Burmese Power Plant Raises Ranong Alarm

[webfact]

Burmese power plant raises Ranong alarm

Boonluen Prompratarnkul

The Nation

RANONG: -- Residents of Ranong are concerned by reports the Burmese government has granted a concession for the Thai private sector to build a coalpowered power plant on the coast of Koh Song.

Sucheep Patthong of the People's Network of Ranong said that many people were worried about pollution from the power plant drifting to Ranong, affecting people's health and livelihoods - especially when the southwest monsoon was blowing from the Andaman Sea to Ranong.

Sonchai Ouitekkheng, president of the Ranong Tourist Business Association, said he had no details about this alleged concession yet, but if it were true it would greatly affect the province's tourism. He said such coalpowered plants could cause pollution and harm the health of people in nearby communities.

Ranong public health official Dr Thongchai Kiratihattayakorn said he too had no details about the plans, but if they were true he was afraid of coal dust that could cover a radius of several kilometres. His office would monitor developments to keep the public informed and prepared to protect themselves from coal dust.

Ranong Chamber of Commerce member Nareumol Khoraphum said she had visited Burma, where authorities had taken her to visit the power plant in Koh Song. From what she saw, she believed it had a credible safety standard. As a result, people need not worry, because the Burmese government wouldn't let the plant affect the environment or a neighbouring country, she said.

Koh Song, or Kawthaung in Burmese, is on the southern tip of Burma near Ranong town. In the British colonial era it was known as Victoria Point.

-- The Nation 2012-02-17

[stevehaigh]

its pretty discusting around there already without a coal power plant to add to the mess

[siamdivers]

its pretty discusting around there already without a coal power plant to add to the mess

True dat, but they certainly need the power, the place is growing fast as as far as I know, the power gets cut off at least three hours every night making it impossible for them to have any kind of decent hotel or guesthouse.

Maybe it will be further up the coast, there is a lot of empty land up there and they have already cut all the trees down anyway. Seems they could use natural gas rather than coal. Anyway, I take this report with a grain of salt, I'll believe it when I see it.

[rockderk]

'Ranong Chamber of Commerce member Nareumol Khoraphum said she had visited Burma, where authorities had taken her to visit the power plant in Koh Song. From what she saw, she believed it had a credible safety standard. As a result, people need not worry, because the Burmese government wouldn't let the plant affect the environment or a neighbouring country, she said.'

Whew! For a second there I thought they were going to fudge the environmental impact assessment report, evict the ancestral owners and villagers of the region without any compensation, release untreated effluent into the ocean and run a dirty coal fired power plant. But I need not worry now. obviously.

[Unkomoncents]

Hahahaha! Whenever they say don't worry, that's when you REALLY, REALLY worry!

[Macmundi]

Bad Thailand. Pollute their own, now infecting other countries.

[Roj]

Coal fired power stations can be clean if they are willing to spend money on closed filtration. But I expect they`ll opt for chimneys belching black smoke just to keep running costs at a minimum.

[bigbamboo]

'Ranong Chamber of Commerce member Nareumol Khoraphum said she had visited Burma, where authorities had taken her to visit the power plant in Koh Song. From what she saw, she believed it had a credible safety standard. As a result, people need not worry, because the Burmese government wouldn't let the plant affect the environment or a neighbouring country, she said.'

Whew! For a second there I thought they were going to fudge the environmental impact assessment report, evict the ancestral owners and villagers of the region without any compensation, release untreated effluent into the ocean and run a dirty coal fired power plant. But I need not worry now. obviously.

Obviously the lady from the local Chamber of Commerce wouldn't put commercial gain first.

[supaprik]

Don't you just love these condescending Thais... They even insist on calling other countries provinces/cities or towns by the way Thais think it should be pronounced or spelled "Koh Song, or Kawthaung in Burmese, is on the southern tip of Burma near Ranong town. In the British colonial era it was known as Victoria Point." Amazing Thailand as per usual..HEY THAILAND it's called Kawthaung GET over it...

[OzMick]

Coal fired power stations can be clean if they are willing to spend money on closed filtration. But I expect they`ll opt for chimneys belching black smoke just to keep running costs at a minimum.

Power stations rarely if ever "belch black smoke" which would indicate a serious lack of combustion air and in any modern station woud cause a unit trip.

If there is any colour to exhaust gas it would be white /grey from poor filtration of dust which is a much worse pollutant.

The real question should be how they plan to dispose of the ash generated. In western countries this is usually carried in a slurry to a holding dam, the water recovered and re-used. Any run-off from the dam is likely to carry high concentrations of heavy metals such as cadmium. Given the high expense of both fly-ash filtration and ash handling and the lack of environmental awareness of the Burmese, it is quite possible they may resort to minimal dust filtration, if any, and dumping at sea of ash and any dust collected.

[EvolvingApe]

Bad Thailand. Pollute their own, now infecting other countries.

That's a bit unfair, as all countries pollution becomes a problem for other countries, too. America's per capita consumption has a huge impact on a country like Thailand with much lower levels of consumption, for example.

[thaimat]

Doesn't matter that cancer is the #1 killer in neighboring China now, mostly caused by coal fired power plants, or that mercury levels in the local seas' fish are at very toxic levels, (toxic especially to humans that eat them), again caused mostly by coal fired power plants, or that in a year ONE typical "clean" coal powered plant produces:

• 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary human cause of global warming--as much carbon dioxide as cutting down 161 million trees.
  
• 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which causes acid rain that damages forests, lakes, and buildings, and forms small airborne particles that can penetrate deep into lungs.
  
• 500 tons of small airborne particles, which can cause chronic bronchitis, aggravated asthma, and premature death, as well as haze obstructing visibility.
  
• 10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), as much as would be emitted by half a million late-model cars. NOx leads to formation of ozone (smog) which inflames the lungs, burning through lung tissue making people more susceptible to respiratory illness.
  
• 720 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), which causes headaches and place additional stress on people with heart disease.
  
• 220 tons of hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC), which form ozone.
  
• 170 pounds of mercury, where just 1/70th of a teaspoon deposited on a 25-acre lake can make the fish unsafe to eat.
  
• 225 pounds of arsenic, which will cause cancer in one out of 100 people who drink water containing 50 parts per billion.
  
• 114 pounds of lead, 4 pounds of cadmium, other toxic heavy metals, and trace amounts of uranium.
  

If there's money to be made, all these concerns will be ignored.

Killer coal:

• Sources: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html
  
• http://www.care2.com/causes/cancer-now-1-cause-of-death-in-china-coal-largely-to-blame.html
  
• http://www.earth-policy.org/plan_b_updates/2011/update96
  

[OzMick]

Doesn't matter that cancer is the #1 killer in neighboring China now, mostly caused by coal fired power plants, or that mercury levels in the local seas' fish are at very toxic levels, (toxic especially to humans that eat them), again caused mostly by coal fired power plants, or that in a year ONE typical "clean" coal powered plant produces:

• 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary human cause of global warming--as much carbon dioxide as cutting down 161 million trees.
  
• 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which causes acid rain that damages forests, lakes, and buildings, and forms small airborne particles that can penetrate deep into lungs.
  
• 500 tons of small airborne particles, which can cause chronic bronchitis, aggravated asthma, and premature death, as well as haze obstructing visibility.
  
• 10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), as much as would be emitted by half a million late-model cars. NOx leads to formation of ozone (smog) which inflames the lungs, burning through lung tissue making people more susceptible to respiratory illness.
  
• 720 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), which causes headaches and place additional stress on people with heart disease.
  
• 220 tons of hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC), which form ozone.
  
• 170 pounds of mercury, where just 1/70th of a teaspoon deposited on a 25-acre lake can make the fish unsafe to eat.
  
• 225 pounds of arsenic, which will cause cancer in one out of 100 people who drink water containing 50 parts per billion.
  
• 114 pounds of lead, 4 pounds of cadmium, other toxic heavy metals, and trace amounts of uranium.
  

If there's money to be made, all these concerns will be ignored.

Killer coal:

• Sources: http://www.ucsusa.or...swind/c02c.html
  
• http://www.care2.com...y-to-blame.html
  
• http://www.earth-pol...s/2011/update96
  

the term "typical" is absolutely meaningless unless you state the generating capacity and usage (ie total MW produced per year) of the plant.

You might also consider that:

NOx can be reduced by accurate instrumentation and air flow control, though often this only by increasing total airflow to reduce %.

SOx is totally dependant on the feedstock coal. S% of coal varies greatly.

Dust emitted depends on the filtration method used. modern bag-filter plants produce very little, and usually have an exhaust opacity trip.

CO is only produced by inefficient combustion due to lack of air. With efficient operation, it should be minimal. Lighter than air, it goes UP.

Volatiles - as above. Ozone - much more would be produced by the alternator and user motors.

Hg, As, Pb and Cd etc are elements in the coal, not created in the power plant. They remain in the ash, which in modern usage is used to fill the voids of coal mines. ie it goes back where it came from, are usually insoluble,and pose little danger. Some may escape with lost ash slurry transport water, either as leakage or into the ground if an ash storage dam is used and improperly sealed.

Coal fired power stations are the major source of this planet's electricity. If you object to the burning of fossil fuels, disconnect from the grid and try living on renewable energy. BTW even rechargeable batteries are a source of pollution. Good luck.

[witsawakorn]

Coal fired power stations can be clean if they are willing to spend money on closed filtration. But I expect they`ll opt for chimneys belching black smoke just to keep running costs at a minimum.

A coal fired power plant will never be clean because of the CO2 Emissions which wont change until Carbon Capture technology becomes feasible. Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides and Dust Emissions from the Chimney are of more immediate concern to the health of people living in the vicinity of such plants and a modern state of the art plant will have equipment installed to reduce emissions of such pollutants by the following amounts:

Sulphur Dioxide 90-95% removal

Nitrogen Oxides 75% removal

Dust more than 99% removal

A new coal fired power plant built in Thailand would have to meet such standards in order to get an EIA approved but I am not sure about Burma. Anyway if bank funding is required to finance the project the Lenders ( whether International or Thai) will ensure that certain environmental standards will be met as a condition of the loan.

FYI the only time that you will get black smoke out of a coal fired power plant is for a short period of time when they are lighting the coal burners with oil fueled light off burners if the oil burners haven't been set up properly. The black comes from unburnt carbon.Coal burner smoke is grey and is caused by ash particles. Smoke from a modern plant should be almost imperceptible

There are some existing small Gas Turbine power plant located at Kawthaung but I wonder why the Chamber of Commerce member from Ranong felt that she is qualified to make comments on the safety of its operation. My guess is that her assessment was based on the standard of housekeeping (cleaning) which she may well be qualified to judge but means little when looking at safety of operation.

I have a feeling that this is just a lot of hot air anyway. The Thai company gets its name associated with a big international project and the Burmese government gets to show its critics that they can deal with foreign developers who aren't going to bring their own labour force with them depriving the locals of jobs and who never go home when the construction is complete.It couldn't happen until Burma gets a real currency that can be traded internationally. The US embargo wont help matters either ( although it didn't stop Unocal building the gas pipeline to Thailand a few years back!)

I think the time for Thailand to worry is when they announce that a Chinese company is given a concession to build a coal fired power plant there because they won't need to comply with minimum standards imposed by Lenders ( because they have access to government finance)