Thailand’s Interior Ministry has ordered provincial authorities to immediately implement preventive measures against fine particulate matte(PM2.5) now the country has entered the high-pollution risk reason.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Traisulee Taisaranakul on December 6 said Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had ordered provincial governors and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation offices across the country to impose PM2.5 pollution prevention measures.
The high-pollution risk season lasts during winter, especially in 17 northern provinces, Bangkok, and adjacent cities.
Traisulee stressed that agencies must strictly enforce the law against activities which potentially cause pollution such as open burning, and some kinds of industrial work and construction.
Wildfires must be prevented, and provincial authorities are required to reach out to locals and promote alternative waste management to avoid open burning which can lead to wildfires, she said.
If a situation escalates, whether it is from a wildf
ire or high levels of PM2.5 pollution, provincial offices must announce real-time updates and provide warnings to locals.
Anutin also ordered proactive approaches towards locals in areas at risk of air pollution, including preventive measures and punishments for those who violate the law.
The ministry has requested local governments to provide adequate welfare and funding for firefighters.
Pattharawalai Sirinara, a lecturer in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine of Chulalongkorn University, said areas with the highest number of lung cancer deaths are in the northern region and Bangkok, where air pollution is often the worst in the country./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency
