It’s not just
Haze: The effects of air pollution in Chiang Mai
A talk and
presentation by
Dr. Duongchan
Apaavaatjrut Charoenmuang
Present: Masanao
Umebayashi, Hugh and Pik Leong, Uwe
Konrad, Tom Drumin, Peter Oberender, Louis Gabaude, Richard
Nelson-Jones,
Thomas Ohlson, Renee Vines, Keiko and Carl Samuels, Ken Kampe, Carol
Grodzins,
Peter Kurt Hansen, Lindy Santitharangkul, Bodil Blokker, Maeline Le
Lay, John
Cadet, Ricky Ward, David Blair Brown, Patrick McGowan, Michael Tucksen,
Pia Wunna,
Oliver Hargreave, Ron Renard,
Adrian Pieper, Jonathan and Beryl McKeown, Mark and Dianne
Barber-Riley, Tony
and Siripan Kidd, Tom Fawthrop, David Steane. An audience of 35.
The Minutes of Dr.
Duongchan’s talk are comprised of her
newspaper article and your Convenor’s recollections of an
extremely informative
and well delivered presentation.
The
smoggy, grayish haze that has
spread over Chiang Mai and many other provinces of northern Thailand
and its
neighboring countries is viewed differently by different groups of
people in
the community. Academics who have
conducted research related to air pollution are concerned about the
health
impact from the amount of PM10 (particulate matter smaller than 10
microns – a
micron is approximately 1/60th the size of the diameter of a
human
hair) that exceed 2 to 3 times the allowable amount of 120 micrograms
per cubic
metre in 24 hours. The standard
level,
set by the Pollution Control Department, does not mean a
“safe” level but the
level that a human body can endure. (120 micrograms per cubic metre is
the
standard in Thailand, the standard set by the European Union is 50.)
Therefore,
if the amount of PM10s exceeds the allowable amount, it becomes a
health hazard
that can be life threatening to those who already have chronic symptoms
of
respiratory problems and heart disease. The
elderly whose bodies are frail and small
children are most at risk
and may develop acute illnesses.
For
many business people the haze
problem is damaging their income, which has risen by many hundred
percents
during the 3 months of the Royal Flora Expo, and they want to maintain
that
income level. And because this haze has
lingered on for so many weeks there are members of the general public
who have
become depressed and subject to higher levels of stress. Even though
the Chiang
Mai Department of Public Health and Chiang Mai University have issued
warnings
and guidelines about what to do and what not do when the PM10 level is
high,
many people still continue to exercise outdoor. Among those who
regularly
exercise outdoors are many supposedly ‘knowledgeable’
academics who it would
seem, judging by their unwillingness to modify their behaviour, suffer
from a
serious misperception of the haze problem.
The
haze has forced government
officials and local governments to work harder at damage control. They
see the
haze problem not primarily as a health hazard but as a threat to the
tourism
industry. Many hotels, spas and related business have already lost
30-100% of
their customers, which will damage the city’s economy. The
official’s
determination to protect tourist businesses is illustrated by their
press
releases which say that Chiang Mai air is clean, when in fact it is
still
polluted far above an acceptable level. In
addition, the continued haze problem could
cost these officials
career advancement, which is why they were very quick to declare their
province
as no longer in a state of emergency.
Some
local residents think it’s
just the same haze that we confront every year, which after the first
rain will
go away. Why worry? Why
should they stop burning leaves and
garbage, or burning their fields; which has been practiced by their
ancestors
since time immemorial? Some well-known
academics get very angry, saying that the poor are always blamed for
leading
their traditional way of life, and point the finger at the rich who use
cars,
and live and work in an air-conditioned environment.
In
fact all pollution sources,
including cigarette smoking, contribute to the critical haze problem we
are now
faced with. Open burning, traffic fumes, barbeques, and other common
causes of
air pollution occur every day; the fires on the mountains, however, are
seasonal. I do not call them forest
fires because sometimes it can be slash and burn and/or garbage burning. Unfortunately, the hill tribes and local
people have been the scapegoats for the burning on highland areas. Gathering Hed-top mushrooms, a very lucrative
pursuit, has been quoted as the motivation for burning, but these
mushrooms
only grow up to 500 MSL. The fires that we can see on the mountains are
above
the altitude that this mushroom can grow. In
addition, farmers will only burn their
fields just before the rains
come in late April and early May. Haze
problems in late February and March are the product of groups whose
intentions
are unknown.
The
haze is not a naturally
occurring phenomenon like mist of fog, but a man- made disaster that
poses a
serious threat to a crucial element of our life support system. Air is
a
necessity for the survival of human, animals and plants.
We can fast for weeks, we can stop drinking
for many days, but we cannot stop breathing. Our breathing is so
automatic that
we are not consciously aware of breathing in and out; as a result, we
pay scant
attention to our breathing, and, usually, even less to the quality of
the air
we inspire. Although breathing
clean, smoke free air is basic human right, it has not yet been put on
the
agenda of human rights activists.
The
present haze problem has had a
measurable detrimental effect on people’s health. A report from
the Ministry of
Health, released by the Northern Thailand Haze Prevention Center, shows
that
from March 16th – 25th 2007 the health of
10,654 people
in Chiang Mai was affected by the haze problem. The
number of deaths due to the haze is still
unknown.
If
it is prolonged, the haze will
not only affect our health and livelihoods, but also the security of
our food
supply. The haze has an adverse effect on the photosynthesis of plants
and
trees. Dr. Wanarak Wongsaikaew, Department of Biology, Faculty
of
Science, Chiang Mai University, discovered that a kind of lichen that
can
normally withstand urban air, commonly used as a bio-indicator in
England,
bleaches at its edge in many areas in the Chiang Mai-Lamphun valley.
This
bleaching means they are dying. This is
only one bio-indicator; there are many more if we look around. A useful
‘bio-indicator’ for people in Chiang Mai is Doi Suthep. If
you can see the
mountain then the air is relatively clear. If you can’t see it
then it’s a bad
air day.
Air
pollution in the north of
Thailand is both a national and an international problem. Dr. Duongchan
presented satellite heat images which showed as many hot spots were
fires are
burning in neighbouring countries as there are in Thailand. But, as Dr.
Duongchan pointed out, that does not mean that we have to wait for our
neighbours to clean up their act before we start to do something. There
are
many things that people can do to improve the quality of their air:
1.
Stop
burning garbage - especially plastic and Styrofoam, wood, leaves and
grass.
When burnt all of these will produce carbon smoke, PM10 dust particles,
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), and Carbon Monoxide. None of
which
will do you any good when breathed into your body. A significant
proportion of
your garbage – glass, plastic bottles, paper, cans, etc. can be
recycled, and
wood, leaves and grass can be composted.
2.
Reduce
or eliminate the number of plastic bags you use by taking your own
cloth
shopping bag or a shopping basket to the supermarket.
3.
If
you know they use Styrofoam containers and plastic bags, take your own
containers when you go out to the restaurant or food stall to buy a
takeaway
meal or drink.
4.
Suggest
that the municipality or the Or-Bor-Tor (Tambon Administrative
Organization)
stop using car tyres as the fuel for cremating bodies. The black smoke you see
billowing from the
crematorium chimney is not
coming from the body. (Convenor’s
note:
Sky Burials and donating your body to Chiang Mai Zoo to feed the big
cats are
both 100% environmentally friendly alternatives.)
5.
Use
your car less – car pool or use public transport to get to work.
6.
Do
not leave the engine running to keep the air-conditioning going when
you are
parked.
7.
Try
walking and using a bicycle for short trips
8.
Avoid
burning charcoal on the Bar-B-Q. After
open burning, commercial Bar-B-Qs in front of restaurants and on the
street
are, by number, the second largest
source of
air pollution in cities and towns. There is now available a smokeless
barbeques
grill that will not only eliminate the air pollution but also can
increase
income from the sale of the collected waste products to bio diesel
producers.
9.
Cover
construction sites to reduce the spread of dust particles. Tall
building can be
clad in plastic sheeting and the ground around them and the adjacent
roads can
be watered to damp down the dust. A prime example of this is the
underpass
under construction at the Kuang Singha junction on the Super Highway.
This site
has been under construction for more than two years and in that time
the
construction company has done nothing to damp down the dust generating
from it.
10.
Trees
absorb harmful carbon monoxide and other toxins and give out oxygen.
Stop cutting
them down and plant more of them.
11.
Prohibit
the construction of more high-rise buildings in the Chiang Mai-Lamphun
valley.
Wishful thinking but you should be aware that the high-rise buildings
are one
of the reasons why the pollution problem is worsening. (Dr. Duongchan
showed
slides that illustrated how the tall buildings in the Chiang Mai valley
cause
turbulence in the air, causing the dust particles to circulate and
build up in
the valley instead of being dispersed on the wind, i.e. blown out of
the
valley.) Something for city planners to consider the next time they
approve
another condo block. The existing high-rise buildings should be knocked
down
after 50 years, or less, of use.
12.
Use your
commonsense. There are many more ways than these to reduce air
pollution.
What
can local government do? A
lot. What is local government doing? Not much. Why? The difficulty in
persuading the local authorities to do something about air pollution in
Chiang
Mai is because it is a seasonal problem, i.e. when the rains come the
fog, that
is the carbon smoke that you can see, disappears, and then it is a case
of
“Problem? What problem?” Flooding is also seasonal but the
big difference is
that water inundating houses is an immediate problem and the damage can
be
directly observed. High levels of PM10 dust particles are invisible and
the
effect on health is less immediate and less directly observable. The
only
chance we have that the local government will take any steps to address
the air
pollution problem is that enough of the local business people in the
tourism
industry – hotels, spas, shops, etc. will see their profits
sufficiently hard
hit by the drop in tourist numbers, which is already starting to
happen, that
they will put pressure on their friends in high places to do something
to save
them from financial ruin. It won’t be a concern for the health of
the our
children and the population as a whole but for the health of the bank
accounts
of a few that will spur official activity. The difficulty the local
council has
in addressing this problem is that unlike flooding, which the local
government
can be seen to be doing something positive about by dredging the Ping,
the only
action they can take to reduce air pollution is to enforce the existing
laws –
a negative action which will make them unpopular with a significant
percentage
of the local population. Are they really going to instruct the police
to fine
every person they catch standing beside a pile of burning leaves, or
every
hotel with black smoke billowing out of its chimney? And what about the
local
farmers? If they cannot offer the rice farmer a commercially viable
alternative
to burning off stubble, then he is going to continue to break the law
and burn.
Then what are the local authorities going to do? Arrest the farmer and
put him
in prison for 7 years, and be seen as the direct cause of his wife and
family
suffering without their breadwinner? Try and fine him Baht 14,000 when
he is
already probably up to his neck in debt and barely making enough to
keep his
family at subsistence level? If the local council take that route they
are on a
hiding to nothing.
The
only way that the problem of
air pollution is going to be at least reduced in Chiang Mai is to
educate the
public, and, as suggested by some members of the audience, eventually
make
burning an anti-social activity, like urinating or defecating in the
streets.
Education combined with an enhanced sense of community civic pride
would make
it socially unacceptable to pollute the environment, and even ostracize
those
guilty of committing such an offence. And the local government can do
something
positive to enhance civic pride, firstly by setting an example by
putting their
own house in order, and then providing, amongst other things, efficient
garbage
collection, street cleaning, and free plants, flowers and trees.
If
we are going to protect the
environment, our health and the health of our children then we must be
fully
aware of the threat that air pollution poses, and of the power that we
have to
ensure that Chiang Mai once more becomes a clean and healthy place, a
better
place to live.
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