Abstract
This research developed tools and data systems to collect field data and evidence for monitoring health and vocational impacts from transboundary air pollution from a coalfired power plant in Lao on laypeople in 8 villages in Huai Kon subdistrict and Khun Nan subdistrict, Chaloem Phra Kiat district, Nan province. This research applied the principle of community citizen science (CCS), starting from formulating research questions to address the community’s concerns and negative direct experience potentially caused by transboundary air pollution. Next, these concerns and experience were used to design relevant environmental indicators for field monitoring to verify the association between community’s concerns and transboundary air pollution. Next, air pollution dispersion and deposition models were used to create risk maps illustrating health risk from PM2.5 and PM10, agricultural land degradation risk from acid deposition from SO2 and NO2 , and child’s IQ development risk from consumption of Hg-elevated fish, all of which are caused by major transboundary air pollutants from a coal-fired power plant. These risk maps helped us identify risky areas and receptors as well as environmental indicators to prove the effects from these pollutants. Low-cost air pollution sensors, soil acidity, Hg in fish and human hair were assessed. We found that every village except Ban Dan village started to get impacts from acid deposition already as confirmed by acidic soil pH in every village from pH 4.20 to 5.09 much lower than natural, non-acidic soil with pH of 5.5. Also, Huai-kon, Nam-ree, Kewchan, and Sop-Puen villages were likely affected from transboundary Hg already because Hg in fish was relatively high (0.16 mg/kg) even though this is still lower than the acceptable level (0.3 mg/kg), but Hg in hair of women in the area with elevated Hg in fish was abnormally high in comparison to normal Thai people. We roughly estimated the health and vocational cost from transboundary Hg and acid deposition to be around 975 million THB in 30 years. This serious problem should be properly managed using CCS to establish a database which reflects actual current and future impacts from transboundary air pollution. Moreover, the owner of the coal-fired power plant should join force with this CCS effort to design prevention, mitigation, and compensation measures. A risk management fund of 1,000 million THB should be established together with a clear protocol to use this fund for community in the fairest and the most community-engaging manner.
