Job Discussion Forums

[Mattingly]

I have respiratory problems because of living in Vietnamese cities. I've always been aware of it and I know VN is not the worst. But being in the top 10 can take years off of your life.
--
Vietnam among top 10 countries for worst air pollution

Monday, February 06, 2012


Vietnam is among the top 10 countries with the worst air pollution, according to a study released during this year�s World Economic Forum in Davos.

Vietnam's Air (Effects on Human Health) ranking was 123rd among the 132 countries surveyed.

India has the world's worst air pollution, beating out China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, according to the study.

Vietnam's water supply (Effects on Human Health) was ranked 80th of the 132 surveyed.

In terms of overall environment, Vietnam, the study ranked Vietnam 79th.

The Environmental Performance Index is conducted by the environmental research centers of Yale and Columbia universities with assistance from dozens of independent scientists. The study uses satellite data to measure the concentration levels of air pollution.

The EPI ranks countries according to 22 performance indicators spanning ten policy categories designed to reflect facets of both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20120206-vietnam-among-top-10-with-worst-air-pollution.aspx

[Dekadan]

I definitely noticed the poor air quality when I first touched down in HCMC. It almost tasted like there was gasoline in the air. It's interesting that it's generalized to the entire country as it strikes me that the worst places to be would be city centers. I never was able to see the sunset there (or when I was ambitious, sunrise) due to the smog hanging over the city. However, as soon as I got out to Mui Ne, the air definitely tasted better and it was possible to watch the sunrise or sunset. I'm curious how much the pollution generated by HCMC affects the surrounding areas. I don't expect anyone to have an answer to this though!

[DNK]

Doesn't China have rolling smog fogs that almost totally block visibility at times? It seems there's a rather extreme difference between HCM and that. Same with India, but without the fogs. I've visited a major city there (Chennai), and the air was at least 3x worse than HCM, as they not only had considerably worse lead fume pollution but also tons of dust from unpaved roads. In HCM, the facemask at times is an option; there is was a requirement during the day and into the night. Even the hotel room's air was unbearable after running through the A/C.

This all makes me a bit dubious about that claim, especially as the smaller cities (Da Nang, Nha Trang, Can Tho, Hue, Vung Tau somewhat) have fairly decent air quality if memory serves me. Most of those smaller cities are well ventilated by the good winds and are less clusterf-cked than HCM, so the pollution doesn't have to go far before it's out of the city and into the ocean.

HCM's air is pretty bad, but to drag the entire country down to the bottom 10, especially given that much of the countryside doesn't have much actual pollution? I don't know about that.

Hey, I could see the sun set for a few days after Tet. I suspect the factories (and I think I saw a report that confirmed this) are the major contributor to that high level haze that engulfs the city, though the dirty gas and poorly controlled exhausts do their fair share, of course. But still, there's a huge difference between getting an occluded sunset every night and not being able to see 200m away due to smog.

[DNK]

The actual score for VN is 54.8 for PM2.5 pollution. It's "air pollution score" (which is fairly bs as I explain below) is much lower because its "indoor air pollution score" is 7.2, and the two are averaged together for the final score. For foreigners, the indoor air pollution score is totally irrelevant (explained below). The only other measurement that's of importance is SO2 per capita, which is 53.1.

China's PM2.5 score is basically HALF Vietnam's at 28.8. SO2 is worse at 24. That said, VN is still in the bottom 15 for PM2.5, which is quite bad, but it's only #35 for SO2.

India scored 0.0 on PM2.5 and 48.1 on SO2. Note that if we do include heavy metal pollution (the report doesn't), it's going to be MUCH, MUCH worse for China and India (or, at least in the case of India since it's 0, much better for VN).

Interesting that this report relies significantly on official statistics, which for some countries (cough, cough, China, cough, cough, cough) are a bit "shaky". Also, water quality is absent in terms of pollution (only its impact on human health), as are heavy metals (which aren't SO bad here, I think) and climatic/agricultural issues. Hell, 15% of each country's score is simply based on child mortality as an indicator for "environmental health". I would guess that public services, etc, play at least an equally important role in that, yet it's getting a full 1/7th of the score here for an environmental report...

Air quality is measured by two indicators: particulate matter (forget lead, benzene, etc) and indoor air pollution. SO2 is not included in the air score, oddly. "Indoor air pollution" isn't an actual composite of multiple testing done in actual houses (makes sense, as the money that would take would be prohibitive), but rather based on how many people in a country burn solid fuels indoor. For most of us in VN, this isn't an issue: it might as well be a perfect score.

[Kawika]

What's the best mask (respro, neoprene, etc.) to use to protect us from the air pollution when on the streets?

[The Mad Hatter]

The best mask for air pollution is a professional grade chemical fumes mask with replaceable filters. The kind used for spraying paint or working around noxious fumes and vapours. It is available at workplace safety and shops where they sell protective gear. Anything short of that will not offer much in the way of actually filtering out anything more than dust.

[teacherkev]

I just purchased some masks from a hardware store 30,000VND p/mask, carbon activated with three filters. I hope they work, at the very least they will have some placebo effect!

[DNK]

OSC Tech (something like that) on Nam Ky south of Saigon Square (an alley before the next small intersection on the west side) sells 3M certified N95 and R95 masks that DO work for sure. If you want more than a placebo effect, go there. These are manufactured in the US for use in industry, and the place you're looking for is a wholesaler or something for foreign contractors and such in VN.

Location (put into a map program/site):
10.771994, 106.700342

At the back of the alley in a small, two-story building with many windows.

[The Mad Hatter]

Thanks a lot DNK. A great post!