Professor Tareq Abdhilkadhim Nasser Alasadi

AIR pollution in Amman and thevicinity

PROFESSOR TAREQ ABDHILKADHIM NASSER ALASADI

PHILADELPHIA UNIVERSITY-TRAINING COORDINATOR

The pollution is not always as striking as I have seen in pictures of Beijing, LA, Tehran, but I come from Riga, Latvia, therefore I notice the inexistent horizon, dirty streets and “fog” over the hills in Autumn evenings. These arise from intensive industry, burning of fuels and large number of vehicles on the streets, and are assisted by geographical conditions in the city and lack of concern towards air quality regulation, which is then followed by affected well-being of both humans and the surrounding nature.

An active response from authorities in charge is still expected.

In Amman the annual average concentration of particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) is 130 μg/m3, overall in Jordan 69 μg/m3. For comparison, in Latvia in urban areas it is 17 μg/m3, while in Copenhagen, Denmark – 12 μg/m3(1). In EU the allowed concentration is 40 μg/m3, the annual mean recommended by WHO is 20 μg/m3. In the city, these numbers are largely caused by cars – exhaust can be smelled allover it. Amman, as well as the rest of Jordan, lacks any proper (fast, cheap) public transportation – only buses and taxis are available. Buses do not have any schedules, particular stops or apparent (to a non-local) routs and they are also considered to be a mean of transportation for the lower-class, used only in 5% of all the transport use (2). Amman is also not suited for cycling, walking or similar, as it is arranged on steep hills, there are no pedestrian streets or cycling lanes and streets are unsafe because of intensive traffic. Therefore most of people choose taxis or use private cars, which is why in 2006-2008 there were 471 500 motor vehicles registered in Amman serving 1,150,000 people, meaning, 1 car per 2.4 persons (3). That, despite the thoughtful infrastructure of roads (wide, connected mainly with circles, elevations, tunnels), results in large congestions and immense amounts of exhaust from the cars. Besides, most of the vehicles are often quite old, which is an important factor in emissions – old ones emit double the CO amount and triple the HC amount of a new one (3). The old vehicles are also more energy-consuming, and what 31% of cars consume is low-quality diesel, which emits more carcinogen and particulate matter than other fuels (WHO, 7). In Jordan diesel has the sulphur content of 5 000 parts per million, while it should be 350 ppm (4, 5). Cars fill the air with nitrous, sulphur and carbon oxides, black carbon, which are poisonous or irritating and cause enhanced Greenhouse effect. The good thing is that Jordan has gotten rid off leaded fuels. But the proportion of population living in urban areas continues to rise (in 1980 it was 60%, in 1990 – 72%, in 2010 – 83%) and rapid urban expansion occurs (6, 2), putting greater and greater pressure on environment in cities.

Around Amman the air quality is affected by the thriving industry. The first smog I saw here when on our way to camp must have been the one coming from Zarqa, as it is home to 35% of the heavy industry in Jordan, main of which include Jordan Petroleum Refinery, Al- Hussein Thermal Power Station, steel and pipe factories and Assamra wastewater treatment plant. A total of 2400 industrial activities are registered in the Zarqa. Zarqa is the most polluted city in Jordan (8). The power station is a source of SO2because of combustion of sulphur-containing fuels, Assamra Station is a source of H2S and ozone, all of which exceed Jordan’s standards (9).

One of the most damaging industries is cement production in Fuhais, 15 km from Amman, as it fills the air with full display of pollutants – soot, sulphur compounds, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon oxides (CO2from cement production contributes to 5% of the global CO2) and also 0.07 kg of dust with every 1 kg of cement it produces (8). The dust contain high concentrations of metals known to have toxic effects living beings. In Jordan’s dry climate, the dust can’t settle down and are spread throughout with the frequent wind (10). And this industry is only increasing in size because of the growing population (in 1990 it was 3.2 million, in 2000 – 4.8 million, in 2013 – 6.5 million (World Bank)) and developing economy (11), more living and working space is needed – in the last years, 10 thousand and more building licenses have been given out each year (Department of Statistics, Jordan, 2011-2013).

On a smaller scale, the air quality is worsened by the consequences of lack of organized waste management and heating system. In Jordan there is no central heating, but not because the weather wouldn’t demand that – during Autumn insides of homes are often colder than outside, therefore every household uses heaters. In Amman the most popular choice of heat supply is gas, which already contributes greatly to Greenhouse effect with CO2, but the more outside of Amman, the more outdated, less efficient systems of heating are found – wood, kerosene, diesel, which because of incomplete combustion emit loads of black carbon (12). Now along with arrival of Autumnal weather a slight cloud covering the hills of Amman can be noticed in the evenings together with a smell of burning coal. As to garbage disposal, people tend to manage that by throwing their rubbish wherever there is a free space, and when it fills up, it’s put on fire. The practice is very unfriendly to environment, because most of this garbage consists of plastic and other non-degradable materials and when being burnt, emits carbon dioxide and other non-welcomed substances.

The situation is not lightened by the fact that Amman is arranged on 19 hills, which allows the unhealthy air to get stuck between the hills. Also, Amman is attacked by several dust storms Khamasini from the nearby deserts every year, which complement Jordan with 1.8 million tons of dust a year. The dry and windy climate conditions do their share – the dust cannot settle down due to wind (10), the very direct sunlight (UV radiation) encourages ozone formation in reaction with nitrous oxides emitted by vehicles. There is also a problem with lack of proper green spaces in Amman – they are very few, small, there is a small number of trees in the city. Because of uncontrolled, unplanned urbanization, housing in the city is increasing, green areas are decreasing (6, 2).

These issues should be taken seriously by the government not because they raise unrest in radically-minded environmentalists, but because they affect public health and agriculture, which means economic losses to the country. In humans, of which children, the elderly and people of poor health are the most vulnerable, exposure to particulate matter increases the risk of respiratory and cardiac diseases, lung cancer and, consequently, death. Exposure to the frequently found SO2in Amman affects lungs, causes coughing, aggravates asthma, irritates eyes, lowers overall health, increases hospital admissions for cardiac diseases and death. It also causes acid rain. NO2lowers resistance to respiratory infections and aggravates existing respiratory conditions. Ozone reduces functions and causes diseases of lungs, triggers asthma (7, WHO). Jordan already has 128 per 100 000 (2004) people living in disability due to ambient air pollution, in comparison to Sweden, where 39 people per 100 000 are affected. Illuminating the fact that Jordan still has loads of space for improvement is the number of children under 5 that live in disability due to air pollution: while in all developed countries, such as Canada, USA, EU it is zero, in Jordan in 2004 it was 51 per 100 000 children (although it could be worse – in the neighboring Egypt the number is 123). 22 people, 2 children under 5 per 100 000 capita (2008) die due to ambient air pollution, which is 7 more than in 2004 and a number threateningly similar to rough problems facing Iran, where it is 24, while in most of developed countries the number is shrinking, instead of growing, for example, in Canada from 16 in 2004 to 7 in 2008, in Switzerland from 15 to 11, in Australia from 10 to 7 (1). These pollutants are also contributors to the global problem of increased Greenhouse effect, which is starting to affect Jordan’s agriculture by the raising temperatures and decreasing precipitation, posing threat to Jordan’s food security (13). Amman has also been experiencing cases of extreme weather (storms, flood, heat waves) in recent years (13, 14). Findings of cloud formation relationship with aerosols (solid or liquid emission mixture with air or other gas) suggest it is likely to get dryer during the usually low precipitation months and experience extreme precipitation during the others (15).

The good thing is that it seems the authorities are aware of some issues concerning environment being there – they are the first in the region starting to sign projects about climate change, desertification (18), Jordan is writing projects for public transport in Amman (2), thinking about green energy – sun and wind (16) and developing railways (17), taking part in UN projects – Climate and Clean Air Coalition (Jordan has committed to address the issue of short-lived climate pollutants – black carbon, methane, ozone, hydrofluorocarbons). By 2035, Jordan is planning to gain 60% of its energy from nuclear power plants to be constructed inside the country. There are 65 000 tons of uranium, even more to be produced from Jordan’s phosphates, which would solve the emission-creating energy issue (now Jordan imports 96% of energy needs, including fuels for energy production which then create emissions), improve economy (due to being able to export energy rather than import), resolve water problems by creating desalinization plants (Wikipedia). But those who actually try to raise awareness of these problems are science researchers who carry out the occasional study about air quality, pollution, but that is the only information on this topic available, as regular air quality monitoring takes place only in Al- Hashemeyyah near Zarqa (12). Plans for public transportation are dismissed (2), people are not encouraged to choose greener means of transport, heating and excess pollution problems are not solved, even though there are emission standards and fines for when they are violated. People are not raised to be patient enough to care about environment – 18% of children under 18 care, the number in grownups might be even smaller (19).

by Sara

References:

– (1) – WHO, Ambient Air Pollution database, 2008-2012; WHO country profiles 2009

– (2) –jordan-business.net/features/moving-amman-forward

– (3) – Farid B. Chaaban, Arab Environment: Future Chalanges, Chapter 4

– (4) – UNEP, Middle East, North Africa & West Asia Diesel Sulphur Matrix, 2014

– (5) –jordantimes.com/month-long-campaign-to-raise-motorists-awaerness-on-car-fumedangers

– (6) – Samih Al Rawashdeh, Bassam Saleh, Satellite Monitoring of Urban Spatial Growth in the Amman Area, Jordan

– (7) -WHO, Ambient and Household Air Pollution and Health, Frequently Asked Questions, 2014

– (8) – Bashar M. Al Smadi, Kamel K. Al-Zboon, Khaldoun M. Shatnawi, Assessment of Air Pollutants Emissions from a Cement Plant: A Case Study in Jordan, 2009

– (9) – Sana’a Abed El-Raoof Odat, Diurnal and Seasonal Variation of Air Pollution at Al- Hashimeya Town, Jordan, 2009

– (10) – Nidal A. Hadadin and Zeyad S. Tarawneh, Environmental Issues in Jordan, Solutions and Recommendations, 2007

– (11) –http://blogs.wsj.com/frontiers/2014/10/01/jordans-economy-improving-despiteregional-instability/

– (12) – K. M. Hamasha, M. S. Almomani, M. Abu-Allaban, W. P. Arnott, Study of Black Carbon Levels in City Centers and Industrial Centers in Jordan, 2010

– (13) – M. Y. Mahadeen; Omar B. Allahham, Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Production in Jordan, 2010

– (14) –grrenprophet.com/2013/01/severe-weather-causing-middle-east-mayham-anddeaths/

– (15) –abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/11/14/3362912.htm

– (16) –jordantimes.com/princess-sanaa-calls-for-further-adoption-of-renewable-energy;http://mideastenvironment.apps01.yorku.ca/2014/05/jordan-wind-farm-jordan-times/

– (17) –jordantimes.com/developing-railway-network-among-ministrys-priorities

– (18) –http://petra.gov.jo/Public_News/Nws_NewsDetails.aspx? Site_Id=1&lang=2&NewsID=169067

– (19) –http://jordantimes.com/social-media-campaign-to-raise-childrens-environmental-awareness

About these ads

FIRST IMPRESSIONS FROM AMMAN by Alessandra

In "amman"

It’s all about differences

←

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Bottom of Form

Build a website with WordPress.com