Authority:People need to be evacuated from burned garbage site

SAMUT PRAKAN, THAILAND, March 19 (TNA) - The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Pollution Control Department has announced that people need to be temporarily evacuated from a burned garbage dump site in Bangkok's adjacent Samut Prakan Province. Pollution Control Department Director General Wichien Jungrungruang made the announcement on Wednesday, reasoning that the levels of small dust particles and sulfur dioxide around the burned Praekasa garbage dump site in Samut Prakan's Bang Pu Municipality have now exceeded their safety standard levels and the evacuation is, thus, needed for people in affected areas to prevent them from respiratory and skin illnesses or even cancer. Wichien explained that the level of 2 microgramme-dust particles, the smallest dust particles which may cause bronchus and cancer, is now three times higher than the standard level, while a high level of sulfur dioxide is also found around the area, which could then turn into sulfuric acid and become more dangerous to humans. The senior official also warned all officials working around the burned garbage dump site to wear protective suits and face masks. According to the senior official, his department is also inspecting the level of volatile organic compound (VOC) in affected areas, as high VOC level means higher risk of cancer, with results expected within this week. As for whether or not water in the affected areas could be contaminated, the senior official noted that agencies concerned need to wait until firefighters stop dousing the burned garbage dump site and figure out where the water has flown to, before collecting samples for lab tests.(TNA)