Smoggy statement:
Face masks make you look like an outpatient but they’re the best way of keeping PM2.5 at bay, write Pitcha Dangprasith and Anchalee Kongrut
As the level of minuscule dust particles, known as PM2.5, rises in Bangkok the city’s skyline is turning brown and hazy, spreading alarm about the ramifications for people’s health. Yesterday, as the level of PM2.5 on Rama IV Road hit 124 microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m³) face masks were a common sight, especially the popular N95 brand. Self-employed worker Wichai Kongeaksirisakul, 57, said he wasn’t taking any risks. “I knew about PM2.5 but I never expected the situation would become so serious here,” he said. I know the mask can’t filter out all the dust particles but it’s better than nothing.” Nattapol Wangkum, 17, goes to school in the Klong Toey area, a particularly polluted part of the capital next to the old cargo port. He said he couldn’t find the much-sought-after N95 mask. “I’ve got a mask but I guess it’s not that effective,” he said. “I searched for a better one at a bunch of shops and drug stores. They’d all sold out.” Chairat Nirawittayanon, 60, works for a pharmaceutical firm. She opted to eschew the pollution-inspired wardrobe change. “I’m not used to wearing something on my face. I feel suffocated,” she said. Charnnon, 24, expressed scepticism about the health risk the layers of dust present. “I don’t know much it, what PM2.5 is, or what harm it can do,” the engineering student said. “So I don’t really see the point in panicking. Plus, the sky looks fine today, no haze or fog.” Thanasorn Karntawat, 34, said he doubted the problem would go away anytime soon. “It is hard to believe the dust will go away easily. Just take a look around. You can see the construction work going on to build out the city’s trains, high rises and other work sites all day and night,” he said. “Vehicles with toxic fumes belching out the exhaust pipes take up entire streets. Factories in the suburbs pour out smog, so yeah, I doubt it.” On top of encouraging the use of face masks, local authorities decided this week to spray water into the sky to try and remove some of the PM2.5 that is blanketing the city. City administrators began dousing road surfaces with water yesterday. But Supat Wangwongwatana, a former director-general of the Pollution Control Department (PCD), said using water to dissipate PM2.5 may not prove as effective as City Hall hopes. “Rain and other water can wash away larger particles but not PM2.5, which is so miniscule it can survive even a torrent of water,” he said. “Unlikely we’ll see much in the way of results.” Experts say that makes face masks the best bet at present for those with asthma or other respiratory or cardiovascular diseases, as well as elderly people and those in poor health. The only realistic way to get rid of all the excess dust is ban open burning and find a system that results in fewer cars on the road, for example by alternating the days motorists are allowed to drive depending on their registration plate. Beijing has experimented with a similar move. “That would require the cooperation of Bangkok residents, and it would affect people’s livelihoods, lives, and economic activities, Mr Supat said. “But to solve the problem, that’s what they have to do. Are Bangkok residents ready for that?”
‘‘
I never expected the situation would become so serious.
WICHAI KONGEAKSIRISAKUL SELF-EMPLOYED WORKER