Bangkok's Smog Isn't Just In Bangkok!

[LetsCleanUpTHAILAND]

The Nation reported that :

The Pollution Control Department reported of unsafe levels of PM2.5 – airborne particulates 2.5 microns or less in diameter – in 39 locations around the city, of which 23 were along main roads.The level hit 141 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic metre of air – nearly three times the safe limit of 50 – on Rama II Road in Muang Samut Sakhon, Samut Sakhon province, 45 kilometres from Bangkok.

If the situation remains unchanged, the order to suspend the classes may have to continue, he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30363218

 

Guys! My throat is burning now!!! I live in rural Ayutthaya where we burn our trash daily, public transport is mostly diesel-buses that trample over any road or soi that can get them to their destination faster, and the fact that we were famous for 2013's trash mountain didn't help out with air quality either. Oh! Did I mention that we are nestled in the hot, sweaty cleavage of Thailands biggest polluters: Saraburi and Bangkok?

 

The truth of the matter is that pollution has no boarders and that the toxic air pollution of Bangkok is actually not just in Bangkok. Lethal levels of PM2.5 cover the entire central Thailand area from Hua Hin all the way up to Nakhon Sawan. Don't believe me, look at this pollution map that experts use (see attachment and visit: https://aqicn.org/here/)

 

I'm here because Thailand needs foreigners like us who can take action. I'm just an ESL teacher and a farang. My opinion, despite my education and previous experience in pollution issues, doesn't mean anything in Thailand. And this isn't just a Thai problem. "Move back to your country!!!" says the grumpy Thai Visa expat with great courage and bravery behind his anonymous identity. Well, I'd like to add that air pollution takes about 1-2 weeks to circulate with the global winds from Asia, across the pacific, to the USA and Canada. And vise versa. All air on earth is circulated and our earth isn't able to filter it all. And guess where it ends up? Yes, your lungs!

 

Can someone here talk to the newspapers or only news sources about getting schools all over thailand shut down on high pollutions days. This is the best way to spread awareness. I guarantee you that most pollution is coming from trash burning at night. If Thai people stop burning trash in their back yard, then we can enjoy cleaner air. It's simple. Who is with me?

 

 

[Kwasaki]

If you live in a big city in Thailand then air pollution is just worse and more so when the farmers burn.

Bkk has for a long been bad just because of the traffic so obvious really by looking at the sky above it. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

25 minutes ago, LetsCleanUpTHAILAND said:

I live in rural Ayutthaya where we burn our trash daily,

 Why?  No local trash collection by local government?

[LetsCleanUpTHAILAND]

I hear you. But look at the science. Anything above 50 is toxic. So whether is 120, 140, 200 or anything above 50, it's bad news bears. There's no pollution competition here. ALL air pollution at the micro size of PM2.5 is hazardous to our health. I'll explain why:

1. PM2.5, aka Microscopic Dust, has VIP access to your vital organs: Brain, Lungs and Heart.
2. PM2.5 dust, over time, clogs your arteries which causes high blood pressure. It causes asthma in your lungs. It also causes light-headedness, nausea and other health problem.
3. No matter if you live in Bangkok, Saraburi, Isan or Antartica. If your air is in the yellow, orange or red alert (see the map in my post) then your body is actively filtering out the pollution in the air. Basically, your lungs are a trash can and ash tray.

So that's why I think we need a nationwide shut down during high pollution days so that we can spread awareness. Just because a cities pollution doesn't make headline news doesn't mean it's not equally as dangerous. Did I explain about why PM2.5 in any city is very dangerous well. It's not easy to explain.

[LetsCleanUpTHAILAND]

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 Why?  No local trash collection by local government?

It is but people are lazy and the law isn't enforced. Actually, the police don't even know about the law. This happens all over rural Thailand. In the past, Thais would burn their trash because their trash was packaging from natural products: banana leaf, coconut, ect. They think plastics are the same.

From my research, burning plastics is more toxic than diesel smoke. In fact, the chemical made from burning some plastics, dioxins, are known as the most toxic chemical to science. It shuts down your immune system like the AIDS virus and rips apart your DNA causing reproductive damage and cancers. This is why it's illegal to burn trash in your backyard in the western world.

In thailand, everyone burns their trash. Even the government. WAste-to-incineration machines are run cold which emits dioxins. The machines are run cold because its not profitable to run them hot. But burning trash in your backyard is 20 times more toxic than a metric ton of trash properly burned in an incinerator. And right now, central thailand is covered in a thick fog of it....

 

If I had a thai partner to speak thai for me, I could help thailand out with this problem.

[George36]

Thanks for the link: https://aqicn.org/here/) Very interesting to see readings in San Diego where I live.  

[LetsCleanUpTHAILAND]

5 minutes ago, George36 said:

Thanks for the link: https://aqicn.org/here/) Very interesting to see readings in San Diego where I live.  

I'm a graduate of SDSU. Pleasure to meet you. For you guys, your pollution is Moderate. Feel free to hike Cowles Mountain anytime ???? I used to work for Greenpeace in S.D. and the biggest pollution issues are ocean pollution from not only San Diego City but also Tijuana. SD is actually one of the few cities in the USA that doesn't fully treat its sewage before flushing it. The good news is that now the geniuses of North County have found a way to turn sewage into potable drinking water. So now your tap water is like... 30-50% filtered toilet water. But it's totally clean. I really miss surfing Scripps. Glad you came in here!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

31 minutes ago, LetsCleanUpTHAILAND said:

It is but people are lazy and the law isn't enforced. Actually, the police don't even know about the law.

 

And therein lies the root of so many problems here, and the reason effective remedies are never forthcoming.

 

[LetsCleanUpTHAILAND]

22 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

And therein lies the root of so many problems here, and the reason effective remedies are never forthcoming.

 

True that! Luckily, most of us are probably ESL teachers. So with that gift of being able to educate, we educate ???? Again, if only we spoke Thai. haha

[Denim]

Who is with me ?? ????

 

Over the top ?

 

[elephant45]

don't worry about, we've already destroyed the surface of the planet. have a beer and relax.

[Slip]

1 hour ago, LetsCleanUpTHAILAND said:

I hear you. But look at the science. Anything above 50 is toxic. So whether is 120, 140, 200 or anything above 50, it's bad news bears. There's no pollution competition here. ALL air pollution at the micro size of PM2.5 is hazardous to our health. I'll explain why:

1. PM2.5, aka Microscopic Dust, has VIP access to your vital organs: Brain, Lungs and Heart.
2. PM2.5 dust, over time, clogs your arteries which causes high blood pressure. It causes asthma in your lungs. It also causes light-headedness, nausea and other health problem.
3. No matter if you live in Bangkok, Saraburi, Isan or Antartica. If your air is in the yellow, orange or red alert (see the map in my post) then your body is actively filtering out the pollution in the air. Basically, your lungs are a trash can and ash tray.

So that's why I think we need a nationwide shut down during high pollution days so that we can spread awareness. Just because a cities pollution doesn't make headline news doesn't mean it's not equally as dangerous. Did I explain about why PM2.5 in any city is very dangerous well. It's not easy to explain.

You seem pretty switched on to this.  Can you explain why the clearly observable numbers are so over the top of the publicly stated numbers?  Is that a techy thing or just a Thailand thing?

[George36]

1 hour ago, LetsCleanUpTHAILAND said:

I'm a graduate of SDSU. Pleasure to meet you. For you guys, your pollution is Moderate. Feel free to hike Cowles Mountain anytime ????

My daughter is a graduate of SDSU also.  Small world.  Used to hike Cowles Mountain all the time.  Pleasure to meet another San Diegan.  We have lived here for 37 years.

 

We bought a new home in San Marcos and love it.  The map only has a couple of local readings.  Not sure how to more closely figure  it for San Marcos, North, just outside San Diego City border.

[NCC1701A]

remember when dystopian future science fiction was fiction?

[Airalee]

What exactly do you mean by a “nationwide shutdown”?

[LetsCleanUpTHAILAND]

On 1/30/2019 at 10:47 PM, Denim said:

Who is with me ?? ????

 

Over the top ?

 

Not in a democracy ???? Well.. I guess we aren't there yet. Give it some time. Elections coming soon!