Mariano Marcos
State University

MMSU earns ‘good’ air quality rating in DENR-EMB Q2 Report

By Benedict Jay Collado

Mariano Marcos State University has been reported to have ‘good’ outdoor air quality according to the Air Quality Index of the Quarter 2 Report of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 1 transmitted last July 7.

The report highlighted a positive trend in campus outdoor air quality from April through June, with consistently healthy conditions.

To track environmental safety, the DENR continuous monitoring station inside MMSU regularly measures two critical airborne pollutants: PM10, the larger floating particles like road dust, pollen, and ash,  and PM2.5, which are the microscopic particles from car exhaust, burning farm fields, and smoke. 

Recorded PM10 levels consistently remained below the maximum threshold of 150 micrograms per cubic meter of air. As a result, the campus was officially reported to have a good rating on the index scale, indicating that the outdoor conditions were clean and safe for daily academic and athletic activities.

While overall results proved highly favorable, PM2.5, or the fine smoke particles, presented a brief temporary hurdle during the earlier half of the quarter. Out of the 91 days of the monitoring period, sixteen days (about 18% of the period) exceeded the national guideline limit of 35 micrograms per cubic meter for fine matter. The pollution spike occurred during the dry months of April and May, when the weather conditions naturally favor pollutant accumulation.

The evaluators attributed these temporary spikes to a combination of seasonal dry weather, agricultural crop-burning in nearby farming areas, unpaved road dust, and local motor vehicle emissions. But the situation shifted gradually by June, resulting in zero exceedances in the national safety limits for fine particulate matter.

Additionally, the report also cited the role meteorological conditions play in clearing the campus skies, as they recorded an average temperature of 31.87°C along with standard atmospheric pressure readings, making warm conditions that eventually shifted into seasonal rains that washed floating pollutants out of the air. 

The prevailing winds blew most frequently from the northeast, which helped greatly in the situation as a natural ventilator that dispersed floating smoke and dust away from populated campus facilities at speeds up to 4.28 meters per second.

With this evaluation, MMSU President Virgilio Julius P. Manzano said that the university will make use of the findings to further improve the air quality of the university. “We thank DENR for giving us a comprehensive report, because in this way, we know what we have to do in the coming months, and rest assured that the university will continue to make our campus a breathable space for students, employees, and the larger community.”