MOH warns against air pollution impacts, especially for pregnant women, babies and the elderly
AS pregnant mothers, children under
five, elderly people and those with chronic lung or heart disease are more
likely to suffer from air pollution, they should seek indoor and outdoor
protection, the Ministry of Health warned.
Major causes for two types of air
pollution include wild fire, open fires, factories, generators, vehicles and
methane from animal digestion in outdoor pollution, and bad ventilation, using
smoking materials such as mosquito coils and incense sticks, smoking in rooms
and running generators in airtight units in indoor pollution.
Short-term exposure to polluted air can
cause headache, dizziness, blood from the nose, pneumonia, intranasal
swelling, skin allergies, tearing, and sore eye while carbon monoxide poisoning
may even lead to death. In case of long-term exposure, complications such as
respiratory diseases, asthma, nasal cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and
lung cancer while immature death rate is high in infants under one month, it
said.
On 2 May, four family members in
Sangyoung Township, Yangon, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a running
generator indoor to operate the air conditioner.
According to air quality report for the
Union Territory and 11 regions and states from 16 to 30 June by the
Environmental Conservation Department, air quality in the Yangon Region
Government Office, International Business Centre and Dagon Myothit (South)
Township is good while that in Thanlyin Township is acceptably good. — MT/ZN
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