Sand drilling ships spotted in Myanmar near Thailand's border in Ranong province

By Digital Media

RANONG, Feb 10 - About ten sand drilling ships were spotted in Myanmar's Andaman Sea near Thailand's border in this southern province.

Atikom Tanabat, from a committee to develop triangle economic area in Thailand's upper south, said he and his team went to inspect Takrut Island, which is located in Thai territory connected to Myanmar's Kaw Thaung.

He said local residents informed Thai authorities of the ships.

An initial inspection found that the large ships were from Indonesia, drilling sand in the Andaman Sea to send to Singapore for further silica distillation.

Workers on the ships speaking the Yawi language said about 1 kg of silica was distilled from 2,000 cubic metres of sand.

Silica is currently priced at Bt32,000/kg, used in electrical equipment and sanitary ware manufacturing. Singapore will use the rest of the sand leftover from the distillation for land reclamation, they said.

Mr Atikom said many local residents are worried that the sand drilling process will be the cause of future problems in the coastal area, as well as affect the ecological system. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-02-10

Haze, smog worsen in northern provinces

By Digital Media

LAMPANG, Feb 10 – Dust particle levels in Thailand’s northern provinces have increased, while Chiang Mai's airport has to turn on spotlights along the whole runway area due to poor visibility.

Regarding the haze and smog situation, the average dust particles recorded in northern provinces has risen, with Phrae at 112 microgrammes/cubic metre and Lampang at 106 microgrammes/cubic metre.

In Chiang Mai, the visibility is poor at about one kilometre, forcing Chiang Mai Airport to turn on spotlights at its runway. Chiang Mai reported dust particles level at 71 microgrammes/cubic metre.

The Chiang Mai deputy governor said 14 hot spots have been found burning, mostly in Chom Thong, Mae Chaem and Omkoi districts. Local authorities have asked for cooperation from the public to stop all types of burning.

If there is no rain, the dust particle levels is likely to continue to rise. The Lampang Meteorological Station reported an active high pressure system from China remaining over the Northeast of Thailand and the South China Sea. It forecasts cool weather with fog in the morning and isolated thundershowers with wind gusts. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-02-10

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Thailand Live Monday 11 Feb 2013

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/618400-thailand-live-monday-11-feb-2013/