Argentina - Managing environmental pollution : issues and options (Vol. 2 of 2) : Technical report

Report No. 14070-AR Argentina Managing Environmental Pollution: Issues and Options (In Two Volumes) Volume II: Technical Report October 16, 1995 Environment and Urban Development Division Country Department I Latin America and the Caribbean Region 0'0' 1u110t ofth Wod ;ahk ''~~~~~~~ .' ', ''S '}. *,  Currency Equivalents Currency Unit - Argentine Peso (A$) US$1 = A$1 Weights And Measures The Metric System is used throughout this report. Fiscal Year January 1 to December 31  Acronyms AA Gran Buenos Aires Water Utility (Aguas Argentinas) AMBA Area Metropolitana de Buenos Aires CEAMSE Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires Solid Waste Disposal Company (Coordinaci6n Ecol6gica Area Metropolitana) COFAPYS Federal Water and Sanitation Council (Consejo Federal de Agua Potable y Saneamiento) COFEMA Federal Council for the Environment (Consejo Federal del Medio Ambiente) ETOSS Water Regulatory Entity for Gran Buenos Aires (Ente Tripartito de Obras y Servicios Sanitarios) EU European Union GBA Gran Buenos Aires IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development IDB Inter-American Development Bank INCYTH National Institute for Science and Water Resources (Instituto Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnica Hidrica) MERCOSUR Southern Cone Common Market (Mercado Comzun del Sur) NAFTA North-American Free Trade Agreement OPS Pan-American Health Organization (Organizaci6n Panamericana de Salud) SERNAH National Environment Secretariat (Secretaria de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente Humano) WHO World Health Organization Different sources use different definitions for termns that describe the agglomeration in and around Buenos Aires. In this report, the term Gran Buenos Aires (GBA) refers to the following jurisdictions: Capital Federal, Avellaneda, Lanus, Lomas de Zamora, Almirante Brown, Esteban Echeverria, La Matanza, Mor6n, Tres de Febrero, San Martin, Vicente L6pez, San Isidro, San Fernando, Tigre. This area coincides with the concession area of Aguas Argentinas. The term Area Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (AMBA) refers to the above listed jurisdictions plus Quilmes, Berazategui, Florencio Varela, Merlo, Moreno, and General Sarmiento. The attached map shows the extent of GBA and AMBA.   Abbreviations BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand CFC Chlorofluorocarbon COD Chemical Oxygen Demand EIA Environmental Impact Assessment GDP Gross Domestic Product GHG Greenhouse Gases GNP Gross National Product HC Hydrocarbon NPV Net Present Value ODS Ozone Depleting Substances PM10 Particulate Matter (less than 10 micron in diameter) PPP Purchasing Power Parity RAD Restricted Activity Days SPM Suspended Particulate Matter TSS Total Suspended Solids VOC Volatile Organic Compounds WTP Willingness to Pay This report is based on the findings of a mission that visited Argentina in September 1994. The mission included Messrs/Mmes: Andres Liebenthal (Mission Leader and Principal Economist), Joachim von Amsberg (Economist), Antonio Estache (Senior Economist, Institutions), Sergio Margulis (Economist, Benefit Valuation), Gordon Hughes (Economist, Industry and Trade), Bekir Onursal (Industrial Pollution Specialist), Sabine Cornelius (Economist, Urban Transport), Alberto Ninio (Legal Specialist), Nora Clichevsky (Architect, Consultant), Emanuel Idelovitch (Sanitary Engineer, Consultant), Claudio Joseph (Industrial Specialist, Consultant), and James Listorti (Environmental Health Specialist, Consultant). This report was produced under the supervision of Mr. Gobind Nankani, Director; Mr. Asif Faiz, Division Chief, Environment and Urban Development; and Mr. Danny Leipziger, Lead Economist, Country Department 1, Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office. The peer reviewers for the early drafts were Jeffrey Hammer, Joseph Leitmann and John Redwood. The final draft of this report was discussed with the Government in June 1995.  m  Contents Volume I: Summary Report Main Findings ......................................................3 Managing Municipal Water Quality and Sewage ......................................................5 Managing Industrial Pollution ..................................................... 11 Managing Transport-Related Pollution ..................................................... 16 Managing Municipal Solid Wastes ..................................................... 21 Institutional Aspects of Environmental Management ..................................................... 22 Towards an Integrated Plan of Action ..................................................... 27 Volume 11: Technical Report 1. Pollution Problems and Their Cost ......................................................5 Background and Objective ......................................................5 Types and Extent of Pollution ......................................................7 Water Resources Contamination ..................................................... .7 Air Pollution ..................................................... 10 Hazardous Wastes ..................................................... 13 Solid Waste ..................................................... 13 Noise Problems ..................................................... 13 The Effects of Pollution on Health ..................................................... 14 Indications from the Health Data ..................................................... 14 Health Effects of Water Contamination and Poverty ..................................................... 16 Respiratory Diseases and Urban Air Pollution ....................................... 19 Lead Pollution ..................................................... 22 Other Effects of Pollution on Health ..................................................... . 22 The Non-Health Costs of Pollution ..................................................... 23 The Costs of Surface Water Pollution in Gran Buenos Aires . ......................................... 24 Market Access ..................................................... 27 Global Externalities ..................................................... 27 Priorities and Recommendations ..................................................... 28 2. Managing Municipal Water Pollution and Sewage ..................................................... 31 Current Situation and Institutional Framework ..................................................... 31 Policy Issues ..................................................... 34 Service Expansion ..................................................... 35 The Benefits of Sanitation Services ..................................................... 36 Addressing Obstacles to Service Expansion ..................................................... 38 Sevice Cost Reductions ..................................................... 41 Services in Low Income Neighborhoods ..................................................... 42 Water Quality ..................................................... 44 Sewage Treatment and Disposal ..................................................... 45 Recommendations ..................................................... 47  3. Managing Industrial Pollution .................................................,,,,,,,,.. 51 Problems and Current Policies . 51 Manufacturing Industry in Buenos Aires . 51 Industrial Pollution Control Scenarios . 55 Implementing a Strategy for Industrial Pollution Management . 57 Large Enterprises . 59 Medium and Small Enterprises . 61 Policy Instruments for Pollution Control Management . 63 Hazardous Waste Management . 66 Institutional Arrangements . 68 Environmental Policy and International Competitiveness . 69 Recommendations ........................ ........ 71 4. Managing Transport Sector Pollution ..75 Current Situation and Problems ..75 Transport Related Pollution ..77 Fuel Choice 78 Emission Standards and Vehicle Maintenance . . .79 Congestion Management and Modal Choice . .........................................,.,. 81 Urban Spatial Management .83 Recommendations ..84 5. Managing Solid Wastes .87 Current Situation .87 Policy Issues .89 Solid Waste Collection and Disposal .89 Recycling .89 Recommendations .90 6. Institutional Aspects of Environmental Management .93 Lessons from the International Experience with Environmental Management .93 The Current Institutional Situation 95 Issues with the Current Management System .99 Steps Towards a Reform of Environmental Institutions .100 The Role of the Legal System in Environmental Management. .10104 The Management of Environmental Information and Participation .106 Recommendations.,,108.............., 108 7. Towards an Integrated Plan of Action .112 The Principles of a Pollution Control Strategy .112 Priority Interventions 114 Recommendations for a Plan of Action .115 Annex: References .121 Map: 26841 - Gran Buenos Aires and Gran La Plata Map: 26842 - Argentina  Figures Figure 1 Water Supply Coverage - International Comparison ................................................... 9 Figure 2 Diarrhea and Water Supply in Jujuy ........................................................ 18 Figure 3 Comparison of Water and Sewage Service Coverage ..................................................... 32 Figure 4 Groundwater Pollution Problems ........................................................ 33 Figure 5 Projection of Unserved Population in GBA ........................................................ 35 Figure 6 Cross Subsidy from Existing to New Customers of Water/Sanitation Services ............... 40 Figure 7 Discharges within the Aguas Argentinas Concession ...................................................... 55 Figure 8 Organigram of SERNAH ........................................................ 96 Text Boxes Box I Air Pollution Monitoring in Buenos Aires .........................................................1 I Box 2 The Evaluation of Morbidity and Mortality ........................................................ 17 Box 3 Water Supply and Diarrhea in Jujuy ........................................................ 19 Box 4 The Application of Dose-Response Functions to PM,( Reductions in Buenos Aires ............................................... 20 Box 5 Evaluation of Damages from Lead Pollution ............................................... 2 1 Box 6 Benefits from Reducing Pollution in the Rio de la Plata ............................................... 26 Box 7 Stylized Cost and Tariff Example ............................................... 39 Box 8 The Case of the Paper and Pulp Industry ............................................... 59 Box 9 Petroleum Sector Pollution Problems ................................................ 62 Box 10 Small and Medium Enterprises (I): The Leather Tanning Industry .................................. 63 Box 11 Small and Medium Enterprises (II): The Meat Products and Metal Finishing Industries .............................................. 65 Box 12 The Singapore Area Licensing Scheme .............................................. 82 Box 13 Solid Waste Collection Fees in the Unites States .............................................. 90 Box 14 The Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan .............................................. 94 Box 15 National Agencies with Environm ental Responsibilities .............................................. 97 Box 16 Institutional Reform of Environmental Management in Mendoza .................................. 102 Box 17 EIA in Argentina .............................................. 104 Box 18 Water Management Charges in France .............................................. 105 Box 19 Public Participation in Establishing Environmental Regulations in the United States .107 Box 20 Argentina's Program of Environmental Education and Preservation .108  Tables Table 1 Two Patterns of Environmental Pollution in Argentina ...................................... 8 Table 2 Selected Air Pollution Measurements ......................... 10 Table 3 Lead Pollution in Buenos Aires ......................... 12 Table 4 Morbidity and Mortality from Diseases Associated with Water and Sanitation ...................................... 16 Table 5 Comparison of International and Jujuy Data ...................................... 18 Table 6 The Cost of Flooding in the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin ...................................... 25 Table 7 Priority Ranking of Pollution Problems in Metropolitan Buenos A ires ............................................. 2 8 Table 8 Aguas Argentina's Investment Plan ............................................. 34 Table 9 The Cost of Water and Sewage Services ............................................. 36 Table 10 Willingness-to-Pay for Sewage Collection ............................................. 37 Table 11 Percentage of Discharges Treated to Different Levels by Sector ..................................... 52 Table 12 Monitoring Results for Industrial Discharges to Aguas Argentinas Sewers .53 Table 13 Average Pollutant Concentrations for Industrial Discharges to sewers which Violate Discharge Standards .54 Table 14 BOD Discharges by Sector under Alternative Discharge Treatment Standards .56 Table 15 TSS Discharges by Sector under Alternative Discharge Treatment Standards .57 Table 16 Investment Costs for Treatment of All Discharges to Different Destinations by Sector .58 Table 17 Selected Environmental Impacts of Medium and Small E nterprises ............................................. 61 Table 18 Pollution Control Costs for Industries Producing Traded Goods ......................... ........... 70 Table 19 Selected Air Pollution Measurements ...................................... ........ 76 Table 20 Emissions from motorized vehicles in the city of Buenos Aires in 1993 .,,, . 77 Table 21 Fuel Consumption in 1993 ........................................ 77 Table 22 Emissions of CNG-fueled Versus Diesel Buses ........................................ 79 Table 23 National Emission Standards in Decree 875/94 ........................................ 80 Table 24 Summary of Environmental Regulation and Institutions ........................................ 99 Table 25 Prioritization of Recommended Intervention ........................................ 117 Table 26 Priorities for Policy Reform and Improved Management ........................................ 117 Table 27 Priorities for Research Information and Analysis ........................................ 118 Table 28 Priorities for Investment ........................................ 119  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 5 1. Pollution Problems And Their Costs Background and Objective regulations and authorities has led to unevenness and uncertainty in the enforcement of regulations, 1.1 Overview. Argentina is suffering from a and opened many opportunities for polluters to variety of pollution problems that are more evade compliance with environmental objectives. serious than one would expect in a country of its upper-middle levels of income and economic 1.4 Argentina's environmental pollution development. Environmental pollution causes problems are not insurmountable. Their effective significant damages in specific locations and management requires the development of a clear imposes large costs on poor segments of the vision of the type of environment that the country urban population in some low-income is committed to attain, a comprehensive (cross- neighborhoods. On a national scale, however, the sectoral) strategy for pursuing the vision, and, damages arising from pollution are modest. In based on that strategy, significant improvements general, pollution damages are limited due to low in the regulatory framework to provide population density, favorable geographic appropriate incentives for environmentally conditions and a well-educated population that is sustainable decision making, improvements in the able to take effective measures to protect itself management of sector agencies, and investments. from the worst impacts of pollution. Because of the long neglect of the environment, many of the low-cost options for reducing 1.2 Argentina's pollution problems are pollution have not yet been implemented, and the mainly the result of the gradual increase of the financial resources required for the urban population and industrial development, implementation of a sound pollution control combined with an inadequate regulatory strategy are well within the capacity of the framework and a long standing deficit in sanitary country. and waste treatment infrastructure. Decades of neglect and lack of coordination have led to an 1.5 On the other hand, unless corrective uneven and confusing regulatory and institutional measures are taken, pollution problems are likely framework for environmental management. to become much worse. As industrialization and Despite increasing efforts, the Government does urbanization continue, growing industrial not yet have a well developed strategy to address discharges, combined with pollution from urban environmental pollution. households (sewage, garbage and vehicle emissions), will pose an growing threat to public 1.3 The most critical constraint for health, erode the cities' attractiveness as a locus improving the management of pollution in of investment, and possibly affect the Argentina is the absence of clear institutional marketability of Argentina's exports abroad. responsibility for environmental management and the lack of effective enforcement. Government 1.6 As a complement to the structural institutions charged with environmental policies reforms of the economy that have taken place in are weak, their responsibilities are fragmented, recent last years, the Government needs to and enforcement is inadequate in many areas. develop a strategy for addressing environmental The institutional framework for environmental pollution. To develop such a strategy, the management involves a web of overlapping Government will need (i) an integrated synthesis national, provincial and municipal agencies. The of the available information on the physical, resulting unusually complex system of laws, social and economic dimensions of the pollution  6 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution problem, (ii) an overview of the multiplicity of considerations were not a priority. Increasing options available to address the problem, with Government intervention for the protection of the recommendations on the best choices, and (iii) an environment was seen as counterproductive to the outline of the policy and institutional implications effort to attract private investors. Also, the of the recommended solutions. The objective of continuing success of the stabilization program this sector report is to assist the Government in depends critically on maintaining and improving the development of this strategy. the competitiveness of Argentine's exports. In this situation, there is strong resistance against all 1.7 Background. The problems in the policies that could potentially increase production management of environmental policy cannot be costs, such as tighter pollution control. properly understood without considering the macroeconomic environment in which the 1.10 The decentralization of government Government operates. When the current functions has resulted in jurisdictional confusion Government took office in 1989, Argentina was among the national, provincial, and municipal gripped by recession and monthly inflation of up levels. This confusion contributes to the to 200 percent. The new Government initiated ineffectiveness of current environmental policies. profound structural reforms that were remarkable In principle, most environmental matters are the for the scope and speed with which they were responsibility of the provinces, unless expressly implemented. As part of the transformation of the delegated to the national government. Lack of economy and the state, the Government is clarity about the allocation of responsibilities making a strong effort to complete structural between the provinces and the Secretaria de reforms involving the privatization of public Recursos Naturales y Ambiente y Humano services (including water supply, sewerage and (SERNAH) of the national Government are solid waste disposal) and the decentralization of commonplace. In addition, the ability of regulatory responsibilities and social programs to provincial and municipal institutions to the provinces and municipalities. implement their environmental responsabilites is very uneven, further complicating the picture. 1.8 For the last few years, the macroeconomic reform program has brought 1.11 Conceptual Framework. The excessive Argentina price stability and economic growth pollution levels in many parts of Argentina point unknown for several decades. While profound to the need to improve and strengthen the structural reforms have been undertaken, the government's strategy for the management of newly gained stability remains vulnerable to environmental pollution. The underlying external shocks such as the rise in international conceptual framework is to (i) begin with a interest rates in early 1994 and the Mexico crisis. comparative analysis of the health, productivity A recent increase in the trade deficit has fueled amenity and other costs associated with the concerns that the fixed exchange rate may hurt different forms of pollution as a basis for the competitiveness of Argentine exports . On the establishing relative priorities,2 followed by (ii) other hand, the Convertibility Law is considered an analysis of the options for addressing the a cornerstone of the reform program that is problems based on the comparison of costs and critical to maintaining trust in monetary stability. benefits, and (iii) the integration of the results into a recommended plan of action. The main 1.9 During the implementation of the stabilization program and the privatization of 2. The lessons of recent sector and research reports in the Bank with government services, environmental regard to the dominant share of health impacts in the total social and economic cost of pollution, and the large influence of poverty- related factors on the health impact of pollution are explained in World Development Report 19927 Development and the 1. The 1991 Convertibility Law fixed the exchange rate at a parity Enviwrnwne and World Development Report 1993: Investing in of one peso to the US dollar. Health World Bank, Washington, 1992 and 1993, respectively.  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 7 criterion for choosing between alternative options Types and Extent of Pollution will be that of cost-effectiveness in achieving the environmental objectives. 1.14 Argentina suffers from a variety of environmental pollution problems whose severity 1.12 Pollution problems are very location- and relative importance varies from region to specific. Therefore, it is almost impossible to region, depending on the underlying causes and have adequate information to formally implement social and economic dimensions. It is difficult to the conceptual framework. In addition, in present a coherent panorama, mainly as a result Argentina, the concentration of pollution of the scarcity of data on the physical and social problems in the cities also mandates a more dimensions of pollution. One of the consequences detailed consideration of the urban setting. of privatization and decentralization over the last Therefore, the development of an integrated fifteen years has been that many efforts of data pollution control strategy will have to consider collection and surveillance of environmental objectives in related sectors, such as health, urban quality have been abandoned. There is little development, industry and transport, with which monitoring of ambient water quality, and coordination is required. To achieve a virtually none of air quality, and virtually no comprehensive coverage and devote sufficient analysis of its health effects and other economic attention to these related program areas, the damages. However, in very broad terms, a analytical approach of this report is necessarily dualistic pattern emerges with one cluster of pragmatic. The ideal framework is followed pollution problems that affect the major informally, illustrated with specific case analysis metropolitan areas and a second cluster that as data permits. Data limitations have not allowed prevails in smaller cities and towns, as full-fledged cost-benefit analysis at this time. summarized on Table 1. The major problems are discussed below. 1.13 This report focusses on problems of environmental pollution, which are based on Water Resources Contamination externalities that extend beyond the household or workplace which causes the pollution. Problems 1.15 Groundwater Contamination. of industrial and worker safety as well as other Groundwater contamination is a major concern, environmental problems such as indoor air as a large share of households (28% in the pollution (e.g. from tobacco smoking), and country, but 65% in the outer ring of AMBA), ecological damages are not addressed. It should which is not connected to the water network, uses also be noted that, given the lack of information groundwater to meet its daily needs. A recent and attendant difficulty in presenting fuller survey in suburban Buenos Aires (not including coverage, this report is focussed on urban the Capital Federal) found that 47% of the pollution, and does not assess non-urban sources households were connected to the public network, of pollution, such as those associated with 23% relied on handpumps, and 24% on electrical 3 agricultural, livestock and forestry-related water pumps . As handpumps can only reach the activities, mining and hydropower generation. Epipuelche aquifer (10-30m deep) which is The present chapter presents an overview of thoroughly contaminated, and pollution problems in Argentina and attempts to electrical pumps are normnally designed to reach analyze the costs of pollution. Chapters II-V the Puelche aquifer (25-60m deep), which is present options for addressing pollution contaminated in some areas, these figures problems, assessing their costs, and determining, indicate that a substantial share of the population where feasible the cost effective interventions. in Argentina's largest city uses contaminated Chapter VI analyzes institutional questions and drinking water. A similar situation occurs in other Chapter VII concludes with the definition of priorities for action. 3. Oral information from COFAPyS.  8 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution Table 1: Two Patterns of Environmental Pollution in Argentina Pollution Problems of Metropolitan Areas (Buenos Aires, C6rdoba, Rosario and Mendoza) - Ground and surface water pollution from untreated domestic sewage and industrial effluents (severe in small local streams) - Air and noise pollution from transport and industrial sources (severe in central locations, industrial concentrations, Mendoza and C6rdoba) - Inappropriate disposal of solid wastes and industrial hazardous wastes (especially in periurban areas) Pollution Problems of Medium and Small Cities and Towns - Ground and surface water pollution from untreated domestic sewage and inadequate collection and disposal of solid waste - Water and air pollution from major local industries: petrochemical industries, lime quarries (Pampas region) ! oil production, sugar refining, lead smelters (Northwest region) ! oil fields, uranium extraction (Cuyo region) oil fields, coal mining (Patagonia region) cities in the province of Buenos Aires, as well as other cities, especially in areas that concentrate in other provinces, the poor in dense, irregular settlements which are not served by public water supplies. Mercury and 1.16 This indication is supported by a 1988 chromium pollution, likely from the illegal analysis of 868 domestic water samples in Gran disposal of industrial wastes in open air dumps, Buenos Aires, which found that the groundwater has also been documented in groundwater resources are substantially polluted4. In six out of sources in the Buenos Aires area. In addition to the 13 municipalities covered in the study, the human-caused pollution, there is also concern median nitrate content reached or exceeded the about natural arsenic contamination of many allowable limit of 45 mg/I, and about 34% of the aquifers in the interior of the country. samples showed evidence of bacterial contamination. In some cases, contamination was 1.17 The main source of groundwater also found in samples drawn from the public contamination is believed to be the septic tanks network. Although detailed information is not used by households (71% in Gran Buenos Aires, available, a similar situation is believed to exist in 62% in the country') that are not connected to 4. Ministerio de Salud y Acci6n Social, Secretar.a de Salud, 5. The unserved share is 72% in an outer ring of six municipalities Direcci6n Nacionl de Calidad Ambicntal, Evaluaci6n de Nivel de that, together with the Capital Federal and the 13 municipalities in Nitatos en Agua de Bebida en los Partidos del Gran Buenos Aires", the inner ring, constitute the Area Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, Ntanos Aire s 1988, based on 1991 Census. Wolrd Bank, Argentina: Water Supply and Buenos Aires, 1988. SeweraCe Sector Note Daft Report No. 12810-AR, July 27, 1994.  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 9 Figure 1: Water Supply Coverage - International Comparison Access to Safe Drinking Water, Urban Population Cross-Country Comparison Percent Chile 100 OW+ +* * * * * * Brazil* Mexico 90 80 70 Q Argentina 60- 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 1992 GNP/capita, US$ All countries with data available and GNP of $2000-8000 are shown. Source: World Development Report 1994: Infrastructure for Development, World Bank. sewerage. A second major source are industrial 1.19 Surface Water Contamination. The effluents, which are also frequently disposed of in pollution of rivers and coastal waters in and leaching pits and septic tanks. Both residential around the major urban areas of Argentina has and industrial septic tanks drain into the freatic been extensively documented.' Obras Sanitarias Epipuelche aquifer. Some contamination of the has estimated that 2.2 million m3 /day of raw deeper Puelche aquifer also occurs through sewage and 1.9 million m3/day of industrial inadequately insulated waterwells. effluent flow from the AMBA the Rio de la Plata.7 At the Rio de la Plata, a recent study 1.18 The number of households that uses found that ambient water quality guidelines are contaminated water may not have declined consistently exceeded in the 300 m wide strip significantly since the mid 1970s, as incomplete nearest to the shore, rendering the local beaches efforts to commercialize and decentralize public unusable, but regularly met in waters farther than services have led to the underfunding and 3000 m from the shore. This is an indication of deterioration of sanitary and waste management the enormous waste dilution and self-purification infrastructure, and barely enabled water supply capacity of the Rio de la Plata, with its flow of and sewerage expansion to keep up with the 30,000 m3/sec. 8 growth of urban populations, but not to reduce the deficit. As a result, coverage with water and 6. The water supply companies regularly monitor the water quality sanitation infrastructure is low for a country with at their intakes, and sometimes upstream, but this information is not Argentina's level of income, as indicated in centrally collected. 7. Empresa Obras Sanitarias de la Naci6n, ii Hd Figure 1. undated note. 8. AGOSBA, OSN and SIHN, Rio de Ia Plata - Calidad de las Agmas - FraniaCosteraSur 1992.  10 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution 1.20 As one of the most polluted local of the floods is extended by inadequate drainage streams, the Rio Matanza-Riachuelo, receives infrastructure and the obstruction of streams by discharges from both domestic and industrial garbage and siltation. sources (some 20,000 plants, of which nearly 2/3 do not have treatment facilities, while only 3 1.22 A similar pattern of pollution is reported percent of the remaining regularly operate them). for other parts of the country. The Lago San The Rio Reconquista runs through 14 Roque in C6rdoba, Lago Lacar in Neuquen, and municipalities, receiving direct discharges from Lago Nahuel Huapi in Rio Negro, are at least 7,500 industrial plants, and indirect discharges partially contaminated by untreated sewage from (through sewers and drainage pipes) from an lakeshore towns, some of them to the extent of additional 12,000 plants. Domestic discharges are affecting the performance of the drinking water also an important source of pollution. According treatment plants. The Rio Sali in Tucuman and to the Comisi6n de Investigaciones Cientificas, some irrigation channels in Mendoza are one third of the pollution load of the Rio de la seriously contaminated with industrial effluent. In Plata comes from the Rio Reconquista. Rosario, industrial effluent from the upstream suburbs on the Parana river have adversely 1.21 Another problem in AMBA, that has affected the operation of the main water heightened concerns about surface water treatment plant. pollution, is the vulnerability of many newly settled areas to flooding, which is estimated to Air Pollution affect up to about 23% of the area. Flooding is caused by heavy rains, mostly in the summer, and 1.23 Air pollution is primarily an inner city southeasterly winds (Sudestadas), which bring problem for drivers, pedestrians, workers, about unusually high tides in the Rio de la Plata, shoppers and residents who are subject to vehicle mostly in the winter. The floodwaters pick up pollution. Most of the pollution in downtown solid wastes from a few open air dumps, sewage areas can be attributed to vehicles and most of and industrial effluent from streams and storage that in the suburbs to industrial emissions and, in ponds, compounding the physical damage with some areas, the burning of garbage. In spite of a extensive spread of contamination. The duration high level of urban concentration and vehicle use, Table 2: Selected Air Pollution Measurements Location/Pollutant SPM (Tg/m3) | SO2 NOx f CO Pb | (Tg/m') (Tglm3) (ppm) (Tg/m3) Capital Federal 70-90 3-18 38-240 day: 7-14 0.3-3.9 (selected measurements in July 1993 even: 5-9 (see 3) and May 1994) night:<l Mendoza (selected measurements in 30-250 0.2-5.4 0.6-5.3 July 1993) C6rdoba (annual averages based on 80-192 32 41-50 regular measurements 1988- 199 1). Palpala, Jujuy (average of 82 24 hr 209 46.3 22.9 measurements in 1990) US EPA Primary Standards 75 (Annual 80 (Annual 100 (Annual 9 (8-hour 1.5 (Quarterly Geometric Arithmetic Arithmetic Average) Average) MMa) MMa) Mean)  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 11 Box 1: Air Pollution Monitoring in Buenos Aires Monitoring of air quality is scarce in Buenos Aires: at present, monitoring on a continuous basis is only done by the municipality's Laboratorio de Vigilancia Atmosfirica, the Fundacion Siglo AX, which monitors exclusively CO levels, and the Instituto Pro Buenos Aires. The Laboratorio de Vigilancia Atmosfirica is the only institution with a long standing history in air quality monitoring. However, its data have never been published. One of the main reasons seems to be the tight budget under which the lab is operating, manifesting itself in a shortage of staff, computers, and outdated and partly malfunctioning equipment. The laboratory monitors (a) gaseous contaminants such as nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide at a measuring station in Palermo on a daily basis; (b) articulate matter such as tar, carbon, ashes, inorganic particulate matter on a monthly basis at different locations in the city (due to extremely limited funds only 3 out of the 8 (mobile) stations are currently in working condition); and (c) other contaminants like lead, suspended particles, and, in periodic intervals, the total level of oxidants. Fundaci6n Siglo AX! started monitoring carbon monoxide levels in March 1992. Currently, it maintains three monitoring stations which measure CO levels continuously, i.e. 24 hours per day, in one minute intervals. Two of the stations are located in the port area, and, more importantly, one station was installed in 1993 in a narrow street in the macrocentro, at Talca- huano 469. It is envisaged to install further stations, inter alia, on the Acceso Norte, a main artery with extremely high traffic densities which feeds into the city center from the northern suburbs. This station will, in addition to CO and noise levels, also monitor particulate, NOx and lead emissions. The Instituto Pro Buenos Aires maintains a mobile unit which measures, inter alia, CO and NOx levels, hydrocarbons, suspended particulate matter, and noise levels. At present, data is not available. Apparently, it is envisaged to prepare an environmental map of the city of Buenos Aires based on the data collected by the mobile unit. The institute also maintains a Linea Verde, a hotline for concemed citizens to report environmental violators, with a view to increasing environmental awareness among the population. the seriousness of air pollution problems in 1.24 Mainly driven by the low cost of natural Buenos Aires has been mitigated by a favorable gas, Argentina's energy consumption structure is wind regime. Nonetheless, the winds are not already evolving towards an increasing share of sufficient to disperse the pollution collecting in this relatively clean fuel. As of 1991, natural gas narrow, heavily travelled streets during working accounted for 46% of the industrial sectors hours when traffic emissions accumulate to un- energy requirements, 78% of the power sector's, healthy levels. Overall, there is very little and 3% of the transport sector's (in the forn of systematic information about air pollution levels CNG-compressed natural gas). The use of coal, and compositions. However, the potential long- which is more environmentally problematic, is term low-dose consequences are serious enough limited to 3% of industry's requirements (for to merit further study and systematic monitoring. cement production) and 3% of the power sector's Some available measurements are shown in (with only one remaining coal fired plant-in San Table 2. Nicolas, Prov. of Buenos Aires). Fuel oil is mainly used where gas is not available and by the  12 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution Table 3: Lead Pollution in Buenos Aires Location Sampling Period Concentration (Tg Pb/m-) Downtown (High density traffic) 8AM - 5 PM 3.9 Downtown (High density traffic) 7PM - 8 AM 1.7 Downtown (Medium traffic) 24hrs. 1.5 Suburban (Medium traffic) 24hrs. 1.0 Suburban (Low traffic) 24hrs 0.3 Argentina standard 1.0 Source: Caridi, et at (1989) power sector in the winter season, when gas is in (PROAIRE),l l with reasonably consistent data short supply (in Buenos Aires city). (from 1971) on sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOJ), settled particulate matter, 1.25 Buenos Aires. Air pollution data for suspended particulate matter (SPM), aldehydes, Buenos Aires are extremely limited. Box I (photochemical) oxidants, and an index of describes the ongoing efforts. Based on available corrosion. The data suggest an increase in S02 data, it can be concluded that carbon monoxide concentrations of nearly 400% since 1976. In (CO) concentrations regularly exceed standards 1976, SPM averaged about 40 Tg/m', and during the daytime. No sufficient data are increased over 250% to an average of about 100 available to allow a similar judgement for sulphur Tg/m3 in 1994. PROAIRE also identifies dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOJ), or pollution sources (e.g., 15 categories of motor particulates. As a result of a high lead content in vehicles, leaves and garbage, small and medium gasoline (0.6-1.0 g/l), selective measurements in sized businesses, etc.). the city center have shown concentrations up to 3.9Tg/m3, compared to an USEPA standard of 1.27 Global Concerns. In addition to the local l.5Tg/m (quarterly average)9. The only available impacts of air pollution, the emissions of study'0 suggests that lead air pollution may greenhouse gases (GHG) and (stratospheric) represent a major health problem in Buenos ozone depleting substances (mainly Aires. Table 3 summarizes the study results. chlorofluorocarbons-CFCs) have a global effect. A recent estimate indicates that Argentina 1.26 Cordoba. Due to its being partially accounted for about 0.7% of global human-made surrounded by mountains, the city of C6rdoba GHG emissions in 1991.2 Of the total (adjusted suffers from a relatively serious air pollution. on the basis of their greenhouse forcing This has led the municipality to establish an contribution), about 61% was attributed to energy extensive data base on air pollution by area use (mainly liquid fuels, 52%, and natural gas, I1. Municipalidad de C6rdoba y Rausl A. Montenegro; "PROAIRE: Programa Municipal para Reducir la Contaminaci6n del Aire en la Ciudad de C6rdoba", Primera Entrega, Agosto de 1993; Segunda 9. WHO/UNEP. Urban Air Pollution in Megacities of the World. Entrega, Octubre de 1993. World Health Organization, United Nations Environmnent Progrwn. Blackwell, Oxford, 1992g 12. The figure for Argentina does not include an estimate of the C02 released due to deforestation. Based on World Resources 1994- 10. Caridi, et al., Determination of Atmospheric Lead Pollution of 95. A Guide to the Global Environment World Resources Institute, Automotive Origin, Atmospheric Environment 23, 1989. Oxford University, Press, New York, 1994.  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 13 41%), 28% to methane emissions (mainly cause and effect in toxicological health impacts, livestock, 83%), and 11% to chlorofluorocarbons these cases have been difficult to document. (CFC) use. Argentina's CFC emissions accounted for about 0.5% of global emissions of ozone Solid Waste depleting substances. These shares are roughly in proportion to Argentina's share of the global 1.30 In most parts of the country, solid waste population (0.7%). is collected by municipal contractors, and deposited in open-air dumps, where some of it is Hazardous Wastes burned. Local concerns focus on the coverage of collection, which is inadequate in the irregular 1.28 A recent study estimates that about settlements which concentrate the poorer 47,000 tons/year of hazardous wastes13 are population. In the absence of collection, garbage produced in the Province of Buenos Aires alone, piles up in empty lots and local streams, where mostly by the metallurgical-electronic (46%) and they constitute a source of water contamination, chemical-petrochemical (44%) industries'4. It is and to a lesser extent, a breeding ground for illegal to dispose of these wastes in the sewers or disease vectors. sanitary landfills. Since no specialized commercial facilities for the treatment or safe 1.31 The open air dumps raise concerns due to disposal of hazardous wastes exist in AMBA, their inadequate location, design and operation. there is great uncertainty about how these wastes Specific problems relate to their inadequate are being disposed of. Certainly some are being buffering from inhabited areas (mostly irregular deposited into open air dumps and pits that leach settlements), their accessibility to scavengers and into the aquifers, as the analysis of groundwater children, their location in low areas subject to at various locations in the Province has detected flooding, and their contamination of groundwater. the presence of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and A recent study has revealed that contamination other hazardous substances. A major part is from solid waste dumps has reached the upper dumped into local rivers, such as the Matanza- aquifers on which the population unserved by Riachuelo and the Reconquista, where they public water supplies depends for its water.15 The accumulate in the muddy bottoms or flow into the social and economic costs associated with Rio de la Plata. inadequate solid waste disposal relate to their health effects and impact on the amenity value of 1.29 Overall, the social and economic cost of surrounding areas. Overall, while the problem is inadequate hazardous waste disposal is related to well understood, it is not being monitored or the aggravation of the ground and surface water studied systematically. contamination problems already discussed above. There have also been instances where the Noise Problems settlement of areas previously used to dump hazardous waste, and the disposal of hazardous 1.32 Noise pollution is caused primarily by wastes in unmanaged open air dumps, has led to heavy, congested traffic. It is a major problem in heavy metal contamination in children. Due to the downtown area of larger cities and along political sensitivities and the long lag between major traffic arteries. Loss of hearing is the most severe health consequence of noise pollution, followed by minor hearing problems, sleep 13. Hazardous wastes are defined as those that have one or more of disturbances and stress. Excessive noise levels the following characteristics: ability to poison humans or other life can lead to significant losses in property values forms, flammability, corrosivity, reactivity or capability to produce a hazardous leachate. 15. Lopez, Alicia Cristina. "Los desechos s6lidos y su incidencia en 14. Dames & Moore, Estudio de Factibilidad - Residuos Pelimrosos las aguas subterraneas"; Seg. Join. Geol. Bon., Bahia Blanca, 1988, - Provincia de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, 1992. ACTAS.  14 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution and the need for defensive expenditures (e.g., health problems at an aggregate level: (i) a improved insulation). Measurements in Rosario countrywide register of mortality by cause of have determined noise levels of lOOdB at peak death. These data are judged to have complete hours, well above the WHO-recommended coverage; (ii) an epidemiological surveillance standard of 80 dB. 20,000 to 50,000 people in this system that includes primarily city of 600,000 are estimated to be exposed to infections/communicable transmittable diseases. noise levels that pose a serious risk to hearing.'6 Reporting in this system is known to be According to a study conducted by the instituto incomplete; (iii) data on admissions to public Pro Buenos Aires, noise levels exceed WHO hospital is available by cause. This provides a standards in most parts of the city; only two out reliable, but incomplete, source for morbidity of Buenos Aires' 46 neighborhoods-Villa data from public health centers and hospitals, Pueyrredon and Versailles-are in compliance which serve over half the population; and (iv) with the standards. Another study concluded that incomplete data is available from 13 regional buses and trucks, i.e. diesel engines, are the main toxicology centers. source of noise pollution.'7 1.36 The low quality, inconsistency, and The Effects of Pollution on Health incompleteness of most of the data sources is widely acknowledged. For example, local health 1.33 The costs associated with environmental personnel have indicated that the available health pollution include health damages, productivity data are likely to mask factors that could be losses, and the loss of amenity values such as directly linked to pollution. Physicians, e.g., nature-based recreation and preservation of frequently use a "default" category such as heart natural ecosystems. As health-related damages failure for diagnosing the immediate cause of are widely recognized to be the most important in death, without recording contributing causes such developing countries, they will be discussed first. cancer or pesticide poisoning. Also, physicians have not been trained to diagnose and record Indications from the Health Data secondary and tertiary causes of death, e.g., chronic respiratory diseases from long-term 1.34 The severity of health problems exposure to pollution, lead poisoning, or attributable to environmental pollution in exposure to toxic waste. Thus, the fact that Argentina is difficult to determine, as almost environment-related diagnoses do not show up in none of the potential health damages have so far the data is not sufficient to establish that such been documented through studies directly linking problems do not exist. pollution to actual cases of disease or death. Numerous studies establish the existence of 1.37 Based on mortality data, the health pollution of all sorts, ranging from extremely problems of Argentina are more typical of an toxic industrial byproducts to domestic fecal industrialized country than of a developing contamination, yet very few of these studies country, with diseases of the circulatory system analyze the effects of pollution on the health of as the leading cause of death. The top five causes the local population. of death in 1992 consisted of heart disease (31%), cancers (18%), cardiovascular disease (10%), 1.35 At present four types of health data are accidents (4%), and perinatal illnesses (3%).18 In available in Argentina that can be used to analyze 1990, the main causes of hospital admissions accounting for over 5% or more of the total visits were childbirth (18.56%), obstetric problems 16. Municipalidad de Rosario and Fundaci6n Banco Municipal de Rosario, Condiciones Ambientales y Salud en la Ciudad de Rosario, 1994. p 40 18. Estadfsticas Vitales. 1992. Ministerio de Salud y Acci6n Social, 17. Instituto de Seguridad y Educaci6n Vial (1SEV) and Xilix, S.A. Buenos Aires, 1992.  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 15 (8.98%), accidents (7.8%), and circulatory under five were also typical of a developing problems (6.7%). By and large, the public is well country. In 1990, the top five causes of hospital fed and decently housed. admissions were neonatal infections, intestinal infections, pneumonia, bronchitis and other 1.38 At the aggregate level, health statistics respiratory infections, and congenital offer little evidence of systematic pollution- abnormalities.'9 related damages to human health apart from diarrheas due to fecal contaminants and perhaps 1.41 The above pattern appears to be a pneumonia due to indoor air pollution. On the nationwide problem associated with deficiencies other hand, conversations with health personnel in water supply and sanitation and the persistence and closer data examination reveal a different of poverty. Other environment-related health picture that shows the persistence of the problems tend to be regionalised and more traditional diseases of poverty, especially in episodic rather than long-term. Among the urban slum areas and pockets of rural poverty. localized pollution problems with health Pollution related diseases are widespread within consequences are arsenic poisoning in central and 20 pockets, especially in the poorer areas of AMBA northern regions; Chagas' disease and the poorer provinces of the North. The main contamination by toxic substances such as pollution-related health problems of national hazardous wastes and pesticides, and a few cases significance are: diarrheas, primarily from poor of malaria and schistosomiasis2 . The water and sanitation and respiratory tract consequences 3f ozone depletion, most notably infections from indoor/outdoor air pollution. skin cancer and cataracts, also present a potential problem, especially in southernmost Patagonia, 1.39 The consensus of professional judgement which is touched by the "ozone hole". In addition seems to suggest that environmental health to the typical environment-related health problems are widespread, but highly concentrated problems, some occupational health problems are among the poor. A biologist working with so widespread that they become public health populations exposed to solid waste and water problems, since many of the medium and small pollution near a landfill/dump felt that the two sized industries have not yet adopted adequate most important problems were parasitic health and safety practices. infections and malnutrition of the very young, caused by exposure to the waste and 1.42 Environmental mapping. The analysis of contaminated drinking water. A physician from local environmental conditions and local health Florencio Varela, a low-income municipality data has proven more productive in detecting within AMBA, described respiratory illnesses, linkages than the analysis of aggregate data. At diarrheas and circulatory problems as the main least two groups have been working an problems. Physicians from a children's hospital in environmental mapping. The IIED-LA22 has La Plata cited undernutrition, malnutrition, and infectious diseases as most important. 19. Boletin Epidemiol6gico Nacional. Anual 1993, Ministerio de Salud y Acci6n Social, Buenos Aires, 1993. 1 .40 The persistence of the diseases of 20. Chagas' disease, also called South American sleeping sickness, poverty, some of which are environment-related, is a debilitating disease spread by a blood-sucking insect, the cone- in an upper-middle income country is also nose bug. The disease is directly linked to poor rural housing conditions, since the insect lives in cracked walls and roofing highlighted by the data of the epidemiological commnon in poor areas. surveillance system of communicable diseases. 21. Schistosomiasis is an infection of the bladder, intestines or liver Gastrointestinal problems are the most important by a parasitic worm. The disease is spread by an aquatic "flea" (53%), followed by respiratory problems (39%), which either penetrates the skin or is swallowed. declining to sexually transmitted and other causes 22. Instituto Intemacional de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (4% each). The disease patterns for children (International Institute for Environment and Development - Latin America, IIED-LA)  16 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution Table 4: Morbidity and Mortality from Diseases Associated with Water and Sanitation Disease Mortality (1992) Recorded Assumed Morbidity (1993) Morbidity (1993) Typhoid/Paratyphoid 4 259 518 Diarrheic Diseases 766 485,558 966,956 Sources: Staff estimates based on Estadisticas Vitales, op. cit, and Boletin Epiderniol6gico Nacional. Anual '93, op. cit. developed maps of neighborhoods in Buenos several factors contributing to disease. Moreover, Aires based on their environmental conditions, lack of basic infrastructure is often more such as propensity to flooding, proximity to prevalent in areas where other factors pollution, etc. The Banco Municipal de Rosario contributing to disease are equally present such as has financed the preparation of a series of studies poor hygiene, low education, and low income. in Rosario including a mapping, dividing up the Table 4 summarizes the incidence of morbidity city in 21 areas, with indications of the location and mortality from water-related diseases. As of villas miserias.23 For every area, 19 indicators noted before, the morbidity data of the of health and infrastructure are provided, some epidemiological vigilance system is grossly numerical, some descriptive. The analysis reveals underestimating actual rates of disease. In line a clear pattern confirming that morbidity and with the estimates of health professionals and mortality rates are highest where basic services other sources, the following analysis is based on are lowest. Diarrhea is the top notifiable disease the assumption that the morbidity data only and its incidence is directly correlated with lack covers 50% of actual cases. The diarrhea rate of water and poor living conditions. The various would then be 2,800 per population of I 00,000.24 background studies and maps provide a ready- made tool for looking more closely at 1.44 The magnitude of health benefits of environmental health, such as in determining increasing sanitation infrastructure can be potential exposure to solid waste, industrial obtained from the international literature. A pollution, etc. review of studies done in various countries25 determines that median reduction in diarrhea Health Effects of Water Contamination and morbidity is 27% and reduction in diarrhea Poverty mortality is 41% subsequent to the introduction of sanitation infrastructure. Applying these 1.43 Despite overall modest levels of intestinal disease, water pollution ranks as the 24. Asociaci6n Argentina de Ingeneria Sanitaria y Ciencias del most severe environmental health problem. The Ambiente, "Resumenes Sectoriales de Abastecimiento de Agua most apparent toll appears to be in diarrheas of Potable y del Saneamiento en la Republica Argentina', lngenieria Sanitaria y Ambiental. This assumption is in line with the children. Given the limitations of available data assessment of national health professionals and other estimates of a and the existence of confounding factors, there diarrhea rate for 1992 of 2,880 per 100,000, 14, April 1994, page are many hurdles to establishing strong 22-24. quantitative links between water pollution and 25. Esrey, S.A., R.G. Feachem, and J.M. Hughes, 1985, health damages. The lack of sanitation and access "Intervention for the Control of Diarrhocal Diseases among Young Children: Improving Water Supplies and Excrete Disposal to safe water and the extensive reliance on Facilities" in: Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 63(4), contaminated groundwater water is only one of pages 757-772. Based on the median of all studies, diarrhea morbidity is reduced by 22% with interventions. Based on the median of the better design studies, diarrhea morbidity is reduced by 23. Municipalidad de Rosario and Fundaci6n Banco Municipal de 27%. Based on the median of all studies that analyze mortality, Rosario, 'Condiciones Ambientales y Salud en la Ciudad de diarrhea mortality is reduced by 41% and total mortality by 21% Rosario Febrero de 1994. with interventions.  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 17 Box 2: The Evaluation of Morbidity and Mortality Two approaches have commonly been used to value the mortality and morbidity resulting from exposure to pollution: the willingness to pay (WTP) and the cost of illness/human capital approach. Mortalt. The willingness to pay approach for valuing a statistical life is the theoretically preferred one. Studies carried out in the U.S. and U.K. evaluated the implicit WTP expressed as wage premiums associated with on-the-job risks and surveyed the explicit WTP for avoiding such risks. These studies conclude that most of the reasonable estimates of the WTP to avoid a mortality risk increment of 0.0001 are clustered in the range of US$200 to US$500 per year*. In the absence Argentine estimates, and in order to establish orders of magnitude for discussion purposes, we can adjust United States estimates by the GDP ratios of the two countries (3.4 in 1992), giving a value of A$59 to A$147 as the WTP for a mortality risk reduction of 0.0001. Thus, if each person is willing to pay A$59 for the 10-5 risk reduction, then the value of a statistical life is A$590,000. The Human capital approaches to valuing mortality yield much lower estimates since they include only lost productivity and not the pain, suffering, and emotional distress. The human capital approach is useful to calculate a lower bound for the cost of a case of mortality. This approach estimates how many years of work are being lost with a premature death, and evaluate the productivity loss. In Argentina, using an average of 12 work years lost to premature mortality and a discount rate of 5 percent would give a value of A$ 64,000 per life. Morbidity. Treatment costs per diarrhea case are in the order of A$30. Assuming a wage rate of A$20 per day and three workdays lost per diarrhea case, the economic costs of one diarrhea case are about A$90. This approach neglects the cost of the discomfort associated with the disease. Of course, these figures are not to be regarded as accurate estimates, but only as illustrative figures to further the discussion of environmental costs. Source: Cropper, M.L., and Oates, W., Environmental Economics: A Survey, in Journal of Economic Literature, 30, pp.675-740, 1992. See also Viscusi, W.K, Fatal Tradeoffs: Public and Private Responsibilities for Risk. Oxford University Press, New York, 1992. factors to the urban and rural population of 1.45 The calculation of health benefits from Argentina and the diarrhea estimate of 2,800 per international data can be verified in selected cases 100,000, it can be concluded that water where data are available in Argentina. The best connection to one additional person reduces data set was encountered in the Province of Jujuy, diarrhea morbidity by 0.009 cases per year and which has established a system of primary health mortality by 0.000013 cases.26 These figures care attention (Atencion Primaria de la Salud) would suggest that the incomplete coverage with that allows the analysis of the effect of different water systems causes 77,541 episodes of type of water and sewage service on the diarrhea, and 111 deaths per year. incidence of diarrhea (see Box 2). Data from other parts of the country provide qualitative confirmnation of the quantitative results of the 26. Morbidity benefits are obtained by solving the equation x+8,268,000 + (x+0.73)+21,066,000 = d+29,334,000 (where analysis in Jujuy. Similar data at a more d=0.028 is the observed country wide diarrhea rate and x is the aggregated level are available in the municipality diarrhea rate inferred for the uncovered population) for x and of Florencio Varela (AMBA), the city of Rosario multiplying x with 0.27, the reduction in morbidity as the result of sanitation improvements. Similarly, mortality benefits are obtained (Santa Fe), and possibly other locations. Casual by solving y+8,268,000 + (y+0.59)+21,066,000 = m+29,334,000 evidence supports the view of water-borne (where m=0.000023 is the observed country wide diarrhea mortality diseases as the main environmental health rate and y is the diarrhea mortality rate inferred for the uncovered population) for y and multiplying with 0.41. problem. In a barrio within Florencio Varela, a  18 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution Figure 2: Diarrhea and Water Supply in Jujuy Diarrhea and Water Supply by Health District (Province of Jujuy) Relative Incidence of Diarrhea (1/93) 0.3 0.1 p . . * . 0.001 0.0003l llll 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 Share of Houses with Running Water Table 5: Comparison of International and Jujuy Data Diarrhea Morbidity | Diarrhea Mortality Reduced Cases with One additional Person Covered with Water and Sewerage Services (and associated economic benefit) International Data 0.009 ($0.81) 0.000013 ($0.83-7.67) Jujuy Data 0.05 ($4.50) 0.00004 ($2.56-23.60) power outage occurred during the evening and infrastructure can be calculated as $1.64 or $8.48 was followed the next day by about 2,500 cases (depending on the method used to value a of diarrhea (shigellosis), directly attributable to statistical life) from international data and $7.06 backflow in the water pipes which drew in or $23.60 from Jujuy data.27 Countrywide, the contaminated water. economic cost of lacking water infrastructure would be of the order of $7.0 million for 1.46 Table 5 summarizes the comparison of morbidity and $7.1 or $65.5 million for mortality. data from the international literature applied to The wide range of the latter estimate is associated Argentina and data from the analysis of the Jujuy database. Using the evaluation methods described 27. It should be noted that these estimates of the environmental in Box 3, the annual economic cost of morbidity benefit of water supply and sanitation are only a fraction of the total benefits, that can be estimated based on the willingness to pay for and mortality per person not covered with water supply and sanitation, as discussed in paras 2.17 ff.  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 19 Box 3: Water Supply and Diarrhea in Jujuy Data are available at the level of health districts (secciones de trabaip) which include on average about 600 people. Available data for each health district include the number of houses with different type of water, sewerage, and waste disposal systems, as well as the incidence of diarrhea. Some indicators of socio-economic level of families are also available. The primary health system covers a population of about 300,000. In 1993, the system recorded 9,372 cases of diarrhea (3,145 per 100,000). Among the population covered by the system, the coverage with running water is 63.4 percent, and coverage with sewage collection is 21.0 percent while coverage with sewage collection or some other type of sewage disposal system is 72.2 percent. Each dot in I shows one health district, with its diarrhea rate as a function of the share of houses receiving running water. Regressions of diarrhea rates on the share of houses served by running water, sewage collection systems, and the share of "critical families" in the district (as a measure of socio-economic level) were run. The best fit was achieved with a linear model explaining diarrhea rates only with running water. As an order of magnitude estimate, the regression analysis of the Jujuy data shows that for every additional person supplied with running water 0.05 annual cases of diarrhea would be avoided. The regression results suggest that with full coverage of water systems 5,490 annual diarrhea cases could be avoided. The Jujuy database does not cover mortality. However, the following extrapolation can be made: Countrywide, there is one diarrhea death for every 1,275 cases of diarrhea. Assuming that every case of diarrhea leads to death with a probability of 1/1275, an additional person served with water would lead to a reduction of annual mortality by 0.00004. with different approaches to the valuation of symptoms and diseas(NO2) on respiratory mortality. symptoms is more uncertain. Yet, NO2 is one of the precursors of groundes and risk of mortality. Respiratory Diseases and Urban Air Pollution Epidemiological evidence for a direct effect of nitrogen dioxide level ozone, which is the 1.47 Epidemiological studies in many cities primary component of photochemical smog and a all over the world have established linkages known cause of respiratory symptoms, asthma between air pollution and different health effects. exacerbation, and eye irritations. Suspended particulate matter (SPM), especially the more respirable particles smaller than 10 1.48 To date, little systematic air pollution microns in diameter (PM1O), causes a variety of monitoring has been conducted to allow for any problems including increased incidence of decision making based on sound public health or respiratory disease, aggravation of existing scientific grounds. Since the database for respiratory diseases, such as bronchitis, reduced determining the exposure of the population to air resistance to infection and reductions in lung pollution is extremely weak, it is almost function. Studies have concluded that airborne impossible to determine the share of respiratory particulate matter can cause premature mortality, diseases that can be attributed to air pollution. particularly in elderly and ill persons, and those Similarly, without using a dispersion model it is with a propensity for respiratory infections, such extremely difficult to determine the effects of as asthma. Particulate matter also causes various interventions, i.e. pollution abatement lesser effects such as irritation of the eyes and investments, on exposure, and therefore, health throat. Exposure to sulphur dioxide (SO2) can outcomes. Therefore it is only attempted to affect lung function, the incidence of respiratory determine an order of magnitude range for the  20 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution Box 4 The Application of Dose-Response Functions to PMIo Reductions in Buenos Aires As an illustration of how the health damages associated with air pollution by particulate matter could be estimated, if appropriate data were available for Argentina, we can use the following dose-response functions obtained from the intemational literature: (I) Change in Mortality = 0.00096 x change in PM10(in Tg/m3) x crude mortality rate x exposed population. (2) Change in respiratory hospital admissions (RHA) per 100,000 = 1.2 x change in PM1O. (3) Change in emergency room visits (ERV) per 100,000 = 23.54 x annual change in PMIO. (4) Change in restricted activity days (RAD) per person per year = 0.0575 x change in PM,0 (RAD include days spent in bed, days missed from work, and other days when activities are significantly restricted because of illness). (5) Change in bronchitis in children = 0.00169 x change in PM,,. (6) Change in asthma attacks = 0.0326 x change in PM,,. (7) Change in chronic bronchitis = 0.0000612 x change in PM1O. MoQaliiy. To illustrate the application of the dose-relationship for the case of AMBA, with a population of 10.9 million and a crude mortality rate of 12.5 per 1,000 people, we have arbitrarily postulated (on the basis of Table 1), that about 10% of the population is regularly exposed to excessive levels of PM,0 pollution. Using equation (1) above would give a figure of 65 lives saved associated with a reduction of 5 Tg/m3 of PM,O. The monetary benefits would depend on estimating the value of a statistical life. Using $64,000 (as per the human capital approach) and $590,000 (as per the WTP approach) per life saved as a (see 2) and multiplying by the expected number of lives saved (65) would give a benefit of $4.2 or $38.4 million annually associated with a 5 Tg/m3 decrease in the concentration of PM,,in the air. Morbidity. Of the various effects identified, the only significant in monetary terms was the change in RAD, which gives a figure of 0.3 million days. We valued each day by half of the average daily wage ($20 per day), since not all RADs result in work loss days. The total value is thus estimated at $3.0 million annually. As to the other effects, their overall value was below $1 million each. Overall, the total estimated benefits of reducing the concentration of PMI 0 in Buenos Aires by 5 Tg/m3 would be in the order of $7.2 million or $41.4 million annually (depending on the method used to value a statistical life), assuming that the current levels of pollution are above 40 Tg/m (of PM 10, or 80 Tg/m3 of total suspended particles). Of course, in the absence of adequate data, these results incorporate a number of hypothetical assumptions are highly tentative and are simply shown here to illustrate the possible magnitude of pollution abatement benefits, and the importance of obtaining more accurate estimates to inform improved policy decisions. Source: Ostro, B., Estimating the Health Effects of Air Pollutants - A Method with an Application to Jakarta Policy Research Working Paper 1301, World Bank, 1994. health effect of air pollution in Argentina. The 1.49 Buenos Aires. According to the basic approach applied is the use of dose Direcci6n General de Politica y Control response functions from the economic and Ambiental, of the municipality of Buenos Aires, epidemiological literature. Dose-response the annual averages of NO, and SO2 at the single functions indicate the change of health variables monitoring station have been below the standards as the result of changes in air pollution.28 established by the Codigo de Prevencion de la Contaminaci6n Ambiental, Ordenanza 39025. Particulate data are not available. Therefore, a 28. The literature on dose-response functions was recently reviewed reasonable assessment of the costs associated by Bart Ostro, 1994, EsfTimating the Health Effects of Air Pollution WB Policy research Working Paper No. 1301. The dose-response with particulate matter can be only be carried out functions reviewed rely on results observed in cities where the on a very preliminary basis. As a matter of concentration levels of most pollutant levels are higher than in Argentina, cautioning against uncritical application of these illustration of possible health benefits associated fimctions to Argentina. with a reduction in particulate pollution, dose-  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 21 Box 5: Evaluation of Damages from Lead Pollution For illustrative purposes, in order to establish an order of magnitude for the costs associated with lead pollution, we used the following dose-response relationships showing the annualized effects of a ITg/m3 change in ambient air lead levels, between 0.5-1.5Tg/m (from Ostro, 1994). (1) hypertension: 7,260 cases/100,000 adult males. (2) coronary disease: 34.0 cases/100,000 adult males. (3) premature mortality: 35.0 cases/100,000 adult males. (4) IQ decrement: 9,750 points/100,000 children. Here again, we have arbitrarily postulated (on the basis of Table 3) that, while about a third of the population of AMBA is at risk of exposure by proximity to lead-contaminated traffic fumes, up to 10% is exposed with sufficient regularity to lead to excessive blood lead concentrations (i.e., above IOTg/deciliter). Thus, considering that about 70.6% of the population is adult and 49% is male, a I Tg/m3 reduction in ambient lead, would lead to the avoidance of the following health impacts every year: 27,375 cases of hypertension; 128 non-fatal heart attacks; 132 cases of fatal heart attacks; and 31,200 IQ points lost. To value monetarily each of these effects, Argentine medical costs are assumed to be one-fifth of US costs. The associated benefits would be: (a) hypertension: $ 2.4 million (valuing each case in Argentina @ $ 88.4); (b) coronary heart disease: $ 0.7 million (@ $ 5,667/case); (c) deaths: $ 8.4-77.9 million (valuing each statistical life, as per Box 1, @ $ 64,000 and $590,000, respectively); and IQ loss points $ 42.1 million. Valuation of the cost of I IQ point of a child is based on productivity losses. In the US it has been estimated that, on average, the loss of one IQ point results in lost lifetime earnings of US$4,588 per child. Adjusting this figure to Argentine average wages results in an expected loss of earnings of $1,349 per IQ point. Altogether, the total estimated benefits of reducing the lead concentration in the air by I Tg/m3 which, according to the existing data may be a desirable target in Buenos Aires, are in the order of $ 53.6 or $123.1 million (depending on the method used to value a statistical life). While these results are based on numerous hypothetical and debatable assumptions, and thus can only be regarded as illustrative, we hope that they will lead to discussion and further initiatives that will help to prepare more accurate estimates. Source: Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Childhood Lead Poisoning, Center for Disease Control, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, 1991. response function are applied to a hypothetical standard in areas inhabited by 10% of the reduction of PM1O concentration by 5 Tg/m . population, and PMdo was 50 percent of total Box 4 shows the health benefits associated with suspended particles, this would equal the cost of this reduction of particulate matter in the air. If current particulate pollution in Buenos Aires. SPM concentration was 10 Tg/m3 above the 1.50 Cordoba The city of C6rdoba maintains an extensive data base on air pollution by city 29. Assuming that current PM-1O concentrations are higher than the applicable standard (most dose-response curves assume that health effects are negligible if the concentration of the pollutant is below 30. Dr. Tafuri, Department of Chemistry, Universidad de Buenos the standard). Aires, personal communication.  22 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution area. The data base also contains information 1.52 An excessive level of lead on four respiratory ailments related to air contamination has been documented in pollution, i.e., acute bronchitis, asthma, chronic connection with several lead smelters in Jujuy.33 bronchitis and emphysema. Thus, e.g., 1976 data In 59 percent of children in Abra Pampa, Jujuy, a on 30,000 patients less than 18 years old indicate blood lead content of 15 microgram per deciliter that 10% of illnesses corresponded to the four was exceeded.34 Levels above 25 micrograms per respiratory ailments: 78% were acute bronchitis, deciliter call for medical investigation and were 18% asthma, 3% chronic bronchitis, and under exceeded in 20 percent of children. Soil samples 1% emphysema, with maximum values in June, showed average lead concentrations of 3,800 ppm July and August. While gaps in the data do not near the smelter and around 50 ppm in more than permnit a statistical estimate of the linkage I kilometer distance. The inference drawn from between air pollution and respiratory disease, the the data is that children ingest lead rather than data show that a during a five-day smog episode breathe it. While the latter has not been in 1971, during which SPM values averaged 100 confirmed by empirical laboratory tests, Tg/m3 (with a peak at 300Tg/m3), coincided with additional research is being prepared on how to an increase in hospital visits for respiratory promote dietary change within a poor population ailments from an average of 200 per week to 453. since it is possible to counter some of the damage done by lead through diet change.35 Lead Pollution Other Effects of Pollution on Health 1.51 Lead in air has been shown to have a strong correlation with blood lead levels, which 1.53 The statistics of the poison control are associated with neurological damage in centers are highly incomplete. In some years, children and with high blood pressure in adults. only 4 centers out of 13 have reported. Most of Lead at even low doses is associated with lower these reports refer to accidental poisoning. It is IQ scores, impaired attention, speech and difficult to infer long term effects from these language deficits and behavior disorders. These statistics, e.g., of exposure to toxic pollution on deficits are significant since they may have long- the incidence of cancer. There are several studies terrn effects on childrens' educational attainment of localized toxic pollution problems. Recently, a and employability. In addition, several studies study by the Environment Secretariat of Rio indicate that at high concentrations lead may be Negro Province showed alarmingly high birth carcinogenic. Because children inhale a defects; however statistics are insufficient to proportionally higher daily volume of air per determine causal link to environmental factors, weight measure than adults, they are more such as arsenic in drinking water. susceptible to lead in ambient air.32 Even though systematic data from Buenos Aires are not 1.54 Indoor Air Pollution. The only evidence available, indicative damages from lead pollution of indoor air pollution problems emerges from an are calculated in Box 5. incident in Pilar (Province of Buenos Aires) where, in response to parents' concem about the 3 1. Municipafidad de C6rdoba y Raul A. Montenegro; "PROAIRE: 33. Canelada, Adrian, et.al., "Investigaci6n Epidemiol6gica sobre 31 Muiiaia eCroayRtlA otngo POIE Contaminaci6n oor Plomo en la Localidad de Abra Parnna en Programa Municipal para Reducir la Contarninacion del Aire en Ia Relacincci6n code Plomo Ubicada en esa Ciudad"m Ciudad de C6rdoba", Primera Entrega, Agosto de 1993; Segunda unpublished paper, 1986. Entrega, Octubre de 1993. 34. This is the "lowest adverse effect level" according to the Center 32. Margulis, Sergio, "Back-of-the-Envelope Estimates of for Disease Control in the US. Environnmental Damage Costs in Mexico", WB Policy Research Paper. No. 824, 1992. Barrie, D., "Environmental Protection in 35. Maria Teresita Monchietti de Maidana, Sara Cledi Assef, and Fcderal States: Interiurisdictional Cooperation in Canada and Silvia Firson de Costas; "Intervencion educativo sanitaria para Australia", Australian National University, Federalism Research disminuir la absorci6n de plomo en la poblaci6n expuesta a Ia Center, Working Paper No. 18, 1992. contaminaci6n ambiental", undated mimeo.  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 23 incidence of respiratory ailments which were life-threatening condition for babies.38 Drinking three times higher in Pilar than other areas, a water and breast milk are considered the main closer examination of air pollution was requested. source of exposure.39 In Rosario, it is estimated Physicians had diagnosed their respiratory that 32% of the population draws water from illnesses as a result of cold weather and wells contaminated with nitrates. (In addition to dampness. A closer epidemiological examination groundwater, about 20% of bottled waters in revealed, however, that the main factor was GBA exceeded recommended nitrate limits.)40 irritation to the respiratory tract caused by However, as the existing data collection systems household heating and cooking fuels. do not specify methemoglobinemia as a separate Specifically, CO paralyzes the cilia ("hairs") category, it is not possible to evaluate the lining the respiratory tract, compromising their magnitude of the problem, if any. According to ability to filter pathogens before they make their local public health officials, another complicating way to the lungs. More analysis would be factor is that methemoglobinemia tends to be required to determine how widespread the misdiagnosed, thus understating its potential as a problem is and the degree of exposure to other public health problem. indoor air pollutants. 1.57 Pesticides. Given the high amounts of 1.55 Arsenic occurs naturally in the central pesticide use in food production, it is conceivable and northern parts of the country, where it has that food chain contamination poses a long-term been estimated that about 800,000 people are hazard. In a toxicology service run by the exposed to elevated levels of arsenic in drinking Hospital de Nifios in La Plata, pesticides account water.36 However, the population is aware of is for about 25% of total poisonings treated in the occurrence and takes preventive measures, thus hospital. Physicians do feel, however, that the avoiding major health damage. Nevertheless, number of cases coming to the hospital for given the propensity of arsenic to cause serious treatment represents only about 10-15% of the diseases,37 it would be worth further analysis, and total poisonings, with the bulk using home selected monitoring, to confirm that the problem remedies. Part of this uncertainty stems from the is indeed minor and manageable. This health fact that only one laboratory in the chain of 13 analysis would have important repercussions for country-wide toxicology centers has the capacity provision of water supply, particularly treatment to do the necessary types of diagnostic blood and transportation costs. tests. The possibility of breast cancer from exposure to pesticides in women engaged in 1.56 Nitrate. The extensive contamination of agriculture should also be explored, based on groundwater by nitrates from septic tanks, similar occurrences in Mexico. livestock pollution and fertilizer runoff is a major concern, as it can lead to methemoglobinemia, a The Non-Health Costs of Pollution 1.58 This section discusses different categories of non-health pollution damages 36. Estimates of population surpassing the 0.01 mg/I of arsenic in drinking water are: Salta, 5,000; Tucuman, 200,000; La Pampa, 38. Methemoglobinemia is a form of chemical asphyxiation 177,386; Santa Fe, 325,000; Chaco, 100,000, totalling 870,386. wherein the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood is blocked by Source: Centro Panamericano de Ecologia Humana y Salud, metabolites of nitrate which bind to methemoglobin instead of "Informacion sobre poblacion general expuesta a arsenico a traves hemoglobin in the red blood cells. del agua v del aire. Argentina", no date. 39. The effects of nitrates can be offset by boiling water in 37. Different studies have linked a variety of diseases to a high aluminum pots and giving vitamin C supplements. intake of arsenic in drinking water, among them bronchitis, tonsillitis, intestinal colic, arsenic melanosis, arsenic keratosis and 40. Direcci6n Nacional de Calidad Ambiental, Secretaria de Salud, an increased rate of stillbirths. Arsenic can also be ingested through Ministerio de Salud y Acci6n Social; "Evaluacion de Nivel de eating food that is contaminated with arsenic residues from irrigation Nitratos en Aeua de Bebida en los Partidos del Gran Buenos Aires"; water. Buenos Aires, 1988.  24 Argentina - Managing Environmental Pollution including: (a) increased production costs; (b) the non-use values destroyed through ecological material damage and income loss; (c) the loss of damage exist. However, such an evaluation is not recreational amenities, quality of urban life and attempted in this study. ecological damages; (d) the threat to Argentine exports due to possible environmental restrictions The Costs of Surface Water Pollution in Gran in importing countries; and (e) the costs of global Buenos Aires externalities. However, while an attempt will be made to illustrate some of these costs, the lack of 1.61 The pollution of surface waters in GBA, adequate data does not permit a comprehensive including the 80 km southern shore of the Rio de evaluation at this time. Ia Plata (the Franja Costera Sur), and the heavily polluted streams that flow into it, most notably 1.59 The inability to quantify the non-health the Rio Reconquista (at the northern end of the costs of pollution should not be construed as an Franja), and the Rio Matanza-Riachuelo (at the indication that these costs are insignificant or center of the Franja), has received a lot of small. There are many examples of localized attention and provides a setting for presenting pollution that causes material damage in various examples of the approaches that can be used to forms. Pits and ponds at oil drilling sites cause estimate non-health related costs of pollution. damage that reduces the market value of the wool The main sources of pollution are the urban produced in Comodoro Rivadavia, where wool sewage and industrial effluents that flow into the production is a US$100 million/year industry. Rio de la Plata directly, through the main sewer Some pipelines in Mendoza, where wine is a outlet in Berazategui, at the southern end of the US$200 million/year industry, have led to soil Franja, or indirectly, through the Rio Reconquista contamination and damage to vineyards. Also, and the Rio Matanza-Riachuelo. The low lying pollution causes loss of income to tourism, as it areas, which have become fairly urbanized, are suffers from any kind of visible pollution. In are periodically flooded. The damage from the many cases, pollution has indirect costs through floods is aggravated by the heavy pollution load the aversive behavior of individuals. Many of the smaller streams, added to the overflow individuals avoid the air or noise pollution in from septic tanks, which remain stagnant for downtown areas by moving to the suburbs, for weeks due to inadquate drainage. which they incur large commuting costs. Other defensive measures, such as modifications to 1.62 The economic costs of this pollution are buildings (air filters, noise reducing windows, mainly non-health related, as most of the etc.) are also part of the cost of pollution. population relies on public water supplies or groundwater, and the health impact of surface 1.60 In addition, pure air and clean water are water pollution are believed to be minor. The among the environmental amenities that people major non-health pollution costs include the value beyond their effect on health, income and increases in public water supply costs attributable production. The loss of these amenities makes to pollution, the losses from flood damages, people worse off and constitutes part of the which are aggravated by pollution, and the loss of economic costs of pollution. Particularly recreational values. Unfortunately, with the challenging is the valuation of ecological damage existing data it is virtually impossible to make in cases where no directly measurable damage to even rough monetary estimates of any of these humans occurs. The damage to birds that land in costs. Nevertheless, the following considerations pits and ponds polluted with oil at drilling sites is serve to illustrate the type of analysis that needs an example. The damage to oceanic wildlife by to be done. the release of untreated sewage into the ocean (such as is reported to occur in Patagonia) is 1.63 Public Water Supply. The major source another example. Approaches for determining of potable water supply of Gran Buenos Aires, La  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 25 Table 6: The Cost of Flooding in the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin Damage Amount (US$ million) public buildings 11.2 semi-durables 5.2 roads 3.5 homes 2.5 population evacuated 1.0 septic tanks 1.0 Total 24.4 Source: CEAMSE (1993) Plata, Berisso and Ensenada are the treated untreated sewage at Berazategui. Despite the waters from the Rio de la Plata. All plants use favorable location of the water intake relatively to conventional treatment systems, with the two the sewage discharge, the entire estuary is subject most important being San Martin (2,500,000 to the effects of tides. Backflow occurs during m3/d) and Belgrano (1,100,000 m3/d). San Martin high tide, but indications are that only a minimal plant is located in Palermo, 30 km downstream of part of the sewage eventually reaches the water the Rio Reconquista and of a number of smaller intake at Belgrano. and very contaminated creeks and streams (Medrano, White, Vega and Maldonado). Until 1.65 Flood Control, Including Health, 1976, the San Martin water intake was located Pollution and Aesthetic Improvements. A some 600-700 meters from the coast. Because of contingency valuation estimate of the willingness the high pollution levels, the intake point was to pay (WTP) to eliminate the risk of floods from shifted to 1,050 meters from the coast. Moving the Rio Reconquista was carried out by the the water intake point was clearly a direct cost government as part of a flood control project, from pollution that must be considered a sunk financed by the IDB. As the analysis focussed on cost today. The fact that the current intake the total benefits of flood control, the share of remains downstream of the mouth of Rio value attributable to linked improvements, such Reconquista might cause higher water treatment as pollution abatement, health, and aesthetic costs if pollution increases in future. However, values, cannot be separated. Based on a sample of water pollution parameters at the intake point at 1,240 families, a survey indicated a WTP to San Martin suggest that treatment costs are avoid floods of of $ 8 1/month/household in areas largely influenced by the high natural subject to flood at least once every 10 years, and concentration of suspended solids, originating $ 75 in areas subject to flood at least once every from the Parand and Uruguay Rivers, than by 50 years.42 Multiplying by the respective pollution from sewage or industrial effluents.4' populations exposed to each type of floods leads to a total WTP of $ 135 million. 1.64 The intake point of the Belgrano plant at Bemal is located 2,500 meters from the coast, 12 1.66 For the Rio Matanza-Riachuelo basin km downstream of the Rio Matanza-Riachuelo, there are no contingency valuation surveys, but and 12 km upstream of the discharge point for the economic cost of floods and pollution has been estimated through a partial assessment of 41. Major parameters are: BOD: 0.9 mg/A; DO: 7.3 mg/I; COD: 3.3 mg/I; pH: 7.3; Total coliforms: 1850 NMP/100 ml; fecal coliforms: 42 . Such estimates appear to be high, since they are equivalent to 95 NMP/ml; turbidity: 65 NTus; solids: 192 mg/l. double of the current level of municipal taxes.  26 Argentina - Managing Envirommental Pollution Box 6: Benefits from Reducing Pollution in the Rio de la Plata A Brazilian study measures the benefits of improving the water quality of the Rio Guaiba so that the population of the state capital Porto Alegre could enjoy bathing at the beaches of the river. According to the study, the WTP was US$ 6.6 per family per month, equivalent to 1.4 percent of the average income of the population of the city. In order to apply the results to Buenos Aires it would be necessary to know i) the population that would benefit from the recreational opportunity improvements and ii) estimate their WTP. The later can be assumed proportional to the two countries' per capita income (2.18 in 1992), or US$ 14.4 per family per month in Argentina. The number of families is more problematic: in the Porto Alegre study it was assumed that the population of the entire city would benefit (350,000 families) and that their monthly WTP would remain for the entire planning horizon (30 years). For illustration, we will make here more conservative estimates, namely that only a tenth of the population of greater Buenos Aires, thus 800,000 or roughly 200,000 families will benefit. Multiplication would give a value of US$ 35 million annually, or US$ 227 million over a ten year period for a discount rate of 10 percent. the direct costs of damage (see Table 6).43 As the discounted present value of the flood and study indicates, a number of costs have not been pollution risks. Unfortunately, here again it is not included, such as salaries and income lost, possible to separate the effects attributable to damage to capital of industries, damage to other floods from those due to pollution. infrastructure, and others, and their relative value cannot be estimated. Even incorporating all these 1.68 Recreational Losses from Pollution of the new items, the estimates appear extremely Rio de La Plata. In the Franja Costera Sur conservative. (between Tigre and Magdalena) there are some 21 balnearios (beaches). It is clear that the 1.67 The economic cost of floods and population would appreciate having cleaner water pollution can also be estimated from the in the Rio de la Plata and benefit from recreation reduction in property values in the affected areas. and leisure, which have been reduced because of As an illustration, the report on the Rio Matanza- the high levels of pollution. One way to measure Riachuelo contains the information that in 80% the costs of pollution is to measure people's WTP of the area subject to floodings, the market value for improved water quality. In addition to having of properties is 35% lower than in adjacent non- to ask individuals their WTP, it is also necessary flooded areas; and in the remaining 20% that is to determine the population that would actually closest to the river, which is the risk area benefit from improvements (of course, different permanently affected by the pollution in the river, people would value the benefits differently property values are 70% lower, meaning that in according to factors like where they live, their many cases they essentially have no market income, their habits, etc). Since neither of these value. The total number of houses in the area is data are available, Box 6 presents some rough 89,000. Assuming (probably conservatively) that estimates to illustrate the eventual benefits form the average value of a house in the flood zone is cleaning pollution in the Rio de La Plata based on US$ 10,000 and in the risk zone US$ 1,000 (these a study carried out in a river near Porto Alegre, are precarious, irregular settlements), gives an Brazil, where both socioeconomic and overall estimate of US$ 266 million as the environmental conditions are quite similar to those observed in the Franja Costera Sur. 43. CEAMSE, "Propuesta para el saneamiento de la cuenca del Rio Matanza-Riachuelo", 1993.  Argentina: Managing Environmental Pollution 27 MarketAccess Global Externalities 1.69 If lack of pollution control in Argentina 1.71 It is generally agreed that the buildup of limits access of Argentine exporters to greenhouse gases will increase average international markets, this constitutes an temperatures on the planet. The size of the effect additional cost of pollution. Pollution control may is uncertain, but the current estimate of the become an issue in negotiations for any future International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is trade agreements that Argentina may wish to join. that average world temperatures may rise by 3