Wear a mask, northerners warned

[webfact]

Wear a mask, northerners warned

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

People in the North have been urged to take precautions regarding the haze blanketing several provinces, which carries unsafe amounts of particulate matter.

 

Dr Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen, head of the government’s Disease Control Department, on Tuesday warned that the small-particle dust posed risks of respiratory, heart and vascular diseases, as well as eye and skin inflammation.

 

He said four groups of people were particularly at risk in such conditions – anyone with chronic lung or heart disease, asthma or allergies, the elderly, small children and pregnant women.

 

People in these groups should wear an N95 face mask and stay indoors when air quality is poor, he said.

 

With the hot and dry summer prime time for forest fires and people still clear-burning land despite a ban on the practice, Suwanchai said, the haze remained a problem.

 

Tak earlier this week recorded 140 micrograms per cubic metre of PM10 particulate matter, referring to particles 10 microns in diameter or less. In Chiang Mai the figure was 125.

 

Anything above 120 is considered hazardous to health.

 

The Pollution Control Department on Tuesday reported that Muang Lampang had exceeded the PM10 limit with 121 micrograms per cubic metre.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30341323

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-20

[rebo]

Everyday the same brainwash-rambling of this w4nker departement ...! As if masks or not going outside would change anything of the root causes.
But any action?
NULL!

[daoyai]

the funny part is remembering the govt. assurances that this year they would really enforce the burning prohibition and the situation would improve.  nope

[garyk]

I left there a week ago now. Came back to the US because of the air quality. 

It took mw a week to stop coughing.

 

 

[mok199]

im afraid we are way way past that...try and catch up GDCD,,but now you are off the hook and covered your own ass...Amusing thailand

Edited March 20, 2018 by mok199
speliing

[Fore Man]

For the past several years, we’ve used the Thai Government-sponsored Air4Thai app on our phones to monitor the air quality index here in Chiang Mai.  A week ago, my wife and I were out for a walk around our golf course subdivision when we came upon a prominent Thai neighbor wearing a high quality face mask.  He stopped to chat and warned us that the Air4Thai app he had also used for the past few years grossly understated the true AQI, due to either deliberate intent or technical equipment deficiencies.  He showed us his phone, which now carried a far more accurate app, AirVisual.  My Air4Thai app showed a reading of 95 at the time, but AirVisual showed a number around 140. Besides, with every successive iteration of Apple’s iOS firmware, Air4Thai was consistently either quirky or refused to load. If you want an accurate, portable understanding of air quality, I suggest that TVF readers install AirVisual.  It is not limited to Thailand and in fact is a global resource. 

[BuaBS]

It is pretty bad this year , and I'm not even in the worst part , like Lampang .

[Tarteso]

Wonderfull days here... in Chiang Mai.

 

Edited March 21, 2018 by Tarteso

[peperobi]

Dear Dr. Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen, FYI: the microparticles (you call it small particles), are even inside the houses, what we do against? Show me please a clean air place in Thailand during that period. Stop please to make the weather responsible for the situation. S T O P B U R N I N G!!! 

 

[ikwiljou]

1 hour ago, Tarteso said:

Wonderfull days here... in Chiang Mai.

 

Even worth now in Chiang Mai:

 

[Dap]

5 hours ago, BuaBS said:

It is pretty bad this year , and I'm not even in the worst part , like Lampang .

2:22 pm Wednesday AQI (Lampang) ... 241 

[franckfranck]

4 hours ago, peperobi said:

Dear Dr. Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen, FYI: the microparticles (you call it small particles), are even inside the houses, what we do against? Show me please a clean air place in Thailand during that period. Stop please to make the weather responsible for the situation. S T O P B U R N I N G!!! 

 

The first week I just arrived, to my shock and horror, I found out the have absolutely no incinerator! The village manager just burns off all the trash. I asked him if he is aware of what Dioxin is and how this leads to cancer. He replied he made sure there was water around the burning place. Hope lies somewhere else except this place.

[sead]

7 hours ago, Fore Man said:

For the past several years, we’ve used the Thai Government-sponsored Air4Thai app on our phones to monitor the air quality index here in Chiang Mai.  A week ago, my wife and I were out for a walk around our golf course subdivision when we came upon a prominent Thai neighbor wearing a high quality face mask.  He stopped to chat and warned us that the Air4Thai app he had also used for the past few years grossly understated the true AQI, due to either deliberate intent or technical equipment deficiencies.  He showed us his phone, which now carried a far more accurate app, AirVisual.  My Air4Thai app showed a reading of 95 at the time, but AirVisual showed a number around 140. Besides, with every successive iteration of Apple’s iOS firmware, Air4Thai was consistently either quirky or refused to load. If you want an accurate, portable understanding of air quality, I suggest that TVF readers install AirVisual.  It is not limited to Thailand and in fact is a global resource. 

downloading and ty

[Hardie]

10 hours ago, peperobi said:

Dear Dr. Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen, FYI: the microparticles (you call it small particles), are even inside the houses, what we do against? Show me please a clean air place in Thailand during that period. Stop please to make the weather responsible for the situation. S T O P B U R N I N G!!! 

 

Come south, no problem near the Thai-Cambo border beyond Trat, I assure you, if you don't mind a little rain. I once followed the haze all along the north/central border from P-lok to Mae Sot, burning all the way except Sukhothai, which is culturally central. They were watching on the news what was happening only 30 miles away, east, west or north. And yes, Mae Sot is northern culturally, jaow... 

[InMyShadow]

"Disease Control Department, on Tuesday warned that the small-particle dust posed risks of respiratory, heart and vascular diseases, as well as eye and skin inflammation"

 

Just keeps getting worse and worse. Also getting a lot more exposure on social media so this wont bode well for tourists and as the 'dream"  expat destination. what a joke !!

[observer90210]

But is it worse for those who are smokers ?

[wolfmuc]

2 hours ago, Hardie said:

Come south, no problem near the Thai-Cambo border beyond Trat, I assure you, if you don't mind a little rain. I once followed the haze all along the north/central border from P-lok to Mae Sot, burning all the way except Sukhothai, which is culturally central. They were watching on the news what was happening only 30 miles away, east, west or north. And yes, Mae Sot is northern culturally, jaow... 

Not everyone is in the position to follow your good advice.

Back to the OP.

' The Pollution Control Department on Tuesday reported that Muang Lampang had exceeded the PM10 limit with 121 micrograms per cubic metre. '

Is it a special problem in Lampang/Mae Mo's lignite mine/power plant?

What about Mae Sot? No idea. Oil shale? Power plant?

Will add a picture, today:

Thanks to

http://berkeleyearth.lbl.gov/air-quality/map.php

 

 

 

[wolfmuc]

39 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

But is it worse for those who are smokers ?

Nobody knows.

 

[peperobi]

12 hours ago, Hardie said:

Come south, no problem near the Thai-Cambo border beyond Trat, I assure you, if you don't mind a little rain. I once followed the haze all along the north/central border from P-lok to Mae Sot, burning all the way except Sukhothai, which is culturally central. They were watching on the news what was happening only 30 miles away, east, west or north. And yes, Mae Sot is northern culturally, jaow... 

I was living 22 years on Samui and the air pollution was coming from Singapore and Malesia.

[HaleySabai]

On 3/21/2018 at 8:45 AM, Fore Man said:

Thai neighbor wearing a high quality face mask.  He stopped to chat and warned us that the Air4Thai app he had also used for the past few years grossly understated the true AQI, due to either deliberate intent or technical equipment deficiencies.  He showed us his phone, which now carried a far more accurate app, AirVisual.  My Air4Thai app showed a reading of 95 at the time, but AirVisual showed a number around 140.

Air4Thai is an odd reading compared to the other Air-Q sites. However, it is 'for Thai' so must show the smiling icon at all times to prove everything is O.K ....sabai,sabai.... deny,deny....

 

Our relatives from Chiang Rai croaked the airQ is good this year due in part to their Mayor...they went on to say that CR's Mayor has "bigger balls" than CM's Mayor in proactive enforcement with the 'stop-burning' initiatives.

In the bigger picture,the topography of CM plays a major role of entrapping smog/smoke and thus the city will likely, by default, forever experience this issue to greater or lesser degrees.

 

The Air-Q has been over 150 pm 2.5 in and around CM since the first week of Feb., started much earlier this year and consistently thicker.

Get an air purifier for the house ...very good investment.

 

[Tarteso]

Past months, I was been between Chiang Dao and Chiang Mai, it was a pure HELL of pollution, with difficulties to take a breath and unable to stay outdoor (with & without mask). Now in the beach, I feel better. I’ll don’t return until everything return to normal.

 

[tfc]

It aint...*cough*...so....*cough* *cough*...bad...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 3/20/2018 at 3:01 PM, webfact said:

People in these groups should wear an N95 face mask and stay indoors when air quality is poor, he said.

 

I'm thinking of all my time in Thailand, and trying to recall how many times I ever saw ANY Thai person wearing an N95 type mask outside of a work situation, and I probably can count those on one hand.

 

The cheap typical hospital/drugstore paper kind, sure, all the time. But an actual respirator mask, here, almost never.