VZCZCXRO2521
PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHVC
DE RUEHCHI #0038/01 0771000
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181000Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0998
INFO RUEAEPA/EPA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 1080

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