The Struggle To Clean Up Cairo's Air

"Air pollution is so bad in Cairo that living in the sprawling city of 18 million residents is said to be akin to smoking 20 cigarettes a day. According to the World Health Organisation, the average Cairene ingests more than 20 times the acceptable level of air pollution a day.

A 2002 World Bank report estimates that pollution causes 2.42 billion dollars worth of environmental damage each year, about five percent of Egypt's annual gross domestic product.

Industry is to blame, in part, the worst offenders being factories that burn mazot for power. Mazot is the heavy oil left over after more valuable fuel products have been extracted from crude oil; when burnt, it emits substantial amounts of the greenhouse gases said to cause global warming.

The Ministry of the Environment continues to promise new measures to hold industry culprits accountable for air pollution, but has failed to put teeth into enforcement.

There are, however, signs of hope elsewhere.

An enterprising group of Canadian businessmen and Egyptian mud brick factory owners is quietly overhauling the mud brick industry, one of the biggest users of mazot, through switching from the heavy oil to natural gas."