MMDA field personnel to join UP Manila study linking traffic exposure to hearing loss

MANILA: The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has expressed its support for the study of the University of the Philippines Manila-National Institute of Health (UP-NIH) that aims to determine the link between chronic traffic exposure and hearing loss. Select MMDA field personnel will be the target participants of the study.

MMDA Officer-in-Charge Director Baltazar Melgar said that traffic enforcers work under punishing weather conditions, stressing that they are also exposed to health hazards such as traffic noise exposure and air pollution.

According to Melgar, the study will be led by Dr. Kim Ong of the UP-NIH and will be assisted by the MMDA medical clinic headed by Dr. Annabelle Ombina.

Select field personnel assigned at Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) will undergo the screening process which involves a hearing test and in-depth interview.

“The screening process is expected to be done on the second week of August. Based on the criteria set by the UP-NIH, traffic enforcers must have a five-year field exposure experience, regardless of their employment status,” Melgar said.

Meanwhile, a recent study conducted by scientist Emmanuel Baja revealed that exposure to black carbon and heavy metals while on duty along the major thoroughfares of Metro Manila like EDSA, where hundreds of thousands of vehicles traverse daily, affects traffic enforcers' blood pressure and lung function.

The study likewise showed that the lead found in enforcers' blood could imply systemic inflammation and may also be linked to heart damage.

At present, there are almost 600 traffic enforcers assigned to man traffic along EDSA.

Photo by Kap Maceda Aguila 

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