Quality Air Bangkok
Janeth Counter
The Department of Pollution Control declared last month that Bangkok had officially entered its annual smog season, but the region has suffered from deteriorating air quality since late last year. For Chiang Mai and other northern provinces which experience prolonged high levels of microscopic dust, the season usually begins in late February, when dry weather and an atmospheric inversion layer cause airborne particles to accumulate.
The Department of Pollution Control predicted that air pollution levels in Bangkok will remain unhealthy until Saturday, and that most regions of the country, especially the north and northeast, will experience high levels through the weekend.
Reasons for the lowered PM2.5 readings may be directly linked to seasonal influence, with the rainy season starting at around July and lasting till October. The rain offers a cleansing to the air quality as it naturally pulls the fine particulate matter and other pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) out of the air.
However, despite the readings classing it at a moderate level, there are times when it crosses rapidly over this line to significantly worse pollution with levels of PM2.5 and other contaminants found lingering in the air. A large number of schools were closed in January of 2019, an unprecedented order at the time because the level of air quality has only something that has recently been made more transparent and available for the average citizen, as well as the government keeping a closer eye on it. The schools were closed in order to protect children from a particularly heavy haze that persisted for several weeks.
The main issue within this industry is that these boats are powered primarily by diesel engines, which inevitably release large amounts of pollution and PM2.5 into the atmosphere, along with black carbon (BC), a dangerous pollutant formed from the incomplete combustion of various biomass and fossil fuels combined. This can take a heavy toll on the quality of the air, with even post COVID-19 readings pushing themselves dangerously high, a reading on the 10th of November 2020 coming in at 92 on the US AQI.
The deterioration is caused by the choking levels of traffic, both on the roads and on the waterways, the burning of agricultural material which releases large amounts of smoke and PM2.5 into the atmosphere, as well as pollution from factories and the industrial sector.
Many of the boats that populate the waterways release large amounts of pollution and PM2.5 and black carbon, and whilst Thailand and other neighboring Asian countries are on the brink of bringing their motorization rates to that of developed countries, there still remains to be a lack of strict fuel standards in regards to the quality of the fuel that is being used, with subsequent exhaust fumes exceeding what would be considered low-emitting standard.
Further measures to reduce the amount of pollution emitted from the burning of organic materials in the farming sector and other related industries would also go a long way, along with more stringent rules on the fume emissions from factories. As these three things are the main culprits in terms of contributing to the higher pollution levels and poorer air quality ratings, an implementation of stricter rules in the farming, vehicular and factory/industry sectors would be a good step to lowering air pollution emissions.
Numerous studies have been conducted on the effects of PM2.5 on the human body, and the results of being exposed to it over long periods of time. The other particulate matter of a larger size, of a width of 10 or less micrometers across (PM10), whilst larger than the more lethal PM2.5, are still small enough to enter via the respiratory tract and end up in the lungs, causing potential issues to both the lungs and the heart. PM2.5 on the other hand, being of a much smaller size (particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less) has the ability to not only get into the body via the respiratory tract, but can enter the bloodstream whereby they gain the ability to circulate to the rest of the body, causing much more adverse health impacts.
On a short-term basis, these health effects may include irritation to the eyes and nose, as well as the throat or other mucous membranes. PM10 can worsen cases of asthma, triggering attacks leading to other numerous forms of COPD. People with preexisting heart problems or diseases may find their condition worsening, with heart attacks or arrythmias (irregular heart beat) also possible.
Longer term exposure can lead to even more reduced lung function, or a worsening of COPD symptoms, as well as reduced life expectancy from the development of diseases affecting both the respiratory system and heart. PM2.5 cannot be easily removed from the body, if at all, making the need for the reduction of pollution and air filtration systems ever more important.
The concern of drinking purposed water quality in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and Samutprakarn provinces has been a problem for over fifteen years. Metropolitan Water Works Authority (MWA) of Thailand is fully responsible for providing water supply to the mentioned areas. The objective of Drinkable Tap Water Project is to make people realize in quality of tap water. Communities, school, government agencies, hotels, hospitals, department stores, and other organizations are participating in this project. MWA have collected at least 3 samples of water from the corresponding places and the samples have to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines level. This study is to evaluate water quality of tap water, storage water, filtered water, and filtered water dispenser. The water samples from 2,354 attending places are collected and analyzed. From October 2011 to September 2016, MWA analyzed 32,711 samples. The analyzed water parameters are free residual chlorine, appearance color, turbidity, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and pathogenic bacteria; E.coli. The results indicated that a number of tap water samples had the highest number compliance with WHO guidelines levels at 98.40%. The filtered water, filtered water dispenser, and storage water were received 96.71%, 95.63%, and 90.88%, respectively. However, the several samples fail to pass WHO guideline level because they were contaminated by E.coli. The result is that tap water has the highest score among other sources probably because tap water has chlorine for disinfection and always is monitored by professional team round-the-clock services compared to the other water sources with less maintenance or cleaning. Also, water quality reports are continuously sent to customers by mail addresses. Tap water quality data are shown on MWA websites and Facebook. All these steps of work should enhance the confidence of tap water quality.
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