Design and Implementation of an Information System : Environment and Respiratory Health in the Oran Region

The review of the literature published on the impacts of air pollution on human health allows the following conclusions to be drawn:

The links between air pollution and human health are difficult to establish:To establish these links and assess their significance, two approaches are developed: animal and/or human toxicological studies and epidemiological studies. Each of these complementary approaches has its own limitations, which do not always make interpretation easy.

There are convergent and convincing results regarding short-term effects:The consistency of associations found between certain health indicators (mortality, respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity) and ambient levels of air pollutants gives these results a form of validation. These effects result either from the direct toxicity of pollutants or from a weakening of the body’s defense mechanisms against bacterial, viral, or allergic aggressions.

There are target populations:Although there is considerable inter-individual variability in sensitivity to air pollutants, it is clear that some populations are more sensitive or vulnerable. This includes children, the elderly, and individuals suffering from asthma, chronic bronchitis, or cardiovascular diseases.

Long-term effects are more uncertain:Hypotheses have been formulated regarding relationships between certain respiratory cancers and automobile pollution, or a reduction in survival for prolonged exposure to polluted air. However, knowledge of the long-term effects of air pollution on health remains difficult to determine due to constraints of follow-up and time.

Perception of the health effects of air pollution has evolved:It is clear that populations, relayed by civil society movements, increasingly tolerate the health effects of air pollution less.

Monitoring tools remain insufficient:Assessment of air pollution relies mainly on air quality monitoring networks. However, this monitoring is neither comprehensive (in terms of territory) nor exhaustive (in terms of types of pollutants). Even in developed countries, many large cities still lack monitoring. Effective monitoring also requires that collected data be reliable, valid, and representative of population exposure, that specific pollutant effects and dose-response relationships be known, and that exposure limit values be established. Finally, since these networks are not coupled with health monitoring networks, they remain insufficient to effectively protect populations.

Several difficulties are encountered in assessing the impacts of air pollution on public health:

Absence or insufficiency of measurement stations to quantify air pollution and thus assess air quality. Two air quality monitoring networks are currently operating in Algiers and Annaba under the SAMASAFIA (MATE) project; Oran is concerned with this project in a second phase starting in 2004.Absence of intersectoral actions (health, environment, public authorities, transport, etc.) and frameworks for exchange and consultation.Lack of continuity in initiated actions: by the late 1980s, the National Agency for Environmental Protection (ANPE) had fixed and mobile air quality stations, but the first urban monitoring network was only established in the late 1990s.High cost of monitoring equipment and maintenance.Insufficient strength of the citizen movement to achieve sustainable solutions.

Thus, the establishment of air quality monitoring networks in Algeria reflects awareness and recognition of the need to protect populations from a health perspective (civil society reaction, globalization of the environment, international requirements). Due to the large volume of information produced by environmental monitoring networks, it is not always possible to intervene in time to develop preventive actions, particularly those targeting the most sensitive and vulnerable individuals (physically and socially).

Therefore, the implementation of an environmental and health information system in urban and industrial areas in the Oran region is essential to:

Better identify the main sources of air pollution, especially in industrial areas,Establish a data collection system for respiratory morbidity and mortality,Better understand the health situation (for respiratory diseases) in relation to specific regional characteristics (urban policy, development of industrial activities in certain urban fabrics, affected population groups, etc.),Analyze the risks and probable impacts of air pollution and meteorological conditions on the health of the Oran population,Provide a mapping tool that will serve as a management instrument for decision-makers,Develop prevention strategies taking air pollution into account,Propose local thresholds for environmental risk in urban and industrial areas.