EMB-7 to get more air monitor equipment

THE Environmental Management Bureau (EMB-7) said it is expecting new equipment worth P11 million from the central office to monitor air quality in Cebu.

EMB-7 Regional Director William Cuñado said the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu will each get one unit of stationary monitoring equipment.

“This is faster and we can get more data with this compared to the Environmental Beta Attenuation Monitor (E-BAM) equipment,” Cuñado told Cebu Daily News.

The equipment, which is hooked up to a computer, can give real-time updates that can be immediately viewed online.

“There will be more readings and parameters from this equipment,” Cuñado said.

Two more units are being requested for Bohol and Negros and will be turned over before the year ends.

The E-BAM equipment, which measures tiny particles in the air, was used to measure quality following reports of haze over Metro Cebu last week. It was stationed at the rooftop of Radisson Blu Hotel with results released every 24 hours.

EMB-7 continues to monitor daily but results were not available over the weekend and yesterday due to a two-day brownout.

“The pollution control officer (PCO) wasn’t notified immediately. The equipment had to be restarted as soon as power was restored by generator,” EMB-7 asst. information officer Melissa Cabahug said.

Five days ago, EMB-7 declared Cebu haze-free but conditions of reduced visibility due to forest fires in Indonesdia may recur depending on wind direction and the monsoons.

At that time, the EMB 7 recorded 38 micrograms per cubin meter of 2.5PM dust particles in the air.

This was below the tolerable ceiling of 75 micrograms per cubic meter based on government guidelines.

The tiny dust particles could come from smoke of buring plantations in Indonesia and local pollution from vehicle emissions and local industries.