Saraburi tops the worst air quality last year

[webfact]

Saraburi tops the worst air quality last year



SARABURI: -- The air and water quality throughout the country for the year 2015 was just fine with Saraburi having the worst air quality and the water quality of the inner Gulf of Thailand was worsening, according to the latest environmental assessment report of Pollution Control Department.

Air quality in Saraburi was beyond standard for 150 days out of the whole year followed by Lampang’s 89 days, Samut Prakan’s 81 days and Bangkok’s 74 days. The main pollution problem in these provinces was particle which is less than 10 micron, said Mr Vicharn Simachaya, pollution control department head.

The department also checked water quality released from 1,392 sources and found 404 of them did not follow legal requirements.

As for garbage, there were altogether 26.9 million tonnes last year which means each Thai generated an average of 1.13 kgs of garbage each day.

Of the 26.9 million tonnes of garbage generated last year, 8.4 million tonnes were properly disposed of and 7.09 million tonnes were also disposed but not properly. Hazardous garbage amounted to about 590,000 tonnes, up 14,000 tonnes from a year before.

The hazardous garbage included about 380,000 tonnes of electrical appliances and electronic wastes. Diseases-tainted garbage amounted to 5,400 tonnes.

The sea water quality of the Gulf was found to be just fine but the sea in the inner area of the Gulf was polluted.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/saraburi-tops-the-worst-air-quality-last-year


-- Thai PBS 2016-01-08

[loonytune]

no shit Sherlock!

[plachon]

"Of the 26.9 million tonnes of garbage generated last year, 8.4 million tonnes were properly disposed of and 7.09 million tonnes were also disposed but not properly. Hazardous garbage amounted to about 590,000 tonnes, up 14,000 tonnes from a year before."

If 8.4 million tonnes were properly disposed of and 7.09 million tonnes were improperly disposed of, one wonder about the other 14.41 million tonnes of rubbish - what happened to that? Either the stats are all <deleted> (quite likely), or there is over 14 million tonnes of crap running round the country awaiting proper or improper disposal. I guess it could imply that the bulk of the rubbish was just dumped haphazardly in the environment, such as you see in countless upcountry villages where the people just go to the edge of the village and pile the rubbish on the road verge or dump it in the local river.

Whatever, over 1.1 kg per person a day of rubbish is shockingly bad, if I compare it against my own family's rubbish collection for a week in UK. I reckon it is about 600 g per pax, including recyclables separated out curbside. Main weight is wine, beer and cider bottles.

[trogers]

Some of the top international learning institutions are located in this province?

[dick turpin]

The huge TPI cement complex to the north of Saraburi

can't help with its air quality, seeing as they also

blow up half a mountainside most days.

[tuanku]

Some of the top international learning institutions are located in this province?

And much of Thailand's cement industry, hence the particulates I suspect. One of the cement works there uses rubbish in its furnaces rather than fossil fuels.

[Bredbury Blue]

"Air quality in Saraburi was beyond standard for 150 days out of the whole year followed by Lampangs 89 days, Samut Prakans 81 days..."

I was trying to work out why these 3 provinces had the worst air quality. Saraburi would probably be the quarrying for stone/cement factories, Lampang could only be related to EGAT's mae moh power plant, but i couldn't come up for a reason for Samut Prakarn except for multiple factories (??). Anybody have any ideas why?.

[LALes]

In the winter, one would think all bets would be off and the country would be blanketed by a thick layer of smog brought down by cold, Siberian winds bringing with them all the crap from China. Yet, we still see a large variance in numbers from AQI reporting stations around the country. How accurate are these numbers? Who knows. I'd like to see the US Embassy set up their own reporting station, like they did in Shanghai, to the eventual shame of the Chinese.

One thing I can say is that we used to have a modern, digital CO2 meter outside a new business tower in the heart of BKK, not far from the US Embassy.

When it was new, it would flash date and time for a few seconds and then switch to temperature and CO2 for a few seconds. The CO2 readings were soooo

off the charts that they stopped that part of the meter and never "repaired" it. Now, it just says the date and time. It would regularly read 825 for CO2 when anything over 350 is considered disastrous. Typical of the 3rd world. Bury their heads in the sand.

[huangnon]

A lot of industrial estates and chemical production facilities in Saraburi.

[Shaunduhpostman]

The operative phrase here is "properly disposed of" garbage. It would seem that burning garbage is proper disposal as that is the method we see most commonly up here in Isaan. There is no garbage pickup here, never has been, and the promised services in the future never arrive. Seems then that since garbage pick up isn't needed that just burning everything is fine and therefor can be approved as "properly disposed of" refuse.

[trogers]

"Air quality in Saraburi was beyond standard for 150 days out of the whole year followed by Lampangs 89 days, Samut Prakans 81 days..."

I was trying to work out why these 3 provinces had the worst air quality. Saraburi would probably be the quarrying for stone/cement factories, Lampang could only be related to EGAT's mae moh power plant, but i couldn't come up for a reason for Samut Prakarn except for multiple factories (??). Anybody have any ideas why?.

Burnings in the garbage dump...

[deckape]

The air and water quality throughout the country for the year 2015 was just fine

??? Seem to remember massive air quality problems in Northern Thailand year after year.