Nineteen years after Na Phra Lan district in Saraburi -- which is home to a number of major stone mills and cement plants -- was declared a pollution control zone, the government surprised the whole nation by announcing that it is planning to develop a "web-based app" to collect local residents' health information.
The app will be developed by the Ministry of Public Health in response to "growing concerns" over the severe PM10 pollution in the area, which comes from the area's mines, stone mills and gypsum factories.
By law, local authorities in a pollution control zone must disclose all pollution-related data so residents can better protect their health. The information also enables the government to prepare solutions to tackle the pollution.
While the push to digitally log the health records of local residents deserves some praise, it is simply too little, too late.
It begs the question: What have government agencies and major companies which run the area's major pollution sources -- some of which are publicly-listed companies with well-oiled corporate social responsibility programmes -- done with the district's pollution data over the past 20 years?
They have certainly contributed to the pile of data. Several government agencies, such as the Pollution Control Department (PCD), have carried out a number of research studies into the matter. The latest one was carried out last year, as a follow-up to one conducted in 2014, which sought to determine the severity of PM10 dust pollution in Na Phra Lan district. It found that throughout the period of the study, the district's air quality plunged below levels considered acceptable for 69 days. At its worst, the study found PM10 concentration in the district reached 500 microgrammes per cubic metre -- about four times the upper limit of what is considered acceptable by authorities.
The district's residents have been suffering from severe air pollution for years, living in fear of developing respiratory illnesses after being exposed to excessive levels of dangerous pollutants over the course of two decades. According to a 2007 study carried out by Sittichai Moondee, an official of Environmental Office Region 7, and Suchanya Thongkrua, a researcher from Naresuan University's School of Science and Technology, individuals living in areas with significant PM10 pollution have a much higher chance of developing asthma and other respiratory issues such as allergic rhinitis.
After two decades of living in such a toxic environment, the residents of Na Phra Lan district need more than just an application. What they need is clean air and access to proper health services.
What they need is for responsible agencies to actually do their duty, which is enforcing the law to its fullest extent against polluters.
It is truly disappointing, if not downright deplorable, that the Department of Primary Industries and Mines, under the Industry Ministry, which has been repeatedly criticised for kowtowing to the mining industry, continues to leave the area's air pollution problems unaddressed.
