THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Chiang Mai’s Green Giant proves it can suck up fine dust particles

Chiang Mai’s Green Giant proves it can suck up fine dust particles

A GIANT air purifier, called the Green Giant, was installed at Chiang Mai’s Tha Pae Gate yesterday and appeared to be efficient in reducing the amount of fine dust particles in the air in a 3-kilometre radius.

When this locally manufactured device was turned on at noon, the PM2.5 – particulate matters of no more than 2.5 micrometre – hovered at around 59 micrograms per cubic metre of air, and when it was turned off a little while later, the PM2.5 level had dropped to 36mcg. 
The Pollution Control Department (PCD)’s safe level for PM2.5 is 50mcg, and the World Health Organisation has described PM2.5 as carcinogenic and linked it to several health problems. 
Chiang Mai Governor Supachai Iamsuwan said the Green Giant was developed by a team that calls itself ERIG, which had “brought together experts from relevant fields to develop the big air purifier”.
Team leader Kraipichit Muangwong said his group had spent more than two months developing this invention. 
“We studied the components of dust particles in the area before deciding how best to purify the air,” he said, adding that the purifier sucks polluted air and replaces it with cleaner air. 
“Universities can also come up with other solutions based on our innovation to solve the smog crisis,” he said.
Costing about Bt500,000, it is believed the Green Giant can reduce the amount of dust particles in the air by half. 
Meanwhile, PCD reported that air pollution in the North had eased, though three of 16 areas in the region are still showing dangerous levels of PM2.5.
The worst-hit area was tambon Wiang Puang Kham in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, where the 24-hour mean average for PM2.5 stood at 139mcg, while the mean average at tambon Huai Kone in Nan’s Chalerm Phrakiat district stood at 138mcg. 
There were 305 hotspots in the North yesterday.
 Air pollution in the North is not just affecting the chronically ill, but also healthy people. 
 

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