AIR POLLUTION IN KATHMANDU VALLEY

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 000357


DEPT FOR OES/PCI, SCA/INS, AND SCA/RA
USAID FOR ANE/SAA
EPA FOR FREEMAN
BANGKOK FOR BOWMAN, PASCH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TBIO EAID XD NP
SUBJECT: AIR POLLUTION IN KATHMANDU VALLEY

Summary
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1. Air pollution in Kathmandu Valley is bad and getting worse, but
no substantial effort is being conducted to address the problem.
Its impact on the most vulnerable, the young, and the elderly is
severe. Numerous studies have shown a strong linkage between the
level of air pollution and the sharp rise in respiratory illnesses
in the city. The major sources of air pollution are vehicular
emissions, road dust, and brick kilns. Recent forest fires have
contributed to the particulate matter in the Kathmandu Valley air.
Efforts to address air pollution were made in the past but have not
been sustained. If prompt and effective steps are not taken to
improve Kathmandu's air quality, the health of Kathmandu residents
will continue to suffer.

The Limits of Infrastructure
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2. Kathmandu Valley's population, which increased by 45 percent from
1990 to 2000, is stretching the limits of the Valley's public
infrastructure. The Valley's current population is estimated at
between 2.5 and 3 million although there has been no reliable census
since 2001. The Valley's infrastructure is inadequate to keep up
with rapid population growth; an increasing number of motor
vehicles; and burgeoning demands for housing, water, electricity,
and waste management services.


3. Kathmandu Valley's air pollution has attracted scrutiny from
international organizations. Data published by the World Health
Organization (WHO) in 2006 showed that Kathmandu was among the
world's most polluted cities and consistently exceeded the WHO
ambient particulate matter standards by a factor of 20. More
recently, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) marked World
Meteorological Day 2009 by citing lethal air pollution in Asian
cities such as Kathmandu, Karachi, New Delhi, Dhaka, Shanghai,
Beijing and Mumbai.


4. Kathmandu Valley is particularly vulnerable to air pollution
because its bowl-shaped topography restricts air movements. During
winter, thermal inversions result in a layer of cool air holding
down warmer air, trapping pollutants close to ground level during
daylight hours.

Air-born Particulates
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5. Kathmandu's high levels of particulate matter originate from
motor vehicles, brick kilns, road dust, and other sources. A 2000
study conducted by Nepal Environment and Scientific Services (NESS)
found that the 24-hour average of particulate matter smaller than 10
microns (known as PM10) in the atmosphere ranged from a high of 495
micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) to a low of 49ug/m3. In core,
sub-core, and rural areas of the Valley, the average PM10 values
were 225, 135 and 126ug/m3, respectively. In comparison, the WHO
international air quality standard is 50ug/m3.


6. More recently, a Government of Nepal (GON) Ministry of
Environment, Science and Technology (MOEST) air quality monitoring
study carried out from 2002-2005 reported high levels of air
pollution, with average PM10 concentrations hovering between
133ug/m3 and 122ug/m3. Suspended particulate matter less than 2.5
microns in diameter (PM2.5),which is regarded as extremely harmful
to the human body, was also found to exceed both international and
national standards. It ranged from 50ug/m3 to 100ug/m3, well above
WHO's standard of 10ug/m3.

Sources of Air Pollution
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7. A 2006 MOEST study of PM10 found that vehicle emissions caused 38
percent of the PM10 in the air; suspended dust contributed 25
percent; agriculture 18 percent; brick kilns 11 percent; and the
remainder from various sources. In the last decade, the number of
motor vehicles in Kathmandu Valley has increased by 15 percent
annually and now totals about half a million, of which roughly
350,000 are motorcycles. Poor transport management, shoddy vehicle
maintenance, adulterated fuel, chronic traffic congestion on narrow
roads, and frequent political demonstrations and strikes with
burning tires all make a bad situation worse.


8. The contribution of road dust to Valley's air pollution may be
greater than the 25 percent share that studies suggest. Unpaved
sidewalks, badly maintained roads, unregulated construction, and the
transport of uncovered building materials spew large amounts of dust
into the air.


9. The number of brick kilns is growing steadily along the periphery
of the Valley. The GON had attempted several times to stop the
licensing of brick kilns, but it has been unable to make its efforts
stick. The Kathmandu building spree that began in the 1980s
continues, fueled by remittances from overseas Nepalis, and keeps
bricks in high demand. Burning garbage and open solid fuel cooking
fires contribute black carbon soot to the air.


10. The level of air pollution peaks during the winter season in
Kathmandu. To date, 2009 has been a usually dry year and thousands
of hectares of forests in the mountains have burned, producing
air-borne soot and intensifying the air pollution problem in the
Valley.

Health Impacts
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11. According to the WHO, air pollution is responsible for
respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that cause over 800,000
premature deaths world-wide due to outdoor air pollution.
PM10-sized pollutants that lodge into the upper respiratory tract
cause significant damage to human health. Smaller particles are
more dangerous because they penetrate deep into the lungs and
seriously damage the body's respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
WHO calculates that a 10ug/m3 rise in PM2.5 concentration increases
lung cancer risk by 8 percent, cardio-pulmonary deaths by 6 percent,
and all deaths by 4 percent.


12. A 2003 study conducted by Clean Energy Nepal (CEN) and
Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO) estimated that
reducing PM2.5 levels in Kathmandu by half would reduce mortality by
7 percent and hospital admissions by 24 percent. Similarly,
reducing the annual average PM10 to international standards, i.e.
50ug/m3, would avoid 2,000 hospital admissions, over 40,000
emergency room visits, over 135,000 cases of acute bronchitis, and
500,000 asthma attacks. Overall, this means over 5 million
restricted activity days and 32 million days with respiratory
problems could be avoided.


13. In addition, a 2001 NESS study found that high PM10 levels in
Kathmandu resulted in 92 premature deaths in children below five
years of age and 65,000 cases of respiratory cases per year. In
2002 CEN found that brick kilns had a deleterious effect on the
health of nearby residents - particularly the elderly and children
up to the age of 4. The study showed that the incidence of lower
respiratory infection was 8 times higher in children living next to
brick kilns than in children living in a controlled area.


14. Similarly, an analysis of hospital records in the Valley has
shown that patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease (COPD) have increased significantly. In Patan Hospital the
number of patients admitted with COPD doubled (from 407 to 849) from
1997 to 2003. In Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital, the
largest hospital in the Valley, the number of COPD patients doubled
from 225 in 1993 to 568 in 2002.


15. Hospital records also show that the COPD patients comprise a
large percent of the total patients admitted to Valley hospitals,
ranging from 13 to 24 percent of the total patient population.
There is a sharp rise in COPD cases in the winter months when
pollution levels peak. An analysis of Patan Hospital records shows
that the probability of having COPD is almost 2 times higher for
Valley residents than for residents living outside the Valley.

Asthma in Children
--------------


16. Recently, a U.S.-trained Nepali pediatrician told the Embassy's
environmental specialist, whose three-year old son has been
struggling with asthma since he was a year old, that she used to see
only 5-6 moderate to serious cases of childhood asthma cases per
year. But within the last 4 years, she said that the number of
cases had jumped to over 100, equivalent to a 15-fold increase in
asthma cases at her clinic. In addition, she reported that
increasingly very young infants were being afflicted with asthma.
It was extremely worrying to her that infants, who are usually
protected from asthma by immunities in their mother's milk, were
affected.


17. Many of her young asthma patients were on constant medication.
She believes that asthma is virtually an epidemic among Valley
children, but due to a lack of health care statistics, the enormity
of the problem has not been recognized.

Initial Anti-Pollution Efforts
--------------


18. GON efforts to address air pollution were initially promising.
The GON stopped the import of highly polluting, three-wheeled,
diesel vehicles in 1991; made annual vehicular emission tests
mandatory in 1995; and completely banned the diesel three wheelers
in 1999. In 2002, the GON banned two-stroke vehicles that burned a
toxic mixture of oil and gasoline. In the same year, the GON banned
the use of traditional highly polluting brick kilns and introduced
Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) technology. The new technology
burns fuel more efficiently, hence reducing emissions, and requires
a tall chimney to disperse emissions high into the air. In addition,
the GON introduced national ambient air quality standards in 2003.
A Danish-funded ambient air quality monitoring program found that
air pollution had been progressively reduced from 2002 to 2005 as a
result of these measures.


19. Despite initially promising steps, the level of unplanned growth
in the Valley and a myriad of political and management issues have
rendered the GON efforts impotent to address rapidly deteriorating
air quality. The GON has been unable to put in place facilities and
trained personnel to implement its environmental regulations. In
most cases, these regulations are ignored or bypassed. With a
politically weak MOEST and no environmental protection agency, air
pollution has fallen to the bottom of the national agenda.


20. Although a National Air Pollution Action Plan is said to be in
draft, it is not expected to be presented to donors at the National
Development Forum on May 12-14, 2009. For better or worse, MOEST is
now focused on the issue of climate change, which is attracting
substantial donor funding to Nepal, and making no effort to address
the more immediate problem of air pollution.

Finding Solutions
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21. Because of the growing threat to the health of Kathmandu Valley
residents, the GON should make air pollution a priority. Although
numerous studies have been conducted, many of them are dated and the
health effects of air pollution that Valley residents are currently
experiencing are not fully recognized. Policy makers need to
address the issue with urgency and resources. To make progress on
air pollution, assistance from the international donor community
will be needed.


22. The steps that the GON could take immediately are
to regulate brick kilns effectively and to phase out diesel vehicle
traffic from Kathmandu Valley. The GON could start with a credible
action plan, a public relations campaign, and serious measures to
enforce its annual vehicle emissions tests. The GON could also
increase import duties on diesel trucks and buses, and remove the
subsidies on non-farm diesel vehicles. A 1997 World Bank study
showed that 80 percent of vehicular pollution came from 20 percent
of the Valley's vehicles, mostly old buses and trucks. Banning the
worst of these vehicles could significantly reduce emissions and
improve air quality.

POWELL