Medical Observer, a limited-circulation monthly magazine for health professionals, became the first Philippine publication to be recognized for editorial excellence at the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Awards held Thursday at the American Club, Hongkong.

    The magazine's special issue on depression and suicide issue in April 2001, titled "The Mask of Sorrow," ran away with the Best Front Cover award, relegating media giant and consistent winner Time Magazine Asia to second place. It also beat such multinational publications as Newsweek far Eastern Economic Review, Forbes, Fortune and Ad Asia.

    It was the first time Medical Observer joined the awards.

    The award was received by publisher Jena Fetalino and editor in chief Ding Generoso in behalf of graphic artist Jericho Martinez, who conceptualized, designed and executed the cover. In his acceptance speech, Generoso said in jest. "We never realized that writing about depression could give us so much joy."

    Martinez, a university of Santo Tomas fine arts graduate has only been with the 10-year-old Medical Observer for two years.

    Other big winners included Far Eastern Economic Review for Excellence in Magazines, Asian Wall Street Journal for Excellence in Newspapers, Newsweek Asia for Best Editorial Team and Time Magazine Asia for Excellence in Features.

    The 2002 SOPA Awards drew a total of 244 entries from Hindi-Chinese and English-language publications from all over Asia. This was the fourth year of the awards.

    SOPA was established in 1982 to foster unity among Asian publishers.

8 November 2002. Coal plant safety all hot air?

    Over 60 percent of the diseases associated with respiratory infections are linked to exposure to air pollution, according to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB).

    In a report titled "Children's Environmental Health: Risks and Remedies," PRB said outdoor pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds come mainly from motor vehicle exhaust, power-plant emissions, open burning of solid waste, and construction and related activities.

    PRB reported that children in cities with populations greater than 10 million are exposed to levels of air pollution two times or eight times higher than the level World Health Organization considers acceptable.

    The PRB report refuted claims by the National Power Corp. on the safety of the coal plants it operates or those being run by its IPPs based on the "clarity" of the emissions.

    Earlier, the organization of coal-fired thermal power plant operators vowed "continuing compliance with all applicable environmental rules, regulations, and policies."

    In a related report, the Medical Observer, a local monthly publication for doctors and other health professionals, said Metro Manila is soaked in a deadly cocktail of air pollutants-carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, mercury, and particulate matter 10.

    These nasty chemicals are by-products of fossil-fuels, especially coal, during combustion.

    The dirty air, aside from being a serious environmental problem, is also detrimental to the health of residents of the metropolis.

    Metro Manila is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the world with a resident population in its 14 cities and three municipalities of 10.73 million crammed in a land area of 636 sq km.