Chile: Air Pollution

Chile faces a constant issue of air pollution, reaping respiratory health problems for citizens in urban areas. While the many cases over the past century have increased officials to take action on the issue, the growing infrastructure and economy of the country makes it difficult to regulate harmful emissions. Wood-burning heaters within urban residential areas also contribute to the unhealthy smog. Ingestion of these forms of matter in the air causes respiratory symptoms such as bronchitis and cardiovascular disease. Bans on such heaters and taxes on vehicle emissions were placed in order to prevent the severity of pollutants in the air. However, there is a struggle to treat symptoms smog has created since there are various diseases that can be developed. Education on ways to avoid breathing in large amounts of pollutants and relocating large contributing factories and businesses to more rural areas are all necessary attacks against the country’s air pollution issue