No need to declare North control zone, say provincial authorities

[webfact]

No need to declare North control zone, say provincial authorities

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION

 

A fire truck sprays water near Chiang Rai’s landmark clock tower to reduce the toxic level of PM2.5 air pollution that is choking the city.

 

Officials insist smog under control as residents choke on hazardous levels of PM2.5.
 

CHIANG MAI and other provinces in the North have not been declared control zones yet, even though people in the region have been choking on hazardous levels of PM2.5 particulates of over 90 micrograms per cubic metre of air for eight days running. 

 

 

The authorities in Chiang Mai say there is no reason to declare the province a control zone because they believe air pollution has been successfully brought under control by an intensive water-spraying campaign and an efficient ban on outdoor fires. 

 

However, Sonthi Kotchawat, a leading environmental health expert, cautioned that the smog situation in the North has reached significantly serious levels, with the PM2.5 level in nearly every province in the region standing at above 90mcg for over a week. 

 

“I’m really disappointed that both the central government and the local authorities are totally failing at protecting people’s health, and their efforts to deal with this year’s serious smog have been insufficient and ineffective,” Sonthi said. 

 

 

He added that in a crisis like this, the government should have made the problem part of the national agenda, and imposed a strict and continuous action plan to deal with the problem at its root. 

 

He also said local authorities in the North should declare their provinces control zones, so stricter pollution-control measures can be enforced and the crisis tackled effectively. 

 

“The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration declared the capital a control zone during the smog season last month, while the situation in the North is far worse then what Bangkok suffered,” Sonthi said. 

 

According to the Pollution Control Department, in any province suffering from PM2.5 levels higher than 90mcg per cubic metre of air for more than three consecutive days, the authorities have the right to declare the province a control zone. 

 

However, Chiang Mai’s Deputy Governor Khomsan Suwan-ampa, said yesterday that the smog situation in the province was getting better after the authorities, in cooperation with relevant agencies and the public sector, had launched a large-scale water-spraying campaign across the province. 

 

“Today [yesterday], Chiang Mai Governor Supachai Iemsuwan officially launched a campaign urging Chiang Mai residents to help tackle the haze by installing water sprays in their homes and businesses. 

 

“They are also encouraged to help the authorities and each other by hosing down the streets to reduce the PM2.5 level in the air,” Khomsan said.

 

“With strong cooperation from the people, businesses and related agencies on this water-spraying campaign, we have noticed that air quality in Chiang Mai has improved compared to recent days.” 

 

 

Yesterday’s PM2.5 reading in Chiang Mai stood at 116mcg, far higher than both Thailand’s and the World Health Organisation’s safe limit. 

 

Khomsan went on to say that Chiang Mai was also getting assistance from the Royal Thai Air Force, which has been providing aircraft to sprinkle water from the sky to help bring down fine particles of dust. 

 

Hence, he insisted, the smog situation in Chiang Mai is already under control and there is no reason for the authorities to cause unnecessary panic by declaring the province a control zone. 

 

Even though spraying water into the air or making artificial rain can lower some dust particles, leading environmental groups such as Greenpeace say this method is not effective or sustainable when it comes to tackling fine dust particles such as PM2.5. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30366062

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-19

[Samui Bodoh]

"...The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration declared the capital a control zone during the smog season last month, while the situation in the North is far worse then what Bangkok suffered,” Sonthi said..." 

 

The situation in the North does seem far worse than what was occurring in Bangkok, but the Northerners have to understand that the Decision-Makers live in Bangkok, not the North.

 

"...Yesterday’s PM2.5 reading in Chiang Mai stood at 116mcg, far higher than both Thailand’s and the World Health Organisation’s safe limit..." 

 

This is not terribly important in the Country of Bangkok and Surroundings....

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by Samui Bodoh

[Lacessit]

Orwell's doublethink is obviously alive and flourishing in Thailand.

[Thailand]

Said the officials in cloud cuckoo land sitting around their banks of air purifiers. Not sure if their heads are buried in the sand or stuck so far up their <deleted> that they can make such ridiculous statements.

[YetAnother]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The authorities in Chiang Mai say there is no reason to declare the province a control zone because they believe air pollution has been successfully brought under control by an intensive water-spraying campaign and an efficient ban on outdoor fires.

blind , deaf, dumb lying incompetents, obviously handed their jobs thru cronyism,nepotism,corruption

[Dogbarker]

So on Sunday decided to head from Chiang mai to bangkok to our other home. As always some pollution on bangkok ..but so much fresher and at least I can now breathe. I wonder if there is a no burning policy who is policing it? I saw so many fires some large and some small you could see the effect they were having on the air around. 

[aussie11950]

Bloody incompetent idiots. 

Saving face more important than peoples health

[brommers]

So we all install water sprayers and next thing is that we will soon have a water supply crisis! Have they not noticed that some dams are already low!

 

These dolts come up with half baked ideas that do nothing to deal with the cause of the pollution. Why? Because actually getting out there and stopping the burning is hard work. And we all know that fat ass paper pushers hate the idea of doing anything.

 

And to add to the ludicrous situation the health authorities are spending large amounts of money to establish addition respiratory problem clinics. Just another sticking plaster on a gaping wound. And of course nothing to do with dealing with the cause of the illnesses.

 

It is fascinating how these rocket scientist administrators can effectively enforce alcohol sales bans that affect hundreds of thousands of establishments. But they cannot prevent a few thousand farmers from burning biomass. There is something rotten in the state of Thailand & we all know what it is.

[fantom]

These people do not deserve to be in charge. Peopld do not deserve bad management

The data is clear. PM2.5 levels are at the tipping point where control zones must be declared.

No gentlemen, spraying water into the air does absolutely nothing to reduce PM2.5 particles, at that size they behave more like a gas than a suspension. Send your fire engines out to the agricultural areas to put the bloody fires out instead of virtue signalling around the moat in Chiang Mai

 

Getting better? Bulldust,

[Vacuum]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The authorities in Chiang Mai say there is no reason to declare the province a control zone because they believe air pollution has been successfully brought under control by an intensive water-spraying campaign and an efficient ban on outdoor fires. 

Hilarious!

[robertson468]

The only reason the authorities (and politicians) are doing nothing is the imminence of the elections.  Stop the farmers burning and they loose their vote.  But hey, don't worry about people who have breathing issues which is compounded by the density of the smoke, or how cancerous smoke is to people and the other animals in the area.  Absolutely self interest and disgraceful.

[Odysseus123]

Mickey Mouse outfit-from the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top.

[jak2002003]

They are saying that many provinces will be facing a severe drought this year.

 

So, they decided to go around flooding the roads with water to get the pollution particles out of the air.....???!!

 

Despite the figures saying it's still at very dangerous levels they are saying it's better now?  

 

What planet are they living on?

 

 

[Vacuum]

5 hours ago, YetAnother said:

blind , deaf, dumb lying incompetents, obviously handed their jobs thru cronyism,nepotism,corruption

A brown envelope is needed with the  application for a government work.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Vacuum

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Yesterday’s PM2.5 reading in Chiang Mai stood at 116mcg, far higher than both Thailand’s and the World Health Organisation’s safe limit. 

Lies, lies, lies,lies lies, I'll say it again LIES !!!!!

W.H.O does not have a safe limit... Thailand is the only country that set's it's own limit to 50mcg to convince the public all is well, and they can't even stay inside that limit !!!!

The they say "we are in control so don't worry"

The officials should all be sacked !

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

“Today [yesterday], Chiang Mai Governor Supachai Iemsuwan officially launched a campaign urging Chiang Mai residents to help tackle the haze by installing water sprays in their homes and businesses.

 

Very good and accurate article that makes it clear the local authorities are totally failing in their regulatory and environmental/public health duties....

 

But as for the water spraying comment above from the local government folks, what a bunch of fools....

 

[4675636b596f75]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

However, Chiang Mai’s Deputy Governor Khomsan Suwan-ampa, said yesterday that the smog situation in the province was getting better after the authorities, in cooperation with relevant agencies and the public sector, had launched a large-scale water-spraying campaign across the province. 

C'mon.  Water spraying?  Tell the truth about it.

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by metisdead
Over-sized emoji removed.

[Odysseus123]

48 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Lies, lies, lies,lies lies, I'll say it again LIES !!!!!

W.H.O does not have a safe limit... Thailand is the only country that set's it's own limit to 50mcg to convince the public all is well, and they can't even stay inside that limit !!!!

The they say "we are in control so don't worry"

The officials should all be sacked !

 

"Alas poor Thailand..so close to China but so far from Buddha.."

 

Okay..okay..I filched that from El Presidente Porfirio Diaz and Mexico but the quote is most appropriate under the circumstances..

[Krataiboy]

Even though spraying water into the air or making artificial rain can lower some dust particles, leading environmental groups such as Greenpeace say this method is not effective or sustainable when it comes to tackling fine dust particles such as PM2.5. 

 

It's also a criminal waste of precious water reserves in a country subject to droughts almost every year. 

 

[4675636b596f75]

3 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Even though spraying water into the air or making artificial rain can lower some dust particles, leading environmental groups such as Greenpeace say this method is not effective or sustainable when it comes to tackling fine dust particles such as PM2.5. 

 

It's also a criminal waste of precious water reserves in a country subject to droughts almost every year. 

 

Spraying water does nothing.  Who is so stupid that they believe this?

 

Please change your avatar.  It looks like my sister, and is giving me the hebie jeebies.

[Benmart]

6 hours ago, brommers said:

So we all install water sprayers and next thing is that we will soon have a water supply crisis! Have they not noticed that some dams are already low!

 

These dolts come up with half baked ideas that do nothing to deal with the cause of the pollution. Why? Because actually getting out there and stopping the burning is hard work. And we all know that fat ass paper pushers hate the idea of doing anything.

 

And to add to the ludicrous situation the health authorities are spending large amounts of money to establish addition respiratory problem clinics. Just another sticking plaster on a gaping wound. And of course nothing to do with dealing with the cause of the illnesses.

 

It is fascinating how these rocket scientist administrators can effectively enforce alcohol sales bans that affect hundreds of thousands of establishments. But they cannot prevent a few thousand farmers from burning biomass. There is something rotten in the state of Thailand & we all know what it is.

The incompetent, spouting the unbelievable, and leading the uncaring. 

[just bob]

[Redline]

Nothing will be done because they don’t care