Science
Thailand’s Polluted Rivers
Thailand’s rivers are being increasingly polluted by industrial waste-water and solid waste dumping, but activists and residents say the Thai government has no clear strategy for water pollution prevention.
In the past, Thais have not been exposed to much industrial pollution in rivers, and many did not pay attention to preserving and recycling water because shortages were uncommon. Thailand has been fortunate to have an abundant supply of fresh water, but clean water advocates say the time for complacency is over.
The Chao Phraya River is brown as it runs through Bangkok and under the Rama VIII bridge. (Photo by Heinrich Damm) |
A January 2011 Greenpeace report, “Hidden Consequences,” drew attention to the 30,000 industrial facilities along the Chao-Phraya River, which runs through Thailand’s major cities, including the capital, Bangkok, a city of 12 million people.
Two months later, an ABAC public opinion poll surveyed 1,550 Thai residents living in three major industrial districts, and found that 74 percent were worried about toxic chemical contamination in their waterways.
A critical test of pollution is the analysis of dissolved oxygen. The Pollution Control Department of Thailand reported a level in August 2010 of one milligram per liter in the lower part of the Chao Phraya, which compares to a normal range of between three and six mg/l.
Samrong Canal is located in Samutprakan province south of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, notorious for being one of the most polluted residential waterways in Thailand.
The canal is used to dump waste by a variety of metal plating, chemical, plastics and textile dyeing factories. It has a very low dissolved oxygen content, combined with the presence of hazardous substances such as heavy metals, nonylphenols, and the carcinogen 2-naphthylamine.
Preeyanooch Siripojjanawan, 43, who has been living alongside Samrong for seven years, said “In the early days the water was much better, but a few years later it started giving off a bad smell every time the waste was dumped.”
Greenpeace activists in protective suits, collect samples of sediments from Samrong canal in an industrial district of Samutprakan province, August 2010 (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha courtesy Greenpeace) |
While the main concern is waste-water released from factories, untreated sewage from residential areas is another problem. This effluent may not be as worrying to residents as industrial pollutants but the risk should not be underestimated, as it is a carrier of many diseases including typhoid.
According to a World Health Organization report, diarrhea caused by this type of contaminated water causes 2.2 million deaths each year worldwide.
Improper residential solid refuse disposal is another factor that can degrade the condition of river water.
“Every week local refuse collectors would collect household rubbish but most of the bins were not full because people just dumped the bagged domestic waste straight into the canal,” says Siripojjanawan.
Regulations for waste contamination and treatment for industry, issued back in 1992, have not been effective, and some residents have complained about these industrial polluters, requesting the authorities protect their neighborhoods.
But many residents have found it hard to get assistance from any level of government.
Lertsak Phoonphon, 37, owns a shrimp farm that has been endangered by the toxic waste draining from a nearby landfill. He filed a complaint against the tire company that owns the land 12 months ago but, even though the local authority informed him that they will take care of the problem, he has not heard anything since.
This woman lives on the Chao Phraya River and makes her living collecting bottles for recycling. (Photo © Piyawan Rungsuk) |
Some talks have been arranged by activists and Thai officials to come up with a strategy for water pollution in Thailand. It is led by Hannarong Yaowalert, president of the Foundation for Integrated Water Management, who argues that all stakeholders need to work together to solve the water problem.
“We don’t have laws that are being seriously enforced, and until the government does this and also introduces better laws, it may not deliver results, because residents living nearby those industrial units don’t know exactly what is in the water. Factories must take responsibility for the chemicals they release,” said Yaowalert.
As the same time, Greenpeace representative Ply Pirom, who has contributed to several hazardous waste dumping and water pollution projects in Thailand, has been working with residents in industrial neighborhoods.
“In general, it seems there has been no improvement in the pollution control measures for decades, and the Pollution Control Department only monitors the water with few basic parameters,” Pirom explained.
Greenpeace activists carry a banner saying “Information Disclosure: Pollution is not a secret” at the Department of Industrial Works building in Central Bangkok, February 2010. (Photo by Dario Pignatelli courtesy Greenpeace) |
Greenpeace has been campaigning to raise awareness and to ban the use and release of hazardous chemicals into the environment.
“First they should rather look into the chemicals used and released by the factories. Then, they should make the factories become more transparent. This can be done by having laws such as a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, or PRTR,” says Greenpeace.
All of this raises questions for many riverside residents and the Thai people as a whole. Will they ever know exactly what is in their water? How can they become aware of the pollutants being released from factories? Now can they protect themselves from using contaminated supplies in their everyday lives?
As population and urban density rises across Thailand, it will place a greater and greater strain on water supplies, and the need for good planning and robust policies concerning supply management, pollution and recycling will become increasingly important.
The Blue Planet Network estimates that 5.3 billion people, about two-thirds of the world’s population, will suffer from water shortages by 2025, and that water is already a $400 billion dollar global industry; the third largest behind electricity and oil.
Clean water advocates say Thailand must be thoughtful about its water policy, both for the security of its own people and its neighbors and for the planet as a whole.
NEW YORK — To save power, NASA turned off another scientific equipment on its long-running Voyager 2 spacecraft.
NASA Switches Off Instrument On the Spacecraft To Save Power
The space agency announced on Tuesday that 2’s plasma science instrument, meant to study the movement of charged atoms, was turned off in late September to allow the spacecraft to continue exploring for as long as possible, which is estimated to be into the 2030s.
NASA turned off a suite of instruments on Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, after exploring the gas giant planets in the 1980s. Both are currently in interstellar space or the region between stars. The plasma instrument on Voyager 1 stopped working years ago and was finally shut off in 2007.
The remaining four instruments on 2 will continue to collect data on magnetic fields and particles. Its mission is to investigate the regions of space beyond the sun’s protective sphere.
NASA Switches Off Instrument On Voyager 2 Spacecraft To Save Power
It launched in 1977, is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune. It is now more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) from Earth. 1 is more than 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) beyond Earth.
SOURCE | AP
MIAMI — Hurricane Kirk’s waves could generate life-threatening surf and rip current conditions this weekend throughout the United States East Coast, as well as in Bermuda, the Greater Antilles, and the Bahamas, according to forecasters.
Kirk was a Category 3 hurricane in the middle Atlantic Ocean that might grow further but was predicted to stay away from land, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center on Thursday.
Hurricane Kirk Could Cause Dangerous Surf Conditions Along The US East Coast
Kirk-generated swells were forecast to reach parts of the Leeward Islands on Friday, Bermuda and the Greater Antilles on Saturday, and the East Coast and the Bahamas on Sunday, according to the center.
No coastal watches or warnings were in effect. The major storm was around 1,130 miles (1,820 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h).
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Leslie formed late Wednesday in the eastern Atlantic and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the following days, forecasters said. It was also not considered a threat to the land.
Hurricane Kirk Could Cause Dangerous Surf Conditions Along The US East Coast
The storm was about 540 miles (870 kilometers) southwest of Cabo Verde’s southernmost tip, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), according to the center.
The storms raged in the Atlantic as rescuers in the United States Southeast sought for missing persons after Hurricane Helene struck last week, leaving a trail of death and devastation.
SOURCE | AP
NASA has announced astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely in orbit on the first crewed flight test of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft heading for the International Space Station.
As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, the astronauts launched a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday for an end-to-end test of the Starliner system.
“Two brave NASA astronauts are well on their way to this historic first test flight of a brand-new spacecraft,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Boeing’s Starliner represents a new era of American exploration. Human spaceflight is a risky endeavor, but it is worth it. It is an exciting time for NASA, our commercial partners, and the future of space exploration. “Go Starliner, Butch, and Suni!”
The flight test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and will help validate the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operations capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard as the agency prepares to certify Starliner for rotational missions to the space station. Starliner has already completed two uncrewed orbital missions, including a test to and from the space station, as well as a pad abort demonstration.
Boeing Starliner Makes Orbit
“With Starliner’s launch, separation from the rocket, and arrival in orbit, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test is right on track,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program. “Everyone is focused on giving Suni and Butch a safe, comfortable, ride and performing a successful test mission from start to finish.”
Boeing’s mission control center in Houston will supervise a sequence of autonomous spacecraft maneuvers while Starliner is in flight. NASA teams will supervise space station activities from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“Flying crew on Starliner represents over a decade of work by the Commercial Crew Program and our partners at Boeing and ULA,” said Steve Stich, Commercial Crew Program Manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For many of us, this is a career-defining occasion, ushering in a new crew transportation capacity for our agency and our country. We will take it one step at a time, putting Starliner through its paces and remaining watchful until Butch and Suni safely land back on Earth at the end of this test journey.”
At about 12:15 p.m., Starliner will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. Thursday, June 6, and will remain at the orbital laboratory for almost a week.
Wilmore and Williams will help ensure that the spacecraft is functioning properly by testing the environmental control system, the displays and control system, and moving the thrusters, among other things, during flight.
Wilmore and Williams will join the Expedition 71 crew, which includes NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
NASA’s arrival and in-flight event coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change depending on real-time operations):
NASA Television channels will continue to broadcast the Starliner’s mission.
Thursday, June 6
9:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube, and continues on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
12:15 p.m. – Targeted docking
2 p.m. – Hatch opening
2:20 p.m. – Welcome remarks
3:30 p.m. – Post-docking news conference at NASA Johnson with the following participants:
- NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station Office
- Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
Coverage of the post-docking news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
To attend the post-docking briefing, U.S. media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom at: [email protected] or 281-483-5111 by 1 p.m. Thursday, June 6. To join by phone, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 3 p.m. Thursday, June 6.
5:50 p.m. – NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Associate Administrator Jim Free, Associate Administrator for Space Operations Ken Bowersox, and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche will speak with Wilmore and Williams about their launch aboard the Starliner spacecraft.
Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Saturday, June 8
8:50 a.m. – NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams will provide a tour of Starliner.
Coverage of the in-orbit event will stream live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Monday, June 10
11 a.m. – Williams will speak to students from Sunita L. Williams Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts, in an event aboard the space station.
Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Tuesday, June 11
3:15 p.m. – Wilmore will speak to students from Tennessee Tech University in an event aboard the space station.
Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
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