Dust Problems Surge In North

[george]

Dust problems surge in North

CHIANG MAI: -- Residents in the North were warned not to exercise outdoors yesterday, as the air was full of fine dust particles.

Yesterday afternoon an air-quality-measuring station at Chiang Mai's Phuping Palace found 100 micrograms per cubic metre (mpcm) of fine dust particles, while a measuring station at the Civil Service Office Complex found 105-mpcm of dust.

A third measuring station at downtown Yupparaj School recorded 129 mpcm of dust.

Chiang Mai Health Office warned the public not to exercise outdoors.

Nakhon Chiang Mai Municipality opened fountains around the city canal to try to tackle the dust, which had caused some residents to develop skin, eye and nasal irritations. And some establishments set up water-spraying devices to counter the dust.

Things were worse in Lampang province, where the director of region 2's environment office, Suwit Khattiyawong, said fine dust particles rose from less than 120 mpcm over the past one to two days to more than 201 mpcm yesterday.

That was due to a forest fire and people burning garbage outdoors. People were able to see a veil of dust, especially in Nakhon Lampang municipality.

If the situation did not improve, the dust level could affect people's health. They could suffer nasal and eye irritations and respiratory diseases, warned Lampang Health Office official Dr Shinoros Leesawat.

He urged people to cover their noses with a face mask or soaked handkerchiefs while outdoors, and instructed all schools not to let children exercise outside to prevent them inhaling dust particles.

The health office had distributed 10,000 face masks in recent months and had request?ed another 10,000 from the Pollution Control Department, he said.

Lampang Highway Police also warned motorists to exercise caution because the dust created poor visibility on the Lampang-Ngao-Phayao, Lampang-Den Chai-Phrae and Lampang-Chiang Mai roads.

-- The Nation 2009-02-25

[SwaziBird]

Looking out of my 11th floor condo windows across the city and the Ping River is ABSOLUTELY SCARY ! Visibility has become so limited that I can't even see the sun rise above the (now invisible )mountain range until it has ascended quite high and when it does appear it does so as an dust-particle laden red ball . Dust covers everything in my apartment.

Clearly ( pun intended ) the problem CONTINUES, UNABATED, YEAR AFTER YEAR in this city which has little or no industry to create air-pollution. We hear the same talk each and every year as thousands of residents continue to sicken and worse. So what is really being done to reverse this deadly situation ?

Well, the fountains are on in the moat and spray-fans have been placed on the bridge spanning the wide river expanse ! Oh, and I forgot ! - face masks have been given out !I like to be cheery, so despite this post -Cheers.

Edited February 26, 2009 by george

[Ajarn]

Beautiful day in Chiang Mai

[haybilly]

I fear that, as usual, absolutely nothing will EVER be done about this problem--the main factor being that the rural folk doing the burning--whether burning rubbish [ as claimed] or burning the sugar cane leaves prior to cutting, the rice stalks after harvesting, or the brush in the jungles to encourage mushroom growth--don't care or understand the harm they are doing, not only to us and themselves and families but in no small way to Planet Earth--the attitude that "I'm just burning a tiny corner of my land and it's ALL the others who are to blame" is endemic--even my neighbour can't see that he's contributing when he burns his small pile of leaves, instead of bagging them up or composting them down--- I fear "we're ALL doomed!!!!!"

[WaiWai]

Looking out of my 11th floor condo windows across the city and the Ping River is ABSOLUTELY SCARY ! Visibility has become so limited that I can't even see the sun rise above the (now invisible )mountain range until it has ascended quite high and when it does appear it does so as an dust-particle laden red ball . Dust covers everything in my apartment.

Clearly ( pun intended ) the problem CONTINUES, UNABATED, YEAR AFTER YEAR in this city which has little or no industry to create air-pollution. We hear the same talk each and every year as thousands of residents continue to sicken and worse. So what is really being done to reverse this deadly situation ?

Well, the fountains are on in the moat and spray-fans have been placed on the bridge spanning the wide river expanse ! Oh, and I forgot ! - face masks have been given out !I like to be cheery, so despite this post -Cheers.

_______________________

I fear that, as usual, absolutely nothing will EVER be done about this problem--the main factor being that the rural folk doing the burning--whether burning rubbish [ as claimed] or burning the sugar cane leaves prior to cutting, the rice stalks after harvesting, or the brush in the jungles to encourage mushroom growth--don't care or understand the harm they are doing, not only to us and themselves and families but in no small way to Planet Earth--the attitude that "I'm just burning a tiny corner of my land and it's ALL the others who are to blame" is endemic--even my neighbour can't see that he's contributing when he burns his small pile of leaves, instead of bagging them up or composting them down---

Agreed!! This is exactly the problem that is the root of many other problems, such as this one. I would say it's deeply connected to certain cultural values generally held by rural and urban Thais alike (and others in the region).

P.S. Swazibird -- hope those masks have the smiley faces on them .

Edited February 26, 2009 by WaiWai

[Drew Aitch]

I don't usually get involved in these 'Pollution' threads. After all, I can't change the quality of the air we breathe so there's little point! I guess it's a simple case of accepting it, or buggering off to live somewhere else. Especially if I think it's going to bring my expiry date forward by a couple of decades. One thing is certain though, and that is a bunch of expats and long-term tourists complaining on an English language forum week-in and week-out will do nothing to tackle the problem.

But the reason for my comments is that I was just wondering if it's all just a big fuss over nothing? Sure, I hear stories about folks getting sick and burning eyes etc, but just how bad is it, really?

Getting stuck behind an old Songthaew for 30 seconds that is spewing out black smoke into the face of motorcyclist or cyclist, has to be far worse that walking around in the city's haze for a couple of hours. Doesn't it?

I walk vigorously up the Doi Suthep 4 to 5 times a week, and cycle around the city at speed, yet not once ever have I got sick or even felt off colour because of the air. I don't know of anyone who has had problems with smarting eyes as a result of this so called toxic air either, which seems to be another common complaint. Maybe there are pockets in the city which are far worse than other areas?

So who are all these folks having the health problems? Maybe these vulnerable ones are unfit and unhealthy to begin with making them as sensitive to air pollution as they are to every little cold and sniffle that goes around?

Aitch

[uptheos]

I certainly do agree that at certain times of year the air is a problem and I'm sure it affects mostly those who are already vulnerable. But until Thailand comes kicking and screaming into the 21st century, there's not much that can be done.....quickly.

I really think it will be a very slow process and those who need clean air should most definately move away to protect themselves.....I can't imagine why anyone that is vulnerable would live here?

[WaiWai]

So who are all these folks having the health problems? Maybe these vulnerable ones are unfit and unhealthy to begin with making them as sensitive to air pollution as they are to every little cold and sniffle that goes around?

Yes, asthmatic babies, children and adults, for instance ... .

I know of numerous people affected on a day-to-day basis. The possible long term effects are of more concern to most of us, but asthma and other short-term reactions (e.g. cardiac) can be fatal.

Edited February 26, 2009 by WaiWai

[WaiWai]

.....I can't imagine why anyone that is vulnerable would live here?

Born here, have work or family commitments here, too elderly/lack the cash to move ... amongst others.

[Drew Aitch]

I could be wrong, but I would imagine most, but not all, of the concerns here are about the expats themselves rather than that of the local Thais.

If the red and yellow shirts could drum up as much enthusiasm, unity, and protest for their health issues as they can for political personalities, then they might just be able to influence change.

Aitch

[SwaziBird]

P.S. Swazibird -- hope those masks have the smiley faces on them .

Yeah ! But I wear them inside out !

Cheers

[hhper]

So who are all these folks having the health problems? Maybe these vulnerable ones are unfit and unhealthy to begin with making them as sensitive to air pollution as they are to every little cold and sniffle that goes around?

Yes, asthmatic babies, children and adults, for instance ... .

I know of numerous people affected on a day-to-day basis. The possible long term effects are of more concern to most of us, but asthma and other short-term reactions (e.g. cardiac) can be fatal.

Not a beautiful day for some.........

[femi fan]

I too wonder exactly how bad or not the problem is. For example, how does a month or two of this compare to a month or two of smoking cigarettes, or the same time drinking beers every day, or the same time commuting to work in bangkok in their real pollution?

However, on the topic of actually making it not happen in future years, two or three things need to happen. Firstly local government need to work at finding solutions, because you can be sure those politicians in bangkok ain't gonna be worried at all about what's going on in the north of the nation.

Secondly, i often wonder how much mulch in the form of leaves and rice straw (whatever it's called that is left over after harvesting the rice and other crops) could be made each year during the 'smog season'. Very very good for soil and growing foods for sure, but all of it burnt so we get no use of these natural wastes at all. An education program would be needed, and could easily be set in place by local government, the mayor, whoever. Then lots of people could make a tidy business going round collecting leaves and stuff from people and creating mulch and compost instead of them all being burned.

Thirdly, i can see many locals just adding any old rubbish to the fire once they've actually started to burn their leaves, and no doubt that will include real polluting stuff such as plastic bottles and other plastic stuff. It needs a new thread, but one of the major major problems in thailand is rubbish disposal and littering.

Finally, leaves and crop waste are natural products. Do they really cause us health problems if they're burnt? And, i know that burned earth helps recycle the soil and nutrients. Maybe chiang mai's famously nutritional soil is because of all this annual burning?

[davidgtr]

For the first time in 24 hrs here I have to admit that even I have been seriously feeling the effects of the low air quality & I thought it was much worse last year. I've never had such a sore raspy throat, conjunctivitis both eyes + a bleeding nose when I wake up in the morning. Yuk! Usually it does not bother me much, but not this year - I've been suffering badly.

In late Jan - early Feb I was in Laos for 2 weeks (Chiang Mai - Houei Xai - Luang Prabang - Vientiane - Loei - Chiang Mai) & felt great while I was away, then first day back in Chiang Mai I started coughing, sneezing & generally feeling off.

Personally I don't think it is the smoke so much, but the dust & car exhaust fumes that knock you around. And that will only get worse with more & more vehicles & in & around town. Meanwhile just hope for some rain in the next few weeks to clean the air up a bit.

The solution lump it or leave it I reckon.

I hope you all feel better soon now that I've put in my 25 satangs worth.

Edited February 26, 2009 by davidgtr

[hhper]

I too wonder exactly how bad or not the problem is. For example, how does a month or two of this compare to a month or two of smoking cigarettes, or the same time drinking beers every day, or the same time commuting to work in bangkok in their real pollution?

Dont wonder smoking is a choice...........this is not.

Finally, leaves and crop waste are natural products. Do they really cause us health problems if they're burnt? And, i know that burned earth helps recycle the soil and nutrients. Maybe chiang mai's famously nutritional soil is because of all this annual burning?

If you think there is no health risk you need to get to go into the hospitals to check. Open your eyes.

[Mitker]

One thing is certain though, and that is a bunch of expats and long-term tourists complaining on an English language forum week-in and week-out will do nothing to tackle the problem.

But the reason for my comments is that I was just wondering if it's all just a big fuss over nothing? Sure, I hear stories about folks getting sick and burning eyes etc, but just how bad is it, really?

I don't know of anyone who has had problems with smarting eyes as a result of this so called toxic air either, which seems to be another common complaint. So who are all these folks having the health problems? Maybe these vulnerable ones are unfit and unhealthy to begin with making them as sensitive to air pollution as they are to every little cold and sniffle that goes around?

Aitch

Who are they? Probably these folks dying of lung cancer in higher number in Chiang Mai than in Bangkok. Probably this friend who couldn't leave the house yesterday because of respiratory trouble. Probably me who don't remember of a single day I couldn't work due to illness for a least 5 years but feel the air trouble here before even checking the figures on the web.

You are free to look with disdain to those who worry about they relatives and friends on an english speeking forum. You are also free to consider that nothing will never change and that you prefer to accept it. And in this case, indeed, your contribution to these kind of post won't be fundamentally essential.

Other people think that this situation can/must be improved trough local initiatives and change of habits. Many of us have professional activities, transportation habits and leisures that may have an impact on the situation. Many of us have contact with locals and can explain the seriousness of the issue as well as alternatives.

This kind of forum is a interesting way of comunication between people concerned. About the problem, possible improvements, individual actions, personal precautions...

[BigSnake]

Rain rain bring a Change

[hhper]

I have many friends Farang and Thai who don't smoke or drink who are suffering flu, streaming cold symptoms because of the air quality (and they say this themselves). So I will have no truck with this...........beautiful day crap. Its an insult to everybody. I'm alright jack............ Check the hospitals...........and take of the pink glasses......... The air is sh^t...................period.

[Gravelrash]

I find it incongruous that anyone could gaze into the brown murk and claim that it won't affect peoples health. If there is ever another Chernobyl be sure to volunteer in the cleanup, that won't do you any harm either.

Neighbors are burning off all the time, seems to be their garbage, perhaps the 20 baht a month service is a bit steep, more morons contributing to the haze.

[adjan jb]

Thanks to the haze every beginner can take beautiful pictures of Chiang Mai and its surroundings.

[Priceless]

Firstly, I think the air quality the last few days has been really bad. People who are extra sensitive to pollution (young, elderly, asthmatics...) are suffering, I am sure (luckily, I am not one of them).

Secondly, I don't think anyone has to worry much about lung cancer being caused by the outdoor pollution. There has been quite a lot of research done to explain why the incidence of lung cancer in Chiang Mai is about twice the Thai average. All the reports that I have seen (e.g. http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/resp/abstract...#33;8091!-1 and http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1212389) seem to indicate that ambient air quality plays a very minor role. The culprit seems to be indoor air quality, in particular radon and a fungus called Microsporum canis .

There are however obviously other (hopefully more temporary) ailments caused by the air quality.

Thirdly, I can not attest to exactly what is being done to improve the situation but it has clearly improved, at least over the last five or six years. To prove my point, one of the graphs that some people seem to detest so much (note the trend line falling from 58.8 in the year to 1 July 2004 to 40.0 in the year 2008, i.e. by about a third):

Fourthly, as the graph shows 12-month moving averages, it obviously does not say anything about seasonal variations. However, it is worth noting that every single one of the last six months has had a lower average pollution level than the average for the corresponding months during 2000-2009.

My conclusion is that things actually are getting better, though obviously not as quickly as one would want. Let's just hope that March turns out even better (or less bad ) than last year's, and not like the infamous previous year.

/ Priceless

[jaiyenjohn]

Sadly, this is what keeps us from seriously considering coming back to live in Chiang Mai.

The first year we lived there my Thai wife developed a hacking cough during the burning season. It hurt her terribly, and happened throughout the day and night, keeping her from sleeping.

The second year, the hacking cough became chronic and lasted throughout the whole year.

Three months after we left Chiang Mai for Bangkok, the cough went away.

Now we live in the states, but we're looking into coming back to Thailand at the moment, but will probably go the island route to live.

Which is sad because we love Chiang Mai, the culture, and the people. We really wanted to put roots down there. If it wasn't for all the F'ing smoke and air pollution we'd be back in a heartbeat.

[femi fan]

I too wonder exactly how bad or not the problem is. For example, how does a month or two of this compare to a month or two of smoking cigarettes, or the same time drinking beers every day, or the same time commuting to work in bangkok in their real pollution?

Dont wonder smoking is a choice...........this is not.

Finally, leaves and crop waste are natural products. Do they really cause us health problems if they're burnt? And, i know that burned earth helps recycle the soil and nutrients. Maybe chiang mai's famously nutritional soil is because of all this annual burning?

If you think there is no health risk you need to get to go into the hospitals to check. Open your eyes.

I didn't say that, nor do i think that. Quite clearly in my post i was asking questions about how serious or not it all is. All you've managed to answer me with is to tell me to open my eyes. It hardly helps me to decide how serious this haze and smog is.

Why don't you instead try and help me understand how serious it it to my health?

[femi fan]

I have many friends Farang and Thai who don't smoke or drink who are suffering flu, streaming cold symptoms because of the air quality (and they say this themselves). So I will have no truck with this...........beautiful day crap. Its an insult to everybody. I'm alright jack............ Check the hospitals...........and take of the pink glasses......... The air is sh^t...................period.

No, not period. Everybody tells you the air quality is bad, so it must be bad? Yes, of course visibility is terrible, but what some of us want to know is exactly how badly, or not, does it actually impact on our general health.

Check the hospitals you say. Well, clinics and hospitals are always full in thailand.

The air is shit you say. Well, go walking around bangkok. It might look better there, but it's far harder to breathe there.

Your friends are suffering from flu. Well, we're in between seasons, and that is always a cause for increased cold symptoms in thailand. Heaps of thai people get colds when the seasons are changing. It might be something to do with the air, but might is the operative word. If it was the air, why isn't everybody in hospital with streaming colds?

Yes, the air is 'shit'. But is it bad for us? And if so, in what ways?

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun Priceless,

Thanks for taking the time to post such an informative response with technical details, and an infographic !

The only thing I am sure of is : somewhere between your hypothesis it is getting better, and Dr. Pangloss' teaching, "this is the best of all possible worlds," and the philosophic nadirs of "the sky is falling," and "it's all going to hel_l in a hand-basket" ... is : I am getting older, not wiser.

Excuse while me while I have another coughing fit.

regards, ~o:37;

Edited February 27, 2009 by orang37

[hhper]

I too wonder exactly how bad or not the problem is. For example, how does a month or two of this compare to a month or two of smoking cigarettes, or the same time drinking beers every day, or the same time commuting to work in bangkok in their real pollution?

Dont wonder smoking is a choice...........this is not.

Finally, leaves and crop waste are natural products. Do they really cause us health problems if they're burnt? And, i know that burned earth helps recycle the soil and nutrients. Maybe chiang mai's famously nutritional soil is because of all this annual burning?

If you think there is no health risk you need to get to go into the hospitals to check. Open your eyes.

I didn't say that, nor do i think that. Quite clearly in my post i was asking questions about how serious or not it all is. All you've managed to answer me with is to tell me to open my eyes. It hardly helps me to decide how serious this haze and smog is.

Why don't you instead try and help me understand how serious it it to my health?

Stop wondering...................... read the first post here, do your own research/reading and then tell us what you have discovered.

[chiang mai]

Firstly, I think the air quality the last few days has been really bad. People who are extra sensitive to pollution (young, elderly, asthmatics...) are suffering, I am sure (luckily, I am not one of them).

Secondly, I don't think anyone has to worry much about lung cancer being caused by the outdoor pollution. There has been quite a lot of research done to explain why the incidence of lung cancer in Chiang Mai is about twice the Thai average. All the reports that I have seen (e.g. http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/resp/abstract...#33;8091!-1 and http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1212389) seem to indicate that ambient air quality plays a very minor role. The culprit seems to be indoor air quality, in particular radon and a fungus called Microsporum canis .

There are however obviously other (hopefully more temporary) ailments caused by the air quality.

Thirdly, I can not attest to exactly what is being done to improve the situation but it has clearly improved, at least over the last five or six years. To prove my point, one of the graphs that some people seem to detest so much (note the trend line falling from 58.8 in the year to 1 July 2004 to 40.0 in the year 2008, i.e. by about a third):

Fourthly, as the graph shows 12-month moving averages, it obviously does not say anything about seasonal variations. However, it is worth noting that every single one of the last six months has had a lower average pollution level than the average for the corresponding months during 2000-2009.

My conclusion is that things actually are getting better, though obviously not as quickly as one would want. Let's just hope that March turns out even better (or less bad ) than last year's, and not like the infamous previous year.

/ Priceless

All nice words of course and your positive spin is appreciated by local business owners, but, Chiang Mai remains the third most polluted location in Thailand.

[Mapguy]

Firstly, I think the air quality the last few days has been really bad. People who are extra sensitive to pollution (young, elderly, asthmatics...) are suffering, I am sure (luckily, I am not one of them).

Secondly, I don't think anyone has to worry much about lung cancer being caused by the outdoor pollution. There has been quite a lot of research done to explain why the incidence of lung cancer in Chiang Mai is about twice the Thai average. All the reports that I have seen (e.g. http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/resp/abstract...#33;8091!-1 and http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1212389) seem to indicate that ambient air quality plays a very minor role. The culprit seems to be indoor air quality, in particular radon and a fungus called Microsporum canis .

There are however obviously other (hopefully more temporary) ailments caused by the air quality.

Thirdly, I can not attest to exactly what is being done to improve the situation but it has clearly improved, at least over the last five or six years. To prove my point, one of the graphs that some people seem to detest so much (note the trend line falling from 58.8 in the year to 1 July 2004 to 40.0 in the year 2008, i.e. by about a third):

Fourthly, as the graph shows 12-month moving averages, it obviously does not say anything about seasonal variations. However, it is worth noting that every single one of the last six months has had a lower average pollution level than the average for the corresponding months during 2000-2009.

My conclusion is that things actually are getting better, though obviously not as quickly as one would want. Let's just hope that March turns out even better (or less bad ) than last year's, and not like the infamous previous year.

/ Priceless

Excellent post, Priceless. Glad to see you back!

This is not really why I am replying (See below) but briefly, re your second point: indoor pollution might indeed be more insidious (in its various forms) than external pollution, too many people might discount the public health impact of external pollution, which certainly doesn't restrict itself to causing cancer. I don't think you are a former American Tobacco Company trial lawyer or apologist, but sometimes you sure come across as one, or at least easily interpreted as one! And regarding your conclusion, I do not accept that "better" is acceptable or satisfactory, as described by what we know from available data.

More importantly, I think your hard work and thoughtfulness is ill-placed.

I hope you would introduce yourself to the researchers at CMU, and I personally wish you would. There are a few individuals on different faculties that are zeroing in on different aspects of the problem of air pollution and solutions to it. There are some very competent statisticians there, too, I am sure, but you have some useful things to ask questions about or to chat about. In fact, key people are located quite close to each other on the campus who are trying hard to deal with this problem. You will be pleasantly pleased with how experienced and intelligent they are! For starters, telephone Ajarn Duongchan Apavatjrut Charoenmuang, senior researcher of the Social Research Institute: She is fourth generation Chiang Mai who has had a very interesting career as a city planner in Bangkok and Chicago after obtaining degrees in Architecture from Chulalongkorn, a masters at the University of Pennsylvania as a Fulbright Scholar, and a PhD. in Urban Engineering (Urban Conservation) from Tokyo University.

In her spare time, Ajarn Duongchan is Secretary-General of the Urban Development Institute Foundation (UDIF) which she co-founded in 2001. There's a web site. You might meet her there on any given Saturday, just west (across the road) of the governor's residence. Big compound. Second floor. Just drop in. Scout it out. Interesting. On the CMU campus? Go in the Canal Road CMU gate, go about 300 meters or so, take the first serious left-hand turn, go 100 - 200 meters. Entrance to the Research Institute on the right. There is a sign. After entering, it is the building on the right. The office is upstairs on the second floor. Notice what else is located in those buildings!

Ajarn Duongchan gets a little tired by farang do-gooders armed just with sentimental notions, but I think she might, if approached properly, be interested in skilled people with concern, skill and legitimate questions or findings to share. I think she would be very interested in the scope of your internet research as well as your rigorous use of available pollution data for Thailand. You might invite an argument with some of your graphs, so after you have said hello and established some trust, you better be dam_n certain of your facts --- but then you are, aren't you?!

She's quite interested in honest argument, even though tired of the struggle, but certainly interested in solutions.

So what do you say after you say hello?! That's tough. I would start with a genuine expression of interest in making Chiang Mai a sustainable city. She cares a lot about it. I imagine that you have read her book, information about which I have posted more than once on TV. it is a terrible translation into English as well as needing general editing, but it is worth reading. You will understand a lot from reading it. It is Sustainable Cities in Chiang Mai: A Case of a City in a Valley.

This beats hel_l out of parsing articles in The Nation!

Does she like cats? This I don't know!

Let me know how it goes! I welcome PMs!

Edited February 27, 2009 by Mapguy

[Ulysses G.]

All nice words of course and your positive spin is appreciated by local business owners, but, Chiang Mai remains the third most polluted location in Thailand.

We would like Chiang Mai to be as clean and healthy as possible, but still, "the third most polluted location in Thailand" is a lot better than the most polluted city on Earth - as a good number of posters were claiming when Priceless started his education campaign.

He always said that we do have a pollution problem here, but not nearly to the extremes that some posters were claiming.

Thanks for the accurate stats Priceless!

[ollylama]

hey does anyone have that link to current air pollution statistics for chiang mai? i can't find it anywhere. it gets posted now and again when this topic comes up every feb/march.

cheers.