Chiang Mai: Smog linked to jump in heart attacks

[webfact]

Smog linked to jump in heart attacks
Pratch Rujivanarom,
Aryuthai Nonnitirut
The Nation


Many Chiang Mai residents had to wear face masks outdoors yesterday because of severe air pollution.

CHIANG MAI: -- A CHIANG Mai University heart specialist has raised concern over rising heart attack cases amid the recent surge in serious air pollution in the North.

Dr Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, a cardiologist at Chiang Mai University's Maharaj Hospital, said the number of patients suffering acute myocardial infarction dramatically increases at this time of the year - notorious for farm burn-offs and thick smog across the North.

The amount of tiny-particle dust now exceeds safe levels in Lamphun, Chiang Mai and Lampang provinces, while flights in Mae Hong Son were cancelled due to poor visibility.

"From my observation at this hospital, heart attack cases have risen from three to four a month to three to four a day. This phenomenon that happens every dry season and has been continuing for more than 6 years now," Rungsrit said.

He indicated that air pollution could increase the chance of heart attack, especially when the volume of particulate matter with a maximum diameter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5) is high.

"Unlike PM10, which is larger particulate matter in the air, PM2.5 can be inhaled into the pulmonary alveolus inside the lungs, which thickens blood and sometime blocks the blood vessels," he explained. "Everyone should stay indoors; especially vulnerable persons including children, the elderly and those who have a heart condition, high blood pressure or diabetes, if the air pollution is high. They should relocate if possible," he said.

The doctor suggested people should check air quality in their area daily via the "Air4Thai' application, available in both iOS and Android smartphones.

At Mae Hong Son, airport director Weerawat Takong said Karn Air's ART-60 flights to and from Chiang Mai have been cancelled due to poor visibility since Monday. Pilots require visibility of at least five kilometres but visibility is now only three kilometres. Local officials have been spraying water into the air to lower the dust level.

Officials were also doing this in Lampang. Nakhon Lampang Mayor Thanin Supasang started an air pollution reduction campaign, with fire trucks spraying water into the air.

During the dry season from January to March, farmers often burn their fields to grow new crops - despite officials urging them not to

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Smog-linked-to-jump-in-heart-attacks-30255282.html


-- The Nation 2015-03-04

[shirtless]

The radiation in the atmosphere from Fukushima also increases heart attacks and cancer rates but governments wont tell you.

[alant]

" if the air pollution is high. They should relocate if possible,"

I read that as don't live or visit here during the high smoke period.

Did the recent urgent meeting pon the matter consider an exclusion zone?

[thhMan]

It is pretty bad the past few days...

Parts of my garden are littered with ash from someone burning off crap

Right now it looks like a foggy morning back home in Australia...

[Briggsy]

Kudos to the doctor for saying what you won't hear from other official sources.

[Thailand]

I guess the next step will be a government purchase of personal water sprays at THB190,000 a pop from a reputable supplier?

[wabothai]

The farmers are urged.....................

Damn, educate the ignorant and stubborn farmers and tell them that they are causing many people to die and have breathing problems.

If they don't listen............well hit them where it hurts most............the baht.

Prajuth, where are you?

Police, where are you?

[khwaibah]

The farmers are urged.....................

Damn, educate the ignorant and stubborn farmers and tell them that they are causing many people to die and have breathing problems.

If they don't listen............well hit them where it hurts most............the baht.

Prajuth, where are you?

Police, where are you?

As Tonto said to The Long Ranger..we white man.

[khwaibah]

A serious case of zits.

[wabothai]

They not only burn their fields, they cause major forrest fires all over Thailand and as in my town the village headman seems to enjoy it.

Madame TAT you may want to know (if you care and have time to listen) that during the first 3 months of the year tourists will not come to the north. When they don't know or are not aware.they will be disgusted and tell everyone not to go to Thailand during this period.

It is totally ridiculous and sad that planes cannot land in Mae Hong Son, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the north.

[emilymat]

Surely that should read 'Heart attacks linked to jump in smog". Pedantic - I suppose so !

[ToddinChonburi]

They had the news helicopter flying around chiang Mai showing all of Thailand the wonderful smoke pumping into the air from the fields burning. At first I thought it was a forest fire but the GF said no it is from the farmers.

[ToddinChonburi]

This is another great ad for tourism, they just keep missing out on my million dollar ideas.

[elgordo38]

The radiation in the atmosphere from Fukushima also increases heart attacks and cancer rates but governments wont tell you.

Its on a need to know basis and we the humble populous are not in this category.

[elgordo38]

"From my observation at this hospital, heart attack cases have risen from three to four a month to three to four a day. This phenomenon that happens every dry season and has been continuing for more than 6 years now," Rungsrit said.

I find this comment stretching things a bit. One of the number is either to high or to low

[maidee]

i am sure that little piece of cloth is safe ... no need for n95 masks or anything

off course, doing something about the situation, not happening in thailand

no money to be made off that

so ... just move ... and if you move to somewhere without smoke, you will have soon a neighbor that does not care and that has a urge to burn his plastics & other crap

Edited March 4, 2015 by maidee

[Jonmarleesco]

Perhaps more than a few farmers should have unexpected heart attacks at this time of the year; they then might just start asking questions and listening to what they are told. Alternatively, perhaps the authorities could stop pussyfooting around and clamp down on the stubble burning.

[mommysboy]

Worse than 2 packs a day!!!

[khwaibah]

Big change.

[angiolo]

What about LUNG CANCER ? This would be a definite cause , maybe worse than smoking ciggies

[TomYumpoochai]

Well it makes a pretty pink full moon so tat should try n market that as a plus point to visit a gridlocked city where everywhere takes forever to get to and even when you get there you cant even park a bike.

[Torrens54]

The radiation in the atmosphere from Fukushima also increases heart attacks and cancer rates but governments wont tell you.

So is this the fault of the Thai Government?

Perhaps they should build Giant Fans to Blow it all back towards Fukushima?

[Chicog]

"From my observation at this hospital, heart attack cases have risen from three to four a month to three to four a day. This phenomenon that happens every dry season and has been continuing for more than 6 years now," Rungsrit said.

I find this comment stretching things a bit. One of the number is either to high or to low

Why?

Are you a cardiologist working in a Chiang Mai hospital?

[worgeordie]

This whole burning and pollution thing is not just a one off,its been going on

for years AND still this Government,and past Governments,do nothing serious

about it,except threaten crackdowns (never happen),stupid ideas like spraying water,

huge fans to blow it all away, instead of been proactive,like making it a criminal offence,

with serious penalties,not a slap on the wrist, but jail time and large fine,if mushroom

pickers can get 30 years, what the penalty for polluting all of the North,making people

suffer.

regards worgeordie

[Awk]

This whole burning and pollution thing is not just a one off,its been going on

for years AND still this Government,and past Governments,do nothing serious

about it,except threaten crackdowns (never happen),stupid ideas like spraying water,

huge fans to blow it all away, instead of been proactive,like making it a criminal offence,

with serious penalties,not a slap on the wrist, but jail time and large fine,if mushroom

pickers can get 30 years, what the penalty for polluting all of the North,making people

suffer.

regards worgeordie

I think that is putting things a little to simple. This is not the enforcement of helmet-laws, but the livelihood of farm people, as well as, perhaps, an not insignificant part of the contribution to the domestic food supply, and Thailand's GDP. If the people burning the fields and forests do that because it is necessary in order for them to get a decent harvest, putting them in jail for "doing their job" is not necessarily a good thing to do.

Other countries have obviously solved the problem somehow, and just as obvious I think, the government must first provide the farmers (and mushrooms growers? Or can they simply be put in jail? Who cares about mushrooms anyway) with a satisfactory alternative. Be it education on a different, more environmentally friendly to the rest of us, way of ensuring a good harvest, economic support for additional farm machines needed, or whatever it is. Perhaps the reason why there are no harsh penalties or jail term is also related to this lack of alternative.

Anyway, I do not think it is our place as short or long term guests to make demands of the local people to change their ways. I know I'd find it pretty annoying if a bunch of foreigners in my own home country started doing that.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Awk

[worgeordie]

This whole burning and pollution thing is not just a one off,its been going on

for years AND still this Government,and past Governments,do nothing serious

about it,except threaten crackdowns (never happen),stupid ideas like spraying water,

huge fans to blow it all away, instead of been proactive,like making it a criminal offence,

with serious penalties,not a slap on the wrist, but jail time and large fine,if mushroom

pickers can get 30 years, what the penalty for polluting all of the North,making people

suffer.

regards worgeordie

I think that is putting things a little to simple. This is not the enforcement of helmet-laws, but the livelihood of farm people, as well as, perhaps, an not insignificant part of the contribution to the domestic food supply, and Thailand's GDP. If the people burning the fields and forests do that because it is necessary in order for them to get a decent harvest, putting them in jail for "doing their job" is not necessarily a good thing to do.

Other countries have obviously solved the problem somehow, and just as obvious I think, the government must first provide the farmers (and mushrooms growers? Or can they simply be put in jail? Who cares about mushrooms anyway) with a satisfactory alternative. Be it education on a different, more environmentally friendly to the rest of us, way of ensuring a good harvest, economic support for additional farm machines needed, or whatever it is. Perhaps the reason why there are no harsh penalties or jail term is also related to this lack of alternative.

Anyway, I do not think it is our place as short or long term guests to make demands of the local people to change their ways. I know I'd find it pretty annoying if a bunch of foreigners in my own home country started doing that.

It seems the minority are just doing what they like (they know its illegal to burn,and its the majority of the population

that has to suffer for it, anyway it think the pollution is more from forest undergrowth burning than from farmers fields,

They used to burn off the fields in UK,until it was made illegal,and now the farmers just turn the stubble in when ploughing

the fields.Just doing nothing is not going to solve the problem,which is a serious one.

regards worgeordie

[vivid]

It takes just a wee bit of pollution to have a marked increase in the risk of having strokes and heart issues. See the graph on the right, x axis is the PM2.5 concentration and Y axis is the Relative Risk of having issues. The risk increases dramatically with just a small jump in particulate matter levels.

This is how you can calculate the PM2.5 exposure daily.

Take the 24hr figure for PM2.5 from aqmthai.com from a station. Believe 35t and 36t are from Chiang Mai and 36t has PM2.5.

For the past 2 days it's approx. 220-250 ug/m3 a day

Volume of air a human breathes a day = 11,000 litres in 24hrs. 1 m3 = 1000 litres. That's 110 m3.

Take 250 ug/0.25mg * 110 = 27.5 mg of PM2.5 daily in terms of exposure

Check 27.5 ug PM2.5 against the right hand side graph in the above post

Station 36t

[Tokay]

Boggles the mind.

So they don't disrupt the income of a minimal amount of poor and ignorant farmers, they screw 100s of 1000s of people out of their health and in many cases, their income if they work in the tourist industry. Not to mention whatever costs are involved with becoming ill.

Allow me to be the first to say <deleted> the farmers!

[khwaibah]

Boggles the mind.

So they don't disrupt the income of a minimal amount of poor and ignorant farmers, they screw 100s of 1000s of people out of their health and in many cases, their income if they work in the tourist industry. Not to mention whatever costs are involved with becoming ill.

Allow me to be the first to say <deleted> the farmers!

Just in. Pinpointing all the farmers burning through out SE Asia. BTW you can toss in the subcontinent and China.

Edited March 17, 2015 by khwaibah

[philw]

Boggles the mind.

So they don't disrupt the income of a minimal amount of poor and ignorant farmers, they screw 100s of 1000s of people out of their health and in many cases, their income if they work in the tourist industry. Not to mention whatever costs are involved with becoming ill.

Allow me to be the first to say <deleted> the farmers!

Just in. Pinpointing all the farmers burning through out SE Asia. BTW you can toss in the subcontinent and China.

Please can you give a link to this imagery ??

Thanks