Crackdown on vehicles emitting black exhaust to tackle Bangkok pollution

Buses, trucks and other vehicles that puff out clouds of black exhaust could be fined and may even be suspended from driving on the road. The Pollution Control Department says the government plans to tighten vehicle inspections in Bangkok to tackle air pollution.

In Bangkok, the air quality fluctuates throughout the day and week. Recently, levels of PM2.5 in some areas have been considered unhealthy. The air pollutant PM2.5 is fine participate matter which can be harmful to people’s health at high levels.

The crackdown on vehicles emitting excessive black smoke is intended to lower the levels of PM2.5, according to the department’s director general Attapol Charoenchansa. He adds that too much pollution is produced from diesel engine combustion.

Under Thailand’s Land Transport Act, vehicles that emit an excessive amount of smoke can be suspended from the road until the problem is fixed. Attapol says the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will “intensify” measures to tackle the pollution.

In past inspections, thousands of vehicles have been found to emit black exhaust, but only a portion of them have been fined. From October 2019 to September 2020, out of the 9,539 vehicles inspected, 7,010 emitted black exhaust, but only 2,526 were fined.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

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