DENR Issues Guidelines for the Designation of Attainment and
Non-attainment Areas in an Airshed
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Michael
Defensor recently released the guidelines for the designation of attainment and
non-attainment areas in an airshed. DENR Memorandum Circular No, 013, series of
2005 issued last September 12, 2005, sets the guidelines for the designation.
Said designation of airsheds shall be based on the monitoring data collected,
using the reference and other equivalent methods approved by the DENR’s
Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) pursuant to Part II of the DENR
Administrative Order 2000-81 and/or other relevant information, including
meteorological and other data covering the existing nearby sources of air
pollution.
Attainment
Areas in an airshed are those that comply with the so-called criteria
pollutants for which National Ambient Air Quality Guidelines Values have been
established, for the protection of public health, safety and general welfare.
Until officially classified, areas that are not yet classified due to
incomplete or invalid data are also included. Non-attainment areas are those
that do not comply with the said guideline values, excluding those with samples
affected by natural, human-made or induced events/activity. The National
Ambient Air Quality Guidelines Values identify the criteria pollutants as Total
Suspended Particulate, Particulate Matter of 10 microns in diameter or smaller,
Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, photochemical oxidants like Ozone, Carbon
Monoxide, and Lead.
Tony/AIRSHEDMO013newsrelease
Let's All Act to Clean the Air!