Air, Water and Climatic Change

Air pollution

Is notorious in the capital city of Santiago, where air becomes trapped between the coastal mountains and the Andes. Smog alerts are common as are days when traffic is restricted. PM2.5 in the early 2000s average 32 ug/m3 (Dales et al. 2009), compared to the U.S. EPA standard of 15 ug/m3.  Investigators at the University of Chile School of Public Health have done studies of outdoor air pollution (e.g., Alvarado et al. 2010) in relation to methods of regulation. In rural areas in the south of the country firewood is often burned, contributing to deforestation (Sanhueza et al. 2009). 

Environmental tobacco smoke has also been an important issue in Chile, where Congress passed a law governing smoking in bars and restaurants. Investigators at the University of Chile School of Public Health provided crucial exposure data evaluating the effects of this law, which is now being re-considered (Erazo et al.2010).

Drinking water 

Is generally effectively treated in Chile, so health problems associated with microbiological contamination of drinking water such as childhood diarrhea and cholera are not important issues. However, inadequate wastewater treatment is still a problem in Chile, and water scarcity is a growing problem.  Chemical contamination of waterways is a problem especially in the north, where mining operations are concentrated. Arsenic contamination of water in the north of Chile is endemic due to the presence of arsenic in the soil, and has been responsible for increased rates of bladder and lung cancer, among other diseases (Sancha and O’Ryan 2008). University of Chile School of Public Health investigators have also studied this question (Caceres et al. 2010), from the point of view of genetic risk factors for bladder cancer due to arsenic. While most water contamination by arsenic has been remediated in northern Chile in recent years, in general heavy metal contamination of water and soil continues to be a problem in Chile, where the mining industry is very important. In addition, various water quality issues have risen in importance in coastal Chile, presenting a threat to the seafood industry. 

The emerging salmon industry in Chile was struck a severe blow in 2008, when antibiotic resistant organisms killed a large percentage of domesticated salmon. We have support from Dr. Felipe Cabello, a leading Chilean researcher on epidemiological and molecular aspects of antimicrobial resistance resulting from excessive use of antimicrobials in the Chilean salmon aquaculture industry (Millanao et al. 2011). The proliferation of red tides poses another important coastal water issue in Chile. Red tides killed several people in southern Chile near the island of Chiloe and led to a ban on Chile’s shellfish in 2009.  Also related to coastal management issues is the problem of shellfish contamination with Vibrio Parahemolyticus, which sickened 3500 people in southern Chile in 2007, an outbreak described by University of Chile investigators (Harth et al.
2009).

Climatic Change

Because of its extensive latitudinal range, a wide variety of climatic regimes occur in Chile, from the hyper-arid north to the extremely rainy Patagonia region. Current climate change model projections suggest temperature increases of 1-2°C on the coast and up to 5°C in the continental zone, particularly in the Andes Mountains. Rainfall is also expected to decrease up to 30% in some regions, and the arid zone is projected to expand southward to central Chile, where the majority of the country’s population resides (Garreaud 2008). As in other Andean countries, the rate at which many of Chile's glaciers are melting has increased significantly in recent years, due mainly to temperature rises. Less melting snow, and less water trapped in glaciers, combined with less rainfall, could cause a serious decline in water availability, particularly in the summer months. 

The Chilean government has made climate change a priority for research and policy, and released a national action plan on climate change in 2008. We are fortunate to count on collaboration with a team of U. Chile researchers (Department of Geophysics) who have a track record of work in this area (Garreaud et al. 2009). Dr. Laura Gallardo will be one of our collaborators in this area (see letter of support). She has been a key part of project called South American Emissions, Megacities, and Climate (www.saemc.cmm.uchile.cl), funded by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change (www.iai.int), with support from National Science Foundation. This project has joined together atmospheric scientists in Latin America in the US to predict air pollution patterns for Latin America’s largest cities. As part of this project, the future impact of changing climate has also been assessed.