Bangkok

Bangkok smog: Oil refineries being asked to upgrade quality of diesel

Published

3 months ago

January 16, 2019

Bangkok smog: Oil refineries being asked to upgrade quality of diesel | The Thaiger

It won’t be a short-term solution but it is a worthwhile long-term part of the important changes that will have to be made.

But nothing concrete yet.

In yet another attempt to ease the health hazards posed by PM2.5 dust particles in Bangkok’s air, the Energy Business Department plans to hold a meeting with oil refineries this week about the possibility of upgrading the quality standard of diesel from Euro 4 to Euro 5.

The department director-general Ms Nanthika Tungsupanich says that the meeting was intended to sound out the opinions of the six oil refineries about when they will be ready to upgrade the quality standard of oil products, diesel in particular, to Euro 5 level.

Diesel of Euro 4 standard contains 55 ppm sulfur while the Euro 5 standard sets the amount of sulfur at 10 ppm.

In 2017, the Department of Pollution Control Department held discussions with the six oil refineries and automobile manufacturers about upgrading fuel quality to Euro 5 standard, but the plan was opposed by some of the refineries claiming the high investment costs estimated at about US$400 million for each refinery.

Euro 4 standard has been put into practice since 2012 and it was initially planned that Euro 5 standard would be enforced last year so that all the refineries could go into production in the year 2022.

Ms Nanthika said that the new quality standard could not be introduced without the Pollution Control Department first seeking an approval from the cabinet.

With substantial investment costs, the price of diesel might have to be adjusted up from .50-one baht per litre.

SOURCE: Thai PBS

Bangkok

Newborn baby dumped beside garbage bins

Published

3 hours ago

April 20, 2019

The Thaiger & The Nation

Newborn baby dumped beside garbage bins | The Thaiger

FILE PHOTO

A newborn baby has been found abandoned near rubbish bins in Chon Buri province, south-east of Bangkok, earlier today.

18 year old city sanitation worker, Anucha Boonkhai, has told police that he had loaded garbage from all the bins on Soi 4 of Ban Kao village in Tambon Ban Kao, Muang district, when he spotted a pile of towels. He checked and found a baby boy, whose umbilical cord was still attached still smudged with blood, wrapped in one of the towels.

The baby was alive but had been bitten by mosquitoes and insects so he called an emergency unit of a hospital and then informed police.

Police are now checking footage from security and CCTV cameras in the area to try to identify the mother or person who had dumped the newborn baby.

Bangkok

Summer storms leave 6,900 homes damaged this month

Published

4 hours ago

April 20, 2019

The Thaiger

More than 6,900 houses, mostly in a patch through the central-north regions of Thailand, have been hit by summer storms since the beginning of April, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

Chayapol Thitisak, the director-general, says the department has received reports that 6,940 houses in 1,010 villages in 307 tambon of 115 districts had been damaged by storms since April 5. Twenty-nine provinces have been affected.

He said nine villagers were reported injured during the period as a result of storm damage.

Chayapol said his department has coordinated with Army bases and government agencies concerned to provide help to the affected villagers.

The summer storms, quickly developing tropical storm-cells, are prevalent this time of the year, usually when cooler air from China starts to interact with the rising south-western monsoon. They can be quite violent, sudden and bring strong winds, torrential rain and even hail.

Bangkok

Third runway for BKK Suvarnabhumi Airport

Published

6 hours ago

April 20, 2019

The Thaiger

The Thai cabinet yesterday approved the construction of a third runway at Suvarnabhumi International Airport as part of the country’s ambition to become the aviation hub of ASEAN.

The 21.7 billion baht project will increase the combined capacity of Suvarnabhumi international airport’s runways to 94 arrivals and departures per hour from the current 64, said Lt-Gen Weerachon Sukonthapatipak, deputy government spokesman.

Suvarnabhumi Airport (aka. BKK) was opened in 2006 as Bangkok’s second airport. Initially it replaced the tired Don Mueang Airport but Don Mueang was later revamped as a low-coast airport to service the growing traffic demands.

Meanwhile Suvarnabhumi Airport was, and still is, operating above its designed capacity. An earlier bid to build a third terminal has been mired in controversy and is currently shelved pending a new brief from Airports of Thailand with a new round of design bids called for in the future.

Third runway for BKK Suvarnabhumi Airport | News by The Thaiger