of an
upsurge in the number of
motorcycles, yet another source
of pollution. This year,
however, domestic manufacturers
began to use newer technologies
aimed at reducing harmful
emissions, and motorcycles will
eventually be included in
programmes similar to those
addressing automobiles, he
added.
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