Pattaya public-health volunteers have begun distributing certified face masks for people suffering from recent air pollution.
Surveillance and Rapid Response Team members prepared the N96 carbon-filtered masks following a prolonged spike in micro-dust pollution.
Pattaya Public Health Department nurse Naanya Jantrakad explained that the N95 masks are necessary as regular masks – and even the human-respiratory system – cannot filter out particulate matter 2.5 microns in size or smaller.
The dust, caused by smoke from engine exhausts, large construction projects and factories, has been choking Bangkok and its surrounding provinces for weeks with the effects spreading to Pattaya, although public-health officials called the pollution less severe than in the capital.
Nonetheless, the volunteers were taught what respiratory-ailment symptoms to look out for in their neighborhoods and to distribute masks where necessary.
Those most at risk are seniors, small children, pregnant women, and people with chronic health conditions.
