VZCZCXRO0142
PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHVC
DE RUEHCHI #0073/01 1550738
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 040738Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1053
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAEPA/EPA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 1135

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000073 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ECON EAGR CH LA BM TH
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT MUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS DURING BURNING 
SEASON 
 
REF: A. CHIANG MAI 38 (DOCTORS ON AIR POLLUTION) 
     ¶B. 08 CHIANG MAI 50 (HARZARDOUS AIR QUALITY) 
     ¶C. 08 CHIANG MAI 91 (REDUCED BURNING) 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000073  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
------------------- 
 
Summary and Comment 
 
------------------- 
 
 
 
¶1. (U) Despite seasonal air pollution in northern Thailand 
reaching hazardous levels well above last year's, local Thai 
government bodies remained quiet, issuing no public 
announcements during the peak periods of the burning season. 
The highest daily PM10 measurements for the burning season 
(February to April) reached a level nearly double that 
determined safe by the U.S. EPA, while PM2.5 measurements, which 
gauge the smaller, more hazardous particulate matter in the air, 
reached levels more than triple what the EPA considers safe. 
Despite the dangerous northern Thai air in the first quarter of 
the year, local government agencies avoided any enforcement of 
anti-burn laws and refrained from clear public warnings against 
hazardous air quality. 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Comment:  After years of pressure from the Chiang Mai 
academic and medical communities to enforce anti-burn laws, 
local law enforcement agencies remain unwilling to take 
widespread action, often defending their lethargy on the grounds 
that burning is a way of life for local farmers.  At the same 
time, farmers continue to complain that alternative grazing 
methods, such as plowing, are too costly.  For farmers, 
therefore, the decision not to burn their crop fields is an 
economic one.  If local government is incapable of enforcing 
anti-burning, subsidizing alternative methods would be the best 
bet.  But such a costly program is unlikely to come to fruition; 
thus it is probable that the seasonal air pollution of northern 
Thailand will be a problem for years to come.  End Summary and 
Comment. 
 
 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
Seasonal Pollution Exceeds Hazard Thresholds 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) An overall review of 2009 pollution indicators for the 
annual burning season in northern Thailand (as well as in Burma, 
Laos, and southern China) shows that the population faced higher 
levels of more hazardous air quality for longer periods of time 
than compared to last year.  From February through March, the 
number of days that PM10, a measure of particulate matter 
smaller than ten micrograms per cubic meter (mg/cm), exceeded 
the EPA's safety standard of 150 mg/cm was 20, compared to only 
six days last year.  March was the most polluted month by PM10 
measurements, which are taken daily, peaking at 238 mg/cm, 
compared to the 206 mg/cm peak last year. (Note: Ref A provides 
more details on the PM10 measurements during the 2009 burning 
season.  Three monitoring centers in and around Chiang Mai 
collect PM10 data daily, and daily averages are posted on a 
public website.) 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
Government Keeps Close Hold on Hazardous Measurements 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) The RTG's Department of Pollution of Control (DPC) also 
collects but does not publicize PM2.5 measurements, which, 
according to the U.S. EPA, are better indicators of truly 
hazardous particulate matter since such matter smaller than 2.5 
mg/cm can penetrate the lungs and have long-term health 
consequences.  The DPC measured PM2.5 on a monthly basis, taking 
two random days' measurements from each month, then computing 
the PM2.5 level for those two days only.  Although this data is 
not released to the public, post requested that the DPC provide 
the data to us. 
 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000073  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The DPC's PM2.5 measurements indicate that air 
pollution reached levels above the U.S. EPA's safety standard of 
35 mg/cm on several occasions during the burning season.  March 
was the worst month, recording a peak PM2.5 reading of 126 
mg/cm, over three times as high as the EPA safety standard. 
January and February measurements were both above the EPA safety 
standard as well, reaching 50 and 114 mg/cm, respectively.  In 
April, the PM2.5 peak reached 75 mg/cm.  The DPC told us that 
the reason it is not permitted to release this data to the 
public is because the RTG has not yet determined what it 
considers to be the safety standard for PM2.5 in Thailand. 
 
 
 
---------------------- 
 
Old Habits Die Hard... 
 
---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6. (U) The main cause of seasonal air pollution in northern 
Thailand (as well as Burma and Laos) is agricultural burning, an 
outdated "slash and burn" method of preparing crop fields for 
the new rainy season (May-October).  The bad habit is one that 
northern Thai farmers are reluctant to give up and that law 
enforcement agencies are unwilling to eradicate.  One farmer in 
the Hang Dong district of Chiang Mai (where post's housing 
compound is located) said that he has about two acres of farm 
land, which he can burn and clear of its harvested rice husks in 
only ten minutes.  He said, "If I don't burn, I have to rent a 
tractor and buy fuel."  Although one government official in the 
Hang Dong district who specializes in agricultural issues said 
local authorities have tried to show that plowed plots of land 
produce higher yields than burnt plots, farmers remain unwilling 
to take on the initial high costs of plowing on the chance of a 
higher crop yield. 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) "There will not be any effort to stop burning and improve 
air quality until the public sector stops being flexible with 
farmers," said a representative of a local environmental group. 
She said that local government agencies, including ones in the 
Hang Dong district, have been uncooperative in joining 
environmental groups to denounce burning and enforce anti-burn 
laws.  She said that government officials have brushed off her 
environmental groups' calls for action, arguing that burning is 
"a livelihood and traditional way of life of the local people." 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Although the Chiang Mai Governor chairs a committee to 
combat agricultural burning, government officials from the 
provincial to the municipal to the sub-district level remain 
flexible in allowing farmers to continue burning.  During the 
burning season this year, no Thai authority in Chiang Mai made 
any public health warnings.  Our contacts in the public and 
private sectors admitted that government agencies try to keep 
seasonal air pollution a low-profile issue out of fear that 
drawing attention to it would damage local tourism.  (Note: 
Medical officials were uncharacteristically vocal about air 
pollution this year. See ref A.) 
 
 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
...And People Die from Old Habits 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) The bad news of a dangerous burning season is coupled 
with recent news about poor health among northern Thais from a 
recent report issued by the National Economic and Social 
Development Board (NESDB).  According to the NESDB, the 
"northern region" of Thailand was ranked highest in the country 
in terms of illness, with over 27% of the northern population 
falling ill during the year, though the report does not define 
what is considered "ill."  Of those who reported an illness, 40% 
were reported as respiratory illness, a likely consequence of 
the seasonal air pollution. 
MORROW