Nobel Prize Chemist Helps Mexico City Clear the Air
By Susana Guzmán
MEXICO CITY, Mexico, February 13, 2001 (ENS) - Dr. Mario Molina, the Mexican Nobel Prize winning chemist, is lending his considerable expertise to the solution of the air quality problems in Mexico City, one of the world's most polluted cities.
In 1995, Dr. Molina received a Nobel prize for his work in atmospheric chemistry and the effect of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the depletion of the ozone layer. He is now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Molina met with scientists from the United States and Germany as well as Mexican federal and local environmental authorities to help shape the air pollution cleanup efforts that are planned for the next six months. These efforts are part of Proaire - a 10 year air quality management program for the Mexico City Metropolitan Area from 2001 to 2010.
Dr. Mario Molina (right) outlines his proposals for clearing the air in Mexico City with Claudia Sheinbaum, secretary of environment of Distrito Federal, next to him. Beside her is Martha Hilda Gonzalez, secretary of ecology for the state of Mexico (Photo (c) Susana Guzman)
Dr. Molina contributed 71 recommendations to diminish the pollution that has been linked to an increase in deaths caused by particles in the air measuring less than 10 microns in diameter. These particles are emitted by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles and factories.
Proaire "has to be launched within the next six months," Claudia Sheinbaum, told ENS. Sheinbaum is the new secretary of environment for the federal district of Mexico City. She has been responsible for Mexico City's air quality since December 5, 2000 when the government of Vincente Fox assumed power. A physicist by training, she was part of the academic group that worked with Dr. Molina.
Prior to the 1940s, Mexico City was known for its clear air and spectacular views of snowcapped volcanoes. Today, the city's mountains are only rarely visible due to some of the worst air pollution in the world. Industrial growth and a concentration of wealth and employment in Mexico's capital; a population boom from three million in 1950 to roughly 18 million today and heavy reliance on motorized transportation have all contributed to the air pollution problem.
Mexico City sits in a basin 2,240 meters (7,280 feet) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains that rise one kilometer or more above the basin. High elevation and intense sunlight are key factors in creating the smog that plagues the city. Air pollution is generally worst in the winter, when there is less rain and thermal inversions are more common.
Dr. Molina said that air pollution control strategies can by divided by sector - vehicles, fuels and transportation policies. Reducing the amount of sulfur in gasoline, diesel emissions control and improvements to the vehicular emissions monitoring program are priorities, he said.
Mexico City on a smoggy day (Photo courtesy M.Yip & P.Madl)
"We are attempting to have a dynamic program, and we will be evaluating constantly according to the scientific models that could change our environmental policies," said Sheinbaum.
More than 3.5 million vehicles and 35,000 industries burn more than 10 million gallons of fuel every day, emitting thousands of pounds of pollutants into the environment.
Sheinbaum said that the environmental policy for air quality over the next 10 years will be based on Dr. Molina's work. Performance will be monitored through a collaboration between the Environmental Metropolitan Commission, the Secretary of Ecology of the State of Mexico and the National Ecology Institute at a federal level.
"In addition, during this process some representatives of the civil society will be involved, like academics, citizens organizations and entrepreneurs," she said.
Molina's monitoring of toxic particulates less than 10 microns in diameter, revealed that air pollution in Mexico City causes respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. He suggested that the two thermoelectric power plants be moved out of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area.
After six months of work, Molina developed "The Mexico City Case Study," utilizing the findings of a research team led by scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University and an interdisciplinary team of Mexican and American researchers. "What makes this study different from others is that we are working together with authorities in order to give specific actions to the decision makers," said Molina.
The study developed recommendations about measurement of new pollutants and their health effects, new research, transport alternatives and less polluting fuels, the strengthening of institutions and environmental education measurements.
"This is not an air quality program for the government, but a set of guidelines," Dr. Molina pointed out.
All levels of government will work together to establish a reorganization of transportation in Mexico City, "which will have the immediate effect of diminishing air pollutants," Sheinbaum predicted.
Downtown Mexico City in front of the Majestic Hotel (Photo by Worth Weller courtesy Indiana University)
Sheinbaum said three transportation programs will quickly implement the recommendations of Molina's study. First, public buses will be substituted for microbuses, which are the most polluting vehicles on Mexico City's roads. The number of public buses will be doubled from 500 to 1000, and the new buses will use state of the art technology.
Also, the bus routes will be reorganized to follow the subway routes, so that microbuses and buses will go to the all subway stations.
Sheinbaum said that the Mexican government petroleum company, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), will have to produce better quality of gasoline with a lower sulfur content because of the new engine designs that will be purchased for public transportation vehicles.
With the support of other government departments, Sheinbaum is working on a proposal of Dr. Molina's to increase monitoring of diesel vehicles to monitor particles in the air of less than 2.5 microns in diameter.
"We are analyzing the Red Automatica de Monitoreo Atmosferico which has 35 monitoring stations throughout the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. With the assistance of academics we would buy new equipment to monitor these kind of particles," she said.
Although scientists have mapped out a clear path to start solving pollution problems, the new environmental policy is facing social hurdles, such as the Vehicular Verification Program that has caused a division between the authorities of the state of Mexico and those of Mexico City.
Traffic in Mexico City (Photo courtesy Telmex)
Temporarily, vehicles with Mexico City license plates will not be able to be registered in the state of Mexico. To make the new program work, authorities need an accurate count of how many vehicles exist in the state of Mexico. This will allow them to measure the contribution of each vehicle to the total of pollutants emitted.
But the registration centers of the state have refused to do this measurement. To solve the quarrel, Dr. Molina suggested the creation of an independent work group to count and assess vehicles in both entities. This advice appears to have been accepted by authorities of both the state and the federal district.
"We have to make a feasibility study of this program," in order to set priorities for Proaire, Adrián Fernandez of the National Institute of Ecology told ENS.
Fernandez explained that for the improvement of Mexican gasoline PEMEX will have to invest US$2 billion. But, "if we would do so now, we would not have better air quality because we still have an old vehicular fleet," Fernandez warned.
Sergio Sánchez, consultant to the Environmental Metropolitan Area formed by the federal district and state of Mexico, said that environmental authorities plan to strengthen controls over diesel burning transport trucks because they are some of the main contributors to air pollution. "We are not changing an ozone to a particles control strategy, he said, but we will do both simultaneously," he said.
Although there is not currently a budget for Proaire 2001-2010, Sheinbaum said the Mexican government will look for international and national financing to clean up Mexico City's air.
Dr. Mario Molina's research summary is available online at:
http://eaps.mit.edu/megacities/overview.html
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