Air Quality in Singapore

Why Singapore?

Asthma Prevalence in Singapore

Air Quality Regulation: What Makes Singapore Different?

• Despite having undergone urbanization and development, and having a land area of only 714.3 square kilometers for over 4 million people, Singapore meets the US EPA air quality standards for all but one pollutant (PM 2.5), and is consistently ranked as one of the cleanest cities in the world by travel magazines and websites like "Ethisphere."
• Home to the fourth largest port in the world and the third largest oil refining center.
• Singapore is often viewed as the exception to the rule that industrialization and development negatively affect air quality and environmental health.

Air Pollution in Singapore

- In 2006 27.5% of preschool children reported to have had some respiratory symptoms

-11.7% reported having asthma

- Only about 5% of adults in Singapore reported suffering the disease

- Interestingly, there was little to no difference in prevalence among children of different ethnic backgrounds, but in 1996 Indian and Malay adults reported asthma rates approximately double those of Chinese Singaporeans.

Major Pollutants:

• Sulfur Oxides
• Nitrogen Oxides
• Hydrocarbons
• Carbon Dioxide
• Particulate Matter

• Clean Air Initiative began in the 1960s, shortly after Singapore achieved self-government.
• The government quickly identified pollution as a threat to society
• Strict air-quality regulation and monitoring

Sources:

Motor Vehicle Emissions

Oil Refineries

Petrochemical Complexes

Pharmaceutical Plants

Electronic Industries

Burning of fossil fuels for energy production

Open burning of waste materials

Transboundary haze

Ng, T. P., K. P. Hui, and W. C. Tan. “Prevalence of Asthma and Risk Factors Among Chinese, Malay, and Indian Adults in Singapore.” Thorax 49.4 (1994): 347–351. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.

Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Core,_Singapore,_Oct_06.JPG

Background

• Epidemiological research suggests a link between asthma rates and air pollution
• Links between ambient air quality levels and increased asthma morbidity
• Air pollution is often connected to urbanization and development.

“After independence, I searched for some dramatic way to distinguish ourselves from other Third World countries. I settled for a clean and green Singapore. One arm of my strategy was to make Singapore into an oasis in Southeast Asia, for if we had First World standards, then businessmen and tourists would make us a base for their business and tours of the region.”

-Lee Kuan Yew

http://dinmerican.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/lee-kuan-yew.jpg

Air Quality and Asthma Rates:

Sources

• Hamilton-Hart, Natasha. “Singapore’s Climate Change Policy: The Limits of Learning.” Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs 28.3 (2006): 363–384. Print.
• Jindal, Surinder K. “Bronchial Asthma: The Indian Scene.” Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine 13.1 (2007): 8–12. Web. 7 Sept. 2012.
• Koh Kheng-Lian. A Singapore Case Study: Cleaning Up Air Pollution in a Generation. Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002.
• ---. ASEAN Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 1985: A Study in Environmental Governance. 2003. Print.
• Koh, Kheng-Lian. “Asean Environmental Protection in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development: Convergence Versus Divergence.” Macquarie Journal of International and Comparative Environmental Law 4 (2007): 43. Print.
• Ng, T. P., K. P. Hui, and W. C. Tan. “Prevalence of Asthma and Risk Factors Among Chinese, Malay, and Indian Adults in Singapore.” Thorax 49.4 (1994): 347–351. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.
• Pal, Ranabir, Sanjay Dahal, and Shrayan Pal. “Prevalence of Bronchial Asthma in Indian Children.” Indian Journal of Community Medicine 34.4 (2009): 310. Web. 8 Sept. 2012.
• Lee Yuen Hee. “Singapore - Clean, Green, and Sustainable.”
• Wang, X. S. et al. “The Prevalence of Asthma and Allergies in Singapore; Data from Two ISAAC Surveys Seven Years Apart.” Archives of Disease in Childhood 89.5 (2004): 423–426. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.
• “Map Showing Locations of Air Monitoring Stations.” Print.
• Country Synthesis Report on Urban Air Quality Management: Singapore. Asian Development Bank and the Clean Air Initiiative for Asian Cities Center, 2006. Print.

An Asthma Profile of Singapore

A Part of The Asthma Files Project

Conclusion

A Timeline of Regulation

• While it is difficult to draw conclusions based on a handful of studies, it seems that Singapore’s focus on environmental regulation has had a positive impact on asthma prevalence.
• This is not to say that Asthma is nonexistant within Singapore, only that perhaps there exists some other causation.
• A 1996 study on asthma prevalence in adults suggest indoor air pollution (from tobacco smoke, allergens, and other factors), as well as genetic factors could be to blame.

During this time, Singapore underwent rapid industrialization and urbanization. The population in 1960 was 1.64 million. By 2002, it had jumped to 4.13 million.

As the population increased, the Master Plan, which had previously focused on land use, shifted its focus to pollution. More attention was paid to the siting of heavily polluting industrial plants.

Vegetation coverage has actually increased from 666 square km in 1986 to 700 square km in 2007 (an 11% increase)

Presented By:

Lisa McDevitt

B.S. Geology and Sustainability Studies

Class of 2014

Air Quality Monitoring

A Comparison on Singapore’s Air Pollution Levels to US EPA Standards

Did Urbanization Affect Asthma Rates in Singapore? Effectiveness of Regulation

The National Environmental Agency

Map of air quality monitoring stations, from the NEA website

“By protecting Singapore's resources from pollution, maintaining a high level of public health and providing timely meteorological information, the NEA endeavors to ensure sustainable development and a quality living environment for present and future generations.”

-From the NEA Website

According to a two-phase ISAAC Study, which measured asthma prevalence in children first in 1994, then again in 2001, asthma rates actually decreased in children ages 6-7, and increased only slightly in older children (age 12-15).

During this time, Singapore underwent urbanization and increasing affluence.

Up until 1994, asthma rates had been increasing.

• 4 Areas of Focus:
• Public Health
• Waste Management
• Pollution Control
• Energy Efficiency

Source: Country Synthesis Report on Urban Air Quality Management: Singapore. Asian Development Bank and the Clean Air Initiiative for Asian Cities Center, 2006. Print.