Sukhumvit Road Is The Most Polluted Road In Bangkok

[sriracha john]

Sukhumvit most POLLUTED

Only seven of BMA's 60 'green roads' have safe air, probe finds

Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road is the most polluted among the 60 major roads that the city administration has earmarked for improvement.

According to the latest survey, conducted from July to September by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the air on Sukhumvit has over 300 micrograms of dust particles per cubic metre (mpcm), far above the standard of 120 mpcm.

Sukhumvit Road starts near the heart of Bangkok's business and tourist districts and runs eastwards into Samut Prakan province.

High levels of small dust particles are regarded as a risk factor for residents' health, especially for the young, elderly and sufferers from respiratory diseases, according to BMA's Air Quality and Noise Management Division.

Of the 60 major roads previously surveyed by the BMA, only Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Henri Dunant, Thai-Chinese Friendship, Rajvithee, Yaowarat and Rajdamnoen roads were classified as "green", meaning the air quality was safe. The remaining 53 were classified as "yellow", meaning they had some impact on health.

"We hope to improve air quality in these places," said deputy Bangkok governor Bannasopit Mekvichai.

Although the city's Air Quality Index has improved over the past year, there is still room for improvement, and the BMA hopes more roads will be upgraded in terms of air quality.

The city started its air-quality management project with 10 "green roads" in 2004. In 2005, 60 major roads were covered, and the first Air Quality Index inspection measuring fine particulate matter and total suspension particles was conducted.

Theera Prasitthipol, deputy director of the Environment Office, said previous opinion polls had shown that most respondents were moderately satisfied with the air-quality improvement project. However, about 90 per cent of respondents complained about too much dust and exhaust fumes on city roads.

Sukhumvit's dustiness is largely due to heavy traffic and the road's physical environment, which does not allow sufficient ventilation, plus construction of a 5.2-km extension of the Skytrain mass-transit system from On-nuj to Sukhumvit 107.

Other dusty roads include Somdet Phrachao Taksin Road on the other side of Bangkok, where a Skytrain extension is also under construction, and Ramkhamhaeng Road and Prachacheun Road, both of which usually have heavy traffic.

Theera said construction of the mass-transit infrastructure on these major roads, as well as work on new housing projects and many new cars have contributed to an increase in dust and small particles in Bangkok's air.

At present, the city's measures to manage this problem include cleaning roads more frequently and planting more trees on traffic islands and footpaths as well as near bus stops to reduce carbon dioxide. All district offices are required to plant more trees and wash streets in their jurisdiction twice a week.

Air quality is measured three times a year using sensors installed at designated locations for 24-hour monitoring.

The BMA also works with city police and the Pollution Control Department to take legal action against vehicles spewing black smoke and/or making excessive noise. Builders are also asked to protect the environment by covering construction sites properly to contain dust and small particles.

Wandee Thongmak, 54, who lives on Kaset-Nawamin Road, said she was satisfied with the city's air-quality project since there were now more trees planted on streets and frequent road-cleaning. "Still, air pollution occasionally gets worse, especially during rush hours," she added.

Saijai Boonreungsri, 38, a street vendor on Din Sor Road near City Hall, said air quality was not a problem around City Hall due to lots of trees and free-flowing traffic.

- The Nation

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*cough... cough*

[wasabi]

Pollution seems terrible everywhere in BKK, though I could see it being the worst on Sukhumvit. Anyone notice a difference at various areas around BKK?

[meom]

On the weather page of The Bangkok Post there's a daily air quality monitor and more often than not Huay Kwang and Din Daeng come up worse than Sukumvit.

Personally I don't notice any difference and I'm not bothered by the air quality which seems fine to me although I do notice that I smoke less when in Bangkok

[sriracha john]

the air quality which seems fine to me although I do notice that I smoke less when in Bangkok

While staying in Pak Kret, it was interesting to look south on the balcony and observe the huge brown cloud of smog hanging over Bangkok...

with that much junk in the air and in terms of health consequences, everyone is more or less "smoking"

[sriracha john]

Breathing this brown soot every day equates to how many cheap cigars?

*this was NOT taken from Pak Kret, it's much more upclose.... from Pak Kret it was a much more distinctive "bubble of brown" that hovered over Bangkok.*

Edited November 26, 2007 by sriracha john

[Ijustwannateach]

Feh....

[sriracha john]

Pollution so thick that all the junk in the air now even interfere's with mobile phone signals???

Meanwhile, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Lat Krabang revealed yesterday that dust particles on Bangkok's Silom, Sukhumvit and Yaowarat roads were detected with 0.6 per cent of dust particles - which posed a danger to peoples' health, he said.

Dr Preecha Yupapin, a lecturer from the Institute's Department of Applied Physics, said the dust mostly resulted from vehicle exhausts, which could be solved by installing exhaust-screening devices or better engine maintenance to avoid long-term problems that would affect nearby residents' respiratory systems.

The team also joined with AIS to study the impact of dust particles on cell-phone signals and found that the 0.1 per cent increase in particles did not affect the analogue signals but that 0.5 per cent and above did, Preecha said.

- The Nation

[zorro1]

what pollution?

In my home office 8 hours with a/c and then in a cab with a/c to the 2nd office (bar with a/c)

[technocracy]

Pollution so thick that all the junk in the air now even interfere's with mobile phone signals???

The team also joined with AIS to study the impact of dust particles on cell-phone signals and found that the 0.1 per cent increase in particles did not affect the analogue signals but that 0.5 per cent and above did, Preecha said.

- The Nation

Well it's a good job nobody has been using analogue mobile phones for about 10 years or more (I remember having an analogue Ericisson phone in about '96. . . god it was <deleted>!)

Digital signals as used by all mobile phone operators don't degrade because of dust particles!

Bit of a smoke without fire story that one!

[Scott]

Ah, yes, but it will scare folks to death. I mean, if something intereferes with cell phone transmissions then it is a problem!

[Checker]

I don't think there is one asian city that has improved it's smog over the past 15 years. It's only going to get worse.

[sibeymai]

I wonder if the scientists who carried out this study have some spare time to change a few light bulbs at my place.