Chile Forum

The solution that the geniuses managing the area have found is to add 10,000 hectares of peripheral sprawl to the Plan Regulador. Yay, let's get more people stuck in longer commutes, that will do wonders for air quality. Meanwhile, decaying buildings and landfills are still littering central areas. You can't argue with stupid.

I'd be interested to know from more experienced foreros about their HEPA air purifier use. I have two set up on different ends of our apartment and run them for maybe 15 mins at a time. Sometimes I run the one in the bedroom all night. Anyone have have any advice as to get the best utility over energy consumption?

Px, excellent info. Thanks for your time to address my question.
@snobrd4life: good q's. The search function provides some information, but I cannot find discussion re: best use.

Besides "not live here" "move to other area of the city" "Install awesome central air filtration system"etc....

What are some good ways to deal with polluted air? I'm from Wisconsin so the worst I've ever had to worry about is a strong, warm wind that smells like cows. Portable air filter? Those funky white doctor masks? I'm the laziest of lazy, so besides the occasional bike ride or walking around the city, I don't really do any exercise during the Winter (summers a different story...)

I already have plants in my apartment... I'm not sure if that actually helps, but I like to think it does.

patagoniax wrote:

wiscondinavian wrote:

... I'm not sure if that actually helps, but I like to think it does.

You already know the answer to your question, but are unwilling to take the step, even to save your health and life. This is not unusual.

We all make poor choices that affect our health every day. Exercising too much, not exercising enough. Eating too much, not eating enough. Sitting down all day, standing up all day. Eating high fructose corn syrup, eating artificial sweeteners. Too much stress. Flying in airplanes frequently (omigod cancerrrrr). Whatever.

My choice is to stay in Santiago for the next few years while my fiance finishes university. I'd rather be in Podunk, Kansas, but whatever. I'm sucking it up for a couple years. Any real advice? Because you really only seem to have 2 modes: useful advice and spiteful old fart. Get over yourself.

W, look into broken cell wall chlorella. Been taking it for years for different reasons - a valuable supplement to a good health regimen. (Google "chlorella pollution")
Just be sure to obtain from a stellar source. (i.e., Japanese sources/radiation) Send me a PM if you need more info.

You have an excellent reason to be in Stgo and "sucking it up" (!) for a few years. I would do the same under the circumstances. However, the pollution here is a serious health hazard. Px may have been blunt, but he's correct. Don't shoot the messenger. You (again, I would too) choose to risk your health by staying.
Adjusting to dysfunction is a compromise, albeit in your situation, noble.
Mitigating the problem with a good air filter, plants, supplements, etc. is better than taking no action, but is no guarantee. This level of pollution is not to be taken lightly.

patagoniax wrote:Vehicle restrictions for plates ending in 9, 0, 1, and 2 . Burning restrictions, recommendations about restricting outdoor activities, the usual.

I see little or no enforcement of other road rules (e.g. running/jumping red lights, speaking on mobile phones).
Do the Carabineros (or anyone else) even enforce the vehicle restrictions related to air pollution?

Are there air pollution restrictions in any other parts of the country besides Santiago (obviously based upon their respective air quality)?
If so, what are the URLs of government websites which document them? I will put them on the wiki.
(I will dig out the URL of the Santiago vehicle restrictions webpage from the similar thread ~1 year ago.)

What is the current PM10 level for Santiago? I have searched and only came up with years 200 & 2007. I did mange to find a webpage that had the data but was unable to gain access because I lacked proper "credencials" I guess they just dont let anyone have that info.

Note that I am only referring to the validated data from the currently approved monitoring stations. There are also "unvalidated" data from the stations at Puente Alto, Talagante, and Quilicura.

Is it at all possible that the validated data can/could be cooked? What causes data to be unvalidated?

Anecdote: My eyes are burning pretty good. Took me all day to realize it's due to the pollution. And I'm in an area that has relatively lower ug/m3.

Pre-emergencia today. If your license plate ends in 5 or 6 you cannot take it on the road between 7:30 am and 9 pm.

I bought three HEPA filters from Sodimac at the start of the winter, one in the living room, one in our bedroom (with our two month old baby) and one for our daughter´s room. I have basically run them day and night since April.

The impact on my electricity bill hasn't been as bad as I thought and anyway, with two young kids in the house, I don't care.

I use this website for air quality, not sure if there is a better one.
http://www.emol.com/guia_servicios/_portada/index.asp