Bangkok roads 'too dirty'
Bangkok roads will be cleaned more frequently after dust was found at much higher levels than permitted.
"We will clean city roads every two days instead of once a week," Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said yesterday. While total suspended particulate and PM10 particles must be no more than 120 micrograms per cubic metre (mpcm), a stretch of Sukhumvit Road in Watthana district registered 240mpcm. A part of Rama I Road in Pathum Wan showed 176mpcm, while Taksin Road in Thon Buri reached 197mpcm. Rama IX Road in Huai Khwang and Yaowaraj Road produced 170mpcm. Apirak said he had ordered authorities to tackle the problem immediately. He told all district offices and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) Public Works Department to be strict with construction sites, requiring work to be covered by nets. "Trucks must clean their tires before leaving construction sites, too," he said. The city's Drainage and Sewerage Department is also going check the water quality in canals and the Chao Phya River. "We will reduce water pollution. When the canals are clean enough, we'll release fish there. Also, we will install fountains and Chaipattana aerators to honour His Majesty the King on the occasion of his 80th birthday," he said. The Chaipattana aerator was invented by His Majesty, who also holds the patent for it.
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