MANILA, Philippines - In the Philippines, the quality of breathable air is suffering at an alarming rate, most especially in urban centers like Metro Manila. According to the Manila Observatory, the country’s oldest weather information service, the most significant source of particulate pollution in Metro Manila is the transport sector. This sector’s contribution is consistently substantial, varying from 50 to 90 percent at various sampling sites in the city all throughout the year.
While sitting in traffic may test one’s patience every now and then, the health effects from exposure to air pollution are more serious. A World Health Organization (WHO) study confirms that air pollution kills three times more than vehicular accidents, while a Philippine Environment Monitor report in 2007 confirms that one out of eight premature deaths are caused by air pollution.
Recent incidences of smog formation over Metro Manila are indications of continued deterioration of air quality, especially at a time when the cold spell that comes during the holiday season is its main agent.
While the government has made strides in its efforts to combat air pollution, the implementation of environmental laws continue to affect those who are most vulnerable to it: ordinary people, especially pregnant women, children and the elderly.
More developed countries have reduced the volume of vehicles on their streets, and effectively promoted public transportation, even non-motorized forms of travel like walking and hiking among their citizens. Korea, Japan and Singapore have taken strides to follow their European counterparts, wherein carmakers in the region have created technologies that lead to environmentally friendly cars.
In the Philippines, efforts by the government and concerned NGOs have created awareness that air pollution is something that all of us should fight through simple acts.
Boysen KNOxOUT represents a big change in what paint can do. Traditionally paint has been used to protect and beautify structures such as walls, doors and roofs. Now, KNOxOUT introduces a new concept: paint that protects people from the ill effects of air pollution. While most eco-friendly paints are focused on low VOC levels to minimize their negative impact on the environment, Boysen KNOxOUT establishes a new paradigm for green paints — that of an eco-ACTive paint with Air Cleaning Technology, which effectively transforms painted areas into “air purifiers” that continuously work to reduce air pollution and improve the environment.
KNOxOUT is the first air-cleaning paint in the world with CristalActiv photo-catalytic technology that effectively transforms painted areas into air-purifying surfaces that help protect people from the ill health effects of air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It contains photo-catalytic titanium dioxide (TiO2), which upon exposure to light, transforms ordinary water vapor to free radicals that break down NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the two components of smog. Harmful NOx gas is converted to nitric acid that is rapidly neutralized by alkaline calcium carbonate particle in the paint, producing harmless quantities of calcium nitrate and negligible amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water.
Already, its clean-air initiative project called “One Wall, One World” has been implemented in key cities in Metro Manila like Marikina and Makati, where the positive effects of using Boysen KNOxOUT is already felt by the residents. For more information about KNOxOUT and the One Wall, One World initiative, visit http://www.knoxoutpaints.com or http://www.onewalloneworld.com.