DENR AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS

OPERATIONAL STARTING OCTOBER

The first two Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS), the Manila Observatory (at the Ateneo de Manila University) in Quezon City and the Marulas Transmitter Station in Valenzuela City, will be simultaneously launched on October 1, Wednesday. The formal launching ceremony will be conducted at the Manila Observatory, inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus, where the AQMS shelter is located. DENR Secretary Elisea Gozun and EMB Director Julian Amador will lead the first public demonstration of the AQMS operations.

The Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS) generate ambient air data for use of EMB-DENR as basis for intervention projects or policy formulation. These stations will provide hourly air quality data that the public can also view in real time thru its electronic billboard.

Among the criteria pollutants to be monitored by the AQMS are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matters and ozone. Likewise, to be monitored are non-criteria pollutants such as Benzene, Toluene and Xylene (BTX) and other essential meteorological data. The quality assured data generated from the stations would be automatically delivered to EMB Central Office through the use of a remote data acquisition system. Seven other stationary monitoring stations located within the airshed of Metro Manila will be subsequently operational in the next months covering the Regions III, IV and NCR.