DOCTORS RAISE CONCERNS OVER SEASONAL AIR POLLUTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000038 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EAGR AMED CH BM LA TH SUBJECT: DOCTORS RAISE CONCERNS OVER SEASONAL AIR POLLUTION REF: A. 08 CHIANG MAI 50 (HAZARDOUS AIR QUALITY) ¶B. 08 CHIANG MAI 91 (REDUCED BURNING) CHIANG MAI 00000038 001.2 OF 002 -------------- Summary and Comment -------------- ¶1. Summary: With the crop-burning season in full swing, Chiang Mai and many other cities in Thailand's mountainous upper north are again shrouded in annual hazardous smog, raising recurring concerns about the HEALTH consequences of pollution and what government agencies are doing to address it. This year's small particulate matter measurement has already peaked well above public HEALTH safety thresholds, reaching levels three times higher than 2008 peaks in Los Angeles. Medical researchers are joining the fight against pollution in full force this year, publicizing data showing links between poor air quality and a range of HEALTH problems, including unusually high rates of lung cancer in Chiang Mai relative to the rest of Thailand. ¶2. Comment: Civil society groups here seem to be putting most of their pressure on the central government to release more detailed information measuring pollution levels. However, there still seems to be a lack of effort both from the government and advocacy groups to stop the primary source of the seasonal smog - crop burning. Though the RTG might be willing to release more information on pollution, it will take full enforcement of existing anti-burning laws across multiple provinces to begin to solve the problem, a step that no ONE seems willing to take. Northern Thailand's seasonal air pollution is further exacerbated by extensive crop burning on the territory of its immediate neighbors in Burma and Laos. End Summary and Comment. -------------- The Numbers: So Far Not So Good -------------- ¶3. Although it is still early in the burning season, PM10 measurements (air pollutant particulate matter 10 microns and smaller) in Chiang Mai peaked at 232 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/cm) on March 12. This figure is more than 50% higher than the U.S. EPA safety threshold of 150 mg/cm. Since mid-February, PM10 levels have exceeded what is defined by Thai public HEALTH authorities as acceptable (120 mg/cm or less) about half of the time. (Note: these PM10 figures are 24-hour averages measured from 9am to 9am. According to figures Post obtained from the Pollution Control Department (PCD),hourly PM10 peaks of 314 mg/cm and 356 mg/cm were reached on March 11 at two urban locations in Chiang Mai. These levels are more than double the U.S. EPA safety threshold and are comparable to PM10 levels during the October 2008 dust storms in California's San Joaquin Valley. End Note). ¶4. The seasonal haze that covers much of Thailand's upper north in the March-April dry season is primarily caused by crop burning, not only in northern Thailand but also in neighboring Burma and Laos. (For an eye-opening NASA satellite image of the Golden Triangle area ablaze in active fires on March 9, see this weblink: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazar ds/view.php?id =37343). Chiang Mai and most major upper north cities suffer the hazy season more acutely because they are located in narrow valleys, which concentrate population and hold pollution for longer periods of time. -------------- Dr. Activist -------------- ¶5. Concerned about this year's hazardous burning season, Chiang Mai University (CMU) medical researchers are stepping on their soapboxes to call for greater government attention to and public awareness of this annual HEALTH threat. CMU's Head of Community Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine said this year researchers are highlighting two studies that illustrate the correlation between poor air quality and illnesses. ¶6. The first study found that burning crops and organic waste such as tree leaves, common practice in Southeast Asia, generates polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),which have a positive correlation with cancer. Our CMU contact emphasized, however, that there is still not sufficient evidence to prove that crop burning has a causal relationship with lung cancer. Yet public HEALTH statistics show that the ratio of lung cancer patients to overall population in Chiang Mai is four times higher than elsewhere in Thailand. The study has received significant press attention over the past month. ¶7. A second study focuses on the well-established correlation between air pollution and respiratory illness. Medical researchers gathered data in January-April 2008 from a set of 12,000 residents of Chiang Mai and Lamphun provinces in order to CHIANG MAI 00000038 002.2 OF 002 record illnesses related to the respiratory system, heart, skin, and eyes. They found that over a six-day period, every additional microgram per cubic meter of PM10 inhaled increases the chance of respiratory, cardiovascular, or eye-related illness by 0.04 to 0.21 percent. Thus when PM10 levels reach 200 points -- a common occurrence in Chiang Mai during the burning season - the chance of catching ONE of these illnesses ranges from 8 to 42%. ¶8. Spurred by this disconcerting data, doctors are playing the role of activists and urging the government to take action. On March 6, the Aspiratory Unit Head at CMU's Faculty of Medicine stated at a press conference that Thai authorities should lower the PM10 safety threshold from 120 mg/cm to 50, following the examples set by the European Union and the World HEALTH Organization. (Note: U.S. EPA regulations set the safety threshold at 150 mg/cm.) CMU's Head of Community Medicine met with government officials to make similar demands for stricter safety thresholds of PM10, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone. -------------- Government Mum on Additional Hazard Measure -------------- ¶9. Doctors are also urging the RTG's Pollution Control Department (PCD) to release data on an additional measuring stick of hazardous air: PM2.5. The PCD currently records but does not release these figure. Recent studies show that inhaling PM2.5 (fine particulate matter sized 2.5 microns and smaller, a subset of PM10) carries higher and longer-term risks than PM10. As a result, activists are calling on the PCD to publicize PM2.5 measurements along with PM10. At Chiang Mai's three air quality monitoring stations, PM2.5 measurements are collected and transmitted to the PCD in Bangkok. However, due to RTG regulations, the data cannot be released without approval from the PCD's board. Because of increasing pressure from environmentalists and civil society groups, the PCD expects to get approval to release the PM2.5 data, but did not say when and for what period of time. ¶10. CMU's Head of Community Medicine said PM2.5 readings are important because those fine particles pose acute and potentially long-term HEALTH risks. By his own estimate, the percentage of PM10 that classifies as PM2.5 during the burning season is about 60%. So when PM10 is 200 mg/cm, PM2.5 could be as high as 120 mg/cm, nearly quadruple the U.S. EPA safety threshold of 35 mg/cm, more than double the 2008 PM2.5 peak in the Los Angeles area, and even passing the 100 mg/cm peak in the San Joaquin Valley during last year's dust storms. (Note: A study by the Government of New Zealand estimates the ratio to be lower, at about 45%, though this would still give a PM2.5 count of 90 mg/cm.) -------------- Doctor's Orders -------------- ¶11. While the government remains quiet on how to protect oneself from the pollution, medical professionals are urging the region's residents to take certain precautions. ONE CMU doctor said that young children below age 5, as well as elderly and sick people, should remain indoors as much as possible. When going outdoors, he recommends that these at-risk persons wear an N95 mask to protect against fine particles as small as 0.3 microns, though the mask expires after 24 hours of use. Because of air suppression caused during the cooler hours, he recommends against engaging in outdoor activities in the mornings or evenings, if at all. ¶12. This cable is the first in a two-part series on the burning season in northern Thailand. The second cable will focus on the RTG and local government response to the issue. MORROW