Thai govt agencies ‘not taking air pollution seriously’

[webfact]

Agencies ‘not taking air pollution seriously’

By Pratch Rujivanarom 
The Nation 

 

 

More people killed by pollution than by aids, malaria: world health organisation
 

GOVERNMENT agencies yesterday launched all-out efforts to battle the persistent smog, as dust particles continued to blanket the capital, even as a WHO report said air pollution killed more people than Aids and malaria combined.

 

Authorities yesterday rushed to find solutions to help ease the problem, including cleaning roads more often, spraying water over Greater Bangkok’s sky, trying to produce artificial rain, and enforcing strict laws against vehicles emitting thick exhaust fumes. 

 

However, the measures failed to cleanse the capital’s foul air. Amid worries that prolonged exposure to a cloud of PM2.5 (airborne dust particles 2.5 microns in diameter or less) will lead to a spike in health conditions and diseases in the long run, Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, a medical lecturer at Chiang Mai University, urged relevant agencies to tackle air pollution at its root. The authorities must ensure clean air for everyone, or at least they should improve their strategies to protect people from air pollution and raise public awareness on this dangerous threat to their health, he said. 

 

Nearly a week since the PM2.5 level in Bangkok rose significantly, forming a thick layer of smog over the city, the air in Bangkok yesterday remained severely polluted. According to the PM2.5 air quality index measured by international air quality monitoring website, https://aqicn.org, it was as high as 396 in Bang Khen district.

 

“The authorities still do not realise the real dangers of air pollution, as they are very unlike imminent threats to people such as disasters and diseases, which can kill people instantly,” Rungsrit said.

 

“The impacts to our health from PM2.5 are more subtle and it takes a long time before people get sick from air pollution, so many people and authorities underestimate the deadly threat from PM2.5 to our health,” he said. 

 

The PM2.5 dust particles are extremely small and they are fine enough to be absorbed in the human bloodstream through the lungs.

 

This will cause chronic diseases such as asthma, cancer, heart disease and stroke in the long term if there is exposure to air pollution, Rungsrit said. 

 

Not only does air pollution escalate the risks of numerous sicknesses, multiple medical studies have confirmed that breathing polluted air creates as much risk of miscarriage among pregnant women as from smoking cigarettes, while prolonged exposure to air pollution from a very young age can reduce the learning ability of children, he added.

 

 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), each year there are more deaths from air pollution than from Aids and malaria combined; the average deaths every year from these two diseases are around 2.36 million people, while deaths from all kinds of air pollution were as high as 6.3 million.

 

The Pollution Control Department (PCD) should warn people on an hourly basis about air pollution, especially to protect vulnerable groups such as elderly people, children and sick people, and also adjust the country’s PM2.5 safety standards to align with that of the WHO, Rungsrit said. 

 

“People should not just wear facemasks when they go outside during periods of bad air quality, but they should also create their own safe zones at their home and their workplace by installing air purifiers to clean the air indoor,” he noted.

 

Meanwhile, Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Sukhum Karnchanapimai said the ministry has coordinated with all related agencies to monitor and protect the people’s health from air pollution and has already set up a monitoring centre for respiratory diseases and heart and bloodstream diseases in Bangkok.

 

Sukhum said the authorities were now educating the people about the harm caused by air pollution and on how to stay healthy during the smog season. The people were also encouraged to regularly check the current air quality with the PCD.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30362247

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-01-15

 

[MaxYakov]

They may not be taking it seriously, but I am. We have to get proactive - neither the BMA nor anyone else is going to help us. I started wearing this type of mask (image 1) when out many years ago. Now I wear one all the time when out except when eating. I've recently replaced the standard filter which comes with the basic mask with filter material cut from a 3M (alleged) PM2.5 N95 disposable respirator mask available at Big C central (image 2). The green-seal, one-way valve mask is available at Home Pro and Power Buy. It's your body and your choice. Total cost for the two 160 baht.

 

What I can't figure out is why the PM2.5 levels have been reported at the RTAQ site as being much worse in the late evening and early morning than in the daytime (image 3).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 14, 2019 by MaxYakov

[4MyEgo]

It's not any different in rural Thailand where we are getting smoked out during burning season, let alone every other day of the week with idiots burning rubbish and making their own toxic charcoal.

 

Welcome to the Land of Smiles, All smiles but "no brains" up top !!!

 

 

Edited January 14, 2019 by 4MyEgo

[SoilSpoil]

1 hour ago, MaxYakov said:

What I can't figure out is why the PM2.5 levels have been reported at the RTAQ site as being much worse in the late evening and early morning than in the daytime (image 3).

Because farmers know that they shouldn't, but burn their fields mostly at night.

 

More and more fires popping up. The agricultural sector has got the country by the balls.

Edited January 14, 2019 by SoilSpoil

[YetAnother]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

“The authorities still do not realise the real dangers of air pollution, as they are very unlike imminent threats to people such as disasters and diseases, which can kill people instantly,” Rungsrit said.

self-interest trumps greater good nearly all the time; not enough motivation yet

[cardinalblue]

Time to roll out their 7 dangerous day air pollution plan...

 

and follow their stellar road safety strategies to a tee...

 

checkpoints everywhere!

Edited January 15, 2019 by cardinalblue

[mikebell]

Whilst the roadside bandits are 'fining' road users, couldn't they look at the exhausts of any number of ill-maintained, clapped-out hulks which are slowly killing us.

[Justgrazing]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Authorities yesterday rushed to find solutions to help ease the problem, including cleaning roads more often, spraying water over Greater Bangkok’s sky, trying to produce artificial rain, and enforcing strict laws against vehicles emitting thick exhaust fumes

They are detached from reality if they think there is a quick fix to this .. It'll take years to bring it under control requiring mind boggling amounts of investment and a step change in the way of life here .. Unless of course PM has a cunning plan the pray the pollution away .. 

[realenglish1]

This  is a tourist killer If this keeps up people are going to choose to go elsewhere where there is less pollution The pollution problem has 

made international headlines and I am sure it's affecting the tourist trade.

 

Throwing water into the air and washing roads is not going to help Its a joke Start cracking down on the polluters Old buses and trucks. Motorcycles and yes they pollute. Factories that spew pollutants as well

Construction sites are not creating this massive pollution problem so stop saying this ridiculous idea  This is a very weak attempt at trying to assure residents that the government is doing something They are not

[wreckingcountry]

Spread the word ! Destroy tourism


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[wreckingcountry]

Leave Bangkok! I am after 5 years ,choking traffic and now mass pollution ! Bye


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[Nice Boyd]

They don’t even have a clue , what the definition of “Serious” is...

[Oziex1]

Tried to get my people in Issan to burn rubbish in a raging fire, but no they won't do it, they persist with the slow smoldering toxic smoker. 

[jaltsc]

"Authorities yesterday rushed to find solutions to help ease the problem, including cleaning roads more often..."

 

I don't think cleaning the roads of all the dead bodies and wrecked vehicles more often will help ease the air pollution problem. 

Edited January 15, 2019 by jaltsc

[mok199]

Thailand takes grandstanding and showboating seriousy ,stagged tall tales and police coming to the rescue, anything that shows a glamourous image of Thailand ...air pollution is another dirty word like road carnage,and we are just collateral damage..

[keithkarmann]

3 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

It's not any different in rural Thailand where we are getting smoked out during burning season, let alone every other day of the week with idiots burning rubbish and making their own toxic charcoal.

 

Welcome to the Land of Smiles, All smiles but "no brains" up top !!!

 

 

I am with you with this but lets face it the powers that be do not give a rat's arse about the general public. We were told about six months ago (45km from Sukhothai) that our rubbish would not be collected any more and that we had to burn all our rubbish. So along with all the stubble burning we are adding to the problem but nobody cares. So I have a massive fan and blow all the toxic smoke towards the mooban chief's house. They like to get these positions but will not do anything to justify there position and also we go days without water. But it is my choice to live in a third world country.

[MaxLee]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Agencies ‘not taking air pollution seriously’

 

You know what,.... you're absolutely right.

[Justgrazing]

Songkran comes early to BKK .? 

Or just another day in paradise .. 

Edited January 15, 2019 by Justgrazing
Sp

[Chrisswe]

It's all a question of knowledge, they must start to realice that there's to many car's , truck's, bus'es and MC's run around the town 24 hour's/day . 

[4MyEgo]

6 minutes ago, keithkarmann said:

I am with you with this but lets face it the powers that be do not give a rat's arse about the general public. We were told about six months ago (45km from Sukhothai) that our rubbish would not be collected any more and that we had to burn all our rubbish. So along with all the stubble burning we are adding to the problem but nobody cares. So I have a massive fan and blow all the toxic smoke towards the mooban chief's house. They like to get these positions but will not do anything to justify there position and also we go days without water. But it is my choice to live in a third world country.

I love the idea of the big fan, we also have one outside in our covered area for when our neighbour who is about 20-30 metres away fires up her charcoal to cook or burns some timber, our many windows and doors closed till about 9-10am then we open for some fresh air, then close again 4.30-5pm.

 

The mayor we have is useless, only interested in lining his pockets from gambling, we asked for him to get rubbish bins to get our rubbish collected and that would also stop people burning it, oh I have tried many times but people don't want to pay, suffice to say we are 200 metres short of the adjoining village which has yellow bins and they do not allow burning of anything in the village.

 

My wife has some land about a kilometre away, we take our rubbish there on Saturdays and dump it there, and we burn it once a month at the beginning of every month, but not before separating recyclable material and fresh food scraps before we dump it as a of the fresh food (veggies/fruit scraps) go into the garden.

 

Your right about it being a 3rd world country and our choice to live here, beats back home hands down except for the air quality. 

[wealthychef]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Authorities yesterday rushed to find solutions to help ease the problem, including cleaning roads more often, spraying water over Greater Bangkok’s sky, trying to produce artificial rain, and enforcing strict laws against vehicles emitting thick exhaust fumes. 

 

the problem is capitalism.  Wealthy people that live offshore destroy local environments so they can live on yachts.  

[DM07]

No sh!t, Sherlock!?

????

[MichaelJohn]

I'm interested in the method of "enforcing strict laws against vehicles emitting thick exhaust fumes".

 

Has anyone ever seen a smokey truck or bus being pulled over?

 

It'll never happen ????

[CGW]

"cause & effect" They are doing nothing to prevent the cause, just a little "show-boating" to keep the effect down, which is very short term at best, so correct they are doing nothing constructive whatsoever in preventing further pollution - pathetic response! 

[RichardColeman]

This was in the UK news today - I imagine that will do a significant amount of damage for the TAT to deflect with their magic paint brush

[cardinalblue]

Are those diesel powered yachts?

 

Thailand passed Russia in 2018 for #1 income disparity country in the world...

 

And you really think the Thai gov is going to do something to benefit the average citizen and the community in general?

[cedel]

They may not be taking it seriously, but I am. We have to get proactive - neither the BMA nor anyone else is going to help us. I started wearing this type of mask (image 1) when out many years ago. Now I wear one all the time when out except when eating. I've recently replaced the standard filter which comes with the basic mask with filter material cut from a 3M (alleged) PM2.5 N95 disposable respirator mask available at Big C central (image 2). The green-seal, one-way valve mask is available at Home Pro and Power Buy. It's your body and your choice. Total cost for the two 160 baht.
 
What I can't figure out is why the PM2.5 levels have been reported at the RTAQ site as being much worse in the late evening and early morning than in the daytime (image 3).

 
 

 

 
 
 

Hello I was in Home Pro as well as in BigC extra in Pattayaklang (Central Pattaya), but I cannot find the 3M P2. 5 N95 respirator. Where did you buy it exactly ? Only the green seal one-way valve mask is in Home Pro

Envoyé de mon SM-G965F en utilisant Tapatalk

[luk AJ]

Bad news for many but a big bonus for smokers :)


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[superal]

1 hour ago, MichaelJohn said:

I'm interested in the method of "enforcing strict laws against vehicles emitting thick exhaust fumes".

 

Has anyone ever seen a smokey truck or bus being pulled over?

 

It'll never happen ????

I have seen pickup trucks at their yearly test with the exhaust analyser probe tester in the pipe and when revved up fill the garage with black smoke to the laugh of the tester but guess what ? it passed the test !

[Gazza0308]

How can you take this problem serious when no other problems in the country are taken serious