Chiang Mai - Health authorities will step up surveillance in the hazy northern provinces as the number of patients suffering from lung cancer, heart and respiratory diseases increases.
Environmental health officers Monday discussed ways to safeguard residents from the unhealthy impacts of smog and haze, which hang over most parts of the region in March and April.
Air quality reports in eight northern provinces from Feb 13 to 19 showed the level of dust particles smaller than 10 microns (a millionth of a metre) far exceeded the acceptable level of 120 microgrammes (a millionth of a gramme) per cubic metre.
The situation was severe in Lampang, Lamphun and Phrae, according to the Pollution Control Department.
The highest level of dust particles was measured in Lampang on Feb 15.
"The impact of air pollution is huge. It directly affects millions of residents in the North, posing not only health threats but also tourism [problems] and many more,'' said Phongtape Wiwatanadhdate, head of community medicine at Chiang Mai University during a conference on environmental health surveillance preparation on Monday.
Residents in eight northern provinces tended to have high exposure to hazardous haze and smog, leading to an increase in lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory cases, particularly among the young and elderly. The number of patients receiving hospital treatment for asthma and eye and skin irritations due to air pollution also increased, he said.
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- Writer: Bangkokpost.com
