Papers by Somporn Chantara
Scientific Reports
Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking. In upper northern Thail... more Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking. In upper northern Thailand (UNT), lung cancer incidence was frequently reported by Thailand National Cancer Institute. Besides smoking, radon exposure may also influence the high lung cancer incidence in this region. Indoor radon concentrations were measured in 192 houses in eight provinces of UNT. Indoor radon concentrations ranged from 11 to 405 Bq m−3 and estimated annual effective dose ranged from 0.44 to 12.18 mSv y−1. There were significant differences in indoor radon concentrations between the houses of lung cancer cases and healthy controls (p = 0.033). We estimated that 26% of lung cancer deaths in males and 28% in females were attributable to indoor radon exposure in this region. Other factors influencing indoor radon levels included house characteristics and ventilation. The open window-to-wall ratio was negatively associated with indoor radon levels (B = −0.69, 95% CI −1.37, −0.02) while the bedroo...
Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies
Journal of Environmental Sciences
Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2022
Tropical storm PABUK developed from tropical depression first defined on 31 December 2018 in the ... more Tropical storm PABUK developed from tropical depression first defined on 31 December 2018 in the lower South China Sea. It made landfall in Pak Phanang, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. PABUK caused heavy rain and flash floods from 3 to 5 January 2019 (D1, D2, and D3) where the total rainfall reached 150–300 mm across 14 provinces of southern Thailand. This paper is aimed to investigate rainstorm properties and rainfall estimation of tropical storm PABUK with weather radar in southern Thailand. The radar data analysis in this study was to extract the radar reflectivity to study rainstorm properties of PABUK over 3 days along southern Thailand derived from the Thunderstorm Identification and Tracking Analysis and Nowcasting (TITAN) algorithm including 5 variables of duration, area, cloud-based height, maximum reflectivity, and speed in the data set. Based on the properties and frequency distribution of 2,557 rainstorms in D1, D2, and D3, rainstorms in D2 and D3 when P...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
Exposure to insecticides may result in various health problems. This study investigated the assoc... more Exposure to insecticides may result in various health problems. This study investigated the association between haematological parameters and exposure to a mixture of organophosphate (OP) and neonicotinoid (NEO) insecticides among male farmworkers in Fang district, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. Concentrations of urinary dialkylphosphates, non-specific metabolites of OPs, and NEOs and their metabolites and haematological parameters were measured in 143 male farmworkers. The Bayesian kernel machine regression model was employed to evaluate the associations. Exposure to a mixture of insecticides was significantly associated with the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) when the concentrations of all the compounds and their metabolites were at the 60th percentile or higher compared with the 50th percentile. Furthermore, exposure to clothianidin (CLO) showed a decreasing association with MCHC when all the other insecticides were at their mean concentrations. CLO wa...
In much of Northern Thailand maize is grown on steep slopes by ethnic minority farmers who use th... more In much of Northern Thailand maize is grown on steep slopes by ethnic minority farmers who use the grain to feed their livestock (Ekasingh et al., 2004). Soil fertility management in these areas is poor and the open field burning of maize stover is common practice. Farmers burn their fields as a low-cost, low-effort way to clear them for planting, but also in the belief that burning sanitizes the soil and that the ashes return nutrients to the soil. The ashes, however, are extremely light and blow away or are washed away by the first rains. Burning, therefore, results in a decrease in organic matter, soil fertility and the soil’s ability to store nutrients and so in increased nutrient leaching.
Biomass burning is the main source of air pollution in the dry season in the Southeast Asian regi... more Biomass burning is the main source of air pollution in the dry season in the Southeast Asian region including Chiang Mai, Thailand. The research aims to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of N deposition and to find out the source of N deposition link with biomass burning in Chiang Mai Province during 2008 2012. The main concentrations of N species concentration were NO2 and NO3. The deposition velocity (Vd) is important for calculation deposition flux. The average Vd values of Ng in descending order were HNO3 > NH3 > NO2. While the Vd values of NO3 and NH4 in forest area were higher than grass area in particulate phase. The average Vd values during 5 years (2008 2012), it can be set for other study to calculate deposition flux of N species. The N deposition trend in gas phase and particulate phase were measured for 5 years. The NH3 and NH4 were estimated the main deposition for gas and particulate phase, respectively. The good correlations between Nt deposition incl...
Environmental Pollution, 2021
Size-fractionated particulate matters (SPMs) in a range of 9.0 to 0.43 μm, classified based on ae... more Size-fractionated particulate matters (SPMs) in a range of 9.0 to 0.43 μm, classified based on aerodynamic diameter (dae) as fine PMs (0.43 μm ≤ dae < 2.1 μm) and coarse PMs (2.1 μm ≤ dae < 9.0 μm) were collected by cascade impactors (7 fractions) during smoke haze (SH) and non-smoke haze (NSH) seasons in urban and rural areas of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compositions were determined for respiratory health risk assessment. During SH episode, concentrations of SPMs and PAHs in the rural area were approximately two times higher than in the urban area and about 62-68% of the SPMs were fine particles. Conversely, during NSH season the concentrations in the urban area were higher due to traffic emission. The finest particle sizes (0.65-0.43 μm) contained the highest PAHs concentrations among the other PM sizes. Benzo[b]fluoranthene was a main PAH component found during SH season suggesting biomass burning is a major pollutant source. High molecular weight (5-6 rings) PAHs with high carcinogenicity were likely to concentrate in fine particles. Distribution patterns of SPMs and PAHs during SH season were bimodal with the highest peak at a fine size range (0.65-0.43 μm) and a small peak at a coarse size range (5.8-4.7 μm). Respiratory health risk was estimated based on toxicity equivalent concentrations of PAHs bound-SPMs and inhalation cancer risk (ICR). Relatively high ICR values (1.14 × 10-4 (rural) and 6.80 × 10-5 (urban)) were found during SH season in both areas, in which fine particles played an important role. It revealed that high concentration of fine particles in ambient air is related to high respiratory health risk due to high content of carcinogenic substances.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2019
The electrocoagulation (EC) technique is an alternative method of isolating natural products with... more The electrocoagulation (EC) technique is an alternative method of isolating natural products with the advantage of minimizing the amounts of organic solvents required for this process, which are often harmful to the environment. In this research, the EC and the conventional solvent extraction methods were used in the isolation of Stemona alkaloids from the aerial parts of Stemona aphylla. A comparison was made between the amounts of the isolated alkaloids and the solvents used. The isolated alkaloids were evaluated for their larvicidal, ovicidal and oviposition-deterrent activities against the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti. The morphology and histopatology of the alkaloid treated larvae were also investigated. Two Stemona alkaloids, (2′S)-hydroxystemofoline and stemofoline, were isolated from both the EC and the conventional method. The amounts of (2′S)-hydroxystemofoline from the EC method was about the same as that obtained from the conventional method. However, the amounts of stemofoline obtained from the EC method were about two times larger than those obtained from the conventional method. Importantly, the EC method required six times less total organic solvents. The larvicidal activity assays of (2′S)-hydroxystemofoline and stemofoline showed that these were highly effective against Aedes aegypti larvae with LC 50 values of 3.91 μg/ml and 4.35 μg/ml, respectively. Whereas, the crude EC extract (LC 50 = 11.86 μg/ml) showed greater larvicidal activity than the crude extract obtained from the conventional extraction method (LC 50 = 53.40 μg/ml). The morphological observations of the (2′S)-hydroxystemofoline and the stemofoline treated larvae revealed that the anal gills were the sites of aberrations. A histopathological study showed that larvae treated with these alkaloids had cytopathological alterations to the epithelial cells of the midgut. At a concentration 40 μg/ml (2′S)-hydroxystemofoline showed 100% ovicidal activity on 24 h old eggs while stemofoline showed 97.2%. Furthermore, the oviposition-deterrent effects of (2′S)-hydroxystemofoline and stemofoline, at a concentration of 80 μg/ml were 99.5% and 97.2%, respectively.
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2016
A simple and low-cost passive sampler for collection of volatile organic compounds, specifically ... more A simple and low-cost passive sampler for collection of volatile organic compounds, specifically benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX), from the ambient air has been developed by using cow bone char (CBC) as an adsorbent with desorption by solvent extraction prior to analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The laboratory-made CBC was prepared by calcination process in a partially oxidative atmosphere. The developed passive sampler was tested for a suitable amount of CBC used, diffusion tube type and size, and sampling duration, in a closed chamber saturated with each of the BTEX vapors. With the optimum amount of 250 mg CBC packed in a glass bottle (82.6 mm height 9 11.1 mm i.d.) and the exposure time of 168 h, detection limits (lg/m 3 ) for BTEX determination using this developed sampler together with GC-MS were 0.28 (benzene), 0.79 (toluene), 0.58 (ethylbenzene), 0.28 (p-xylene) and 0.54 (o-xylene). The proposed method was applied to sampling BTEX from selected petrol stations, traffic congestion areas and a rural area in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The BTEX concentrations detected were well correlated with their sources as they were the highest at the petrol station sites, lower at the traffic congestion area sites and the lowest at the rural area site. The laboratory-made passive sampler containing CBC has thus opened up a possibility of having a simple and effective device for sampling of BTEX in the ambient air.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2016
The aerosol radiative effect can be modulated by the vertical distribution and optical properties... more The aerosol radiative effect can be modulated by the vertical distribution and optical properties of aerosols, particularly when aerosol layers are decoupled. Direct aerosol radiative effects over the northern South China Sea (SCS) were assessed by incorporating an observed data set of aerosol optical properties obtained from the Seven South East Asian Studies (7-SEAS)/Dongsha Experiment into a radiative transfer model. Aerosol optical properties for a two-layer structure of aerosol transport were estimated. In the radiative transfer calculations, aerosol variability (i.e., diversity of source region, aerosol type, and vertical distribution) for the complex aerosol environment was also carefully quantified. The column-integrated aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 500 nm was 0.1-0.3 for near-surface aerosols and increased 1-5 times in presence of upper layer biomass-burning aerosols. A case study showed the strong aerosol absorption (single-scattering albedo (ω) ≈ 0.92 at 440 nm wavelength) exhibited by the upper layer when associated with predominantly biomass-burning aerosols, and the ω (≈0.95) of near-surface aerosols was greater than that of the upper layer aerosols because of the presence of mixed type aerosols. The presence of upper level aerosol transport could enhance the radiative efficiency at the surface (i.e., cooling) and lower atmosphere (i.e., heating) by up to À13.7 and +9.6 W m À2 per AOD, respectively. Such enhancement could potentially modify atmospheric stability, can influence atmospheric circulation, as well as the hydrological cycle over the tropical and low-latitude marginal northern SCS.
Science of The Total Environment, 2018
Severe air pollution in the form of smoke haze in the northern part of Southeast Asia (SEA) occur... more Severe air pollution in the form of smoke haze in the northern part of Southeast Asia (SEA) occurs annually in the dry season due to huge open area burning. Molecular markers of biomass burning were investigated by characterization of fine particles (PM 2.5) collected in the dry season (23 February-28 April 2016). The average PM 2.5 , organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations were 64.3 ± 17.6 μg m −3 , 23.6 ± 8.1 μg m −3 and 2.85 ± 0.98 μg m −3 , respectively. SO 4 2− was the dominant species (8.73 ± 2.88 μg m −3) of water-soluble ion, followed by NH 4 + (3.32 ± 1.01 μg m −3) and NO 3 − (2.70 ± 0.51 μg m −3). High concentrations of the biomass burning tracers K + (1.27 ± 0.38 μg m −3) and levoglucosan (1.22 ± 0.75 μg m −3) were observed. The ratios of levoglucosan/K + (0.92 ± 0.35) and levoglucosan/mannosan (20.4 ± 4.1) identified forest and agricultural waste burning as major contributors to the aerosol. Strong correlations (r N 0.800) between levoglucosan and OC, K + , anhydrosugar isomer (mannosan and galactosan) and other saccharides (mannose, arabitol and mannitol) verified that combustion of biomass was the major source of organic compounds associated with PM 2.5 aerosols. Oxalate was the most abundant (0.75 ± 0.17 μg m −3 ; 53%) of the carboxylates. The concentration of oxalate was strongly correlated to that of PM 2.5 (r = 0.799) and levoglucosan (r = 0.615), indicating that oxalate originates mainly from primary emissions from biomass burning rather than secondary formation from
Background: Indoor air quality (IAQ) is crucial for the health of all habitats. Northern ethnic T... more Background: Indoor air quality (IAQ) is crucial for the health of all habitats. Northern ethnic Thai highlanders are among high risk groups from exposure to wood smoke from cooking and warming in their home. Fire wood from orchard trees is inexpensive, and a convenient source of energy among thoseliving in the highland. Objective: In the present study, we employed PM10, levoglucosan and 2-methoxyphenol to investigate the indoor air quality of the houses using wood burning for cooking. Results: Mean concentrations of PM10, levoglucosan and 2-methoxyphenol from the studied houses were significantly higher than the control in both wet and dry seasons. In wet season, mean±SD concentrations of PM10, levoglucosan and 2-methoxyphenol from the studied houses were 124.5±70.1 μg/m3, 6.2±7.1 μg/m3 and 20.7±7.4 ng/m3, respectively. In dry season, mean±SD concentrations of PM10, levoglucosan and 2-methoxyphenol from the studied houses were 162.5±56.5 μg/m3, 8.7±6.9 μg/m3 and 14.7±6.6 ng/m3, resp...
This chapter describes the chemical composition and spatial and temporal variations of airborne p... more This chapter describes the chemical composition and spatial and temporal variations of airborne particulate matter that have a diameter of less than 10 μm (PM10), as well as its possible health effects. A case study of air pollution in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand was conducted due to its geographical features and meteorological conditions; i.e. temperature inversion, wind velocity and precipitation levels. Chiang Mai, with an altitude of approximately 310 m above sea level, is situated approximately 700 km north of Bangkok. The city covers an area of approximately 20,107 km2 and is the country’s second largest province. The city is situated in the Chiang Mai-Lamphun Basin and is surrounded by mountains. In the dry season, there is a low level of precipitation, and there are calm winds and a vertical temperature inversion, while air pollutants are generated from various sources of mostly anthropogenic activities and accumulate in the lower atmosphere and definitely have an effec...
Smoke haze episode occurs annually in northern part of Southeast Asia (NSEA) during the hot dry s... more Smoke haze episode occurs annually in northern part of Southeast Asia (NSEA) during the hot dry season. Concentration of air pollutants including particulate matter with diameter less than 10 μm (PM10), CO, NOx and O3 are 2–3 times higher than those in the rest of the year. Open burning is a major source of air pollution in this area. This study aims to investigate an impact of long-range transport on air quality in the NSEA during open burning season and to estimate the origin of pollutants by comparing of PM aging at two different stations. Chiang Mai (CM) city was set as the receptor site. Based on the air transport paths to the origin from 3-day backward trajectory during Feb–Apr for 3 years (2012–2014), air masses were clustered into two groups for lower altitudes (500 m AGL) and three groups for higher altitudes (1,000 m and 1,500 m AGL). Moreover, three groups of air masses from different area were also observed from a total three attitude levels clustering. The result of air...
Edward Nixon Pakpahan1, Mohamed Hasnain Isa1*, Shamsul Rahman Mohamed Kutty1, Somporn Chantara2,3... more Edward Nixon Pakpahan1, Mohamed Hasnain Isa1*, Shamsul Rahman Mohamed Kutty1, Somporn Chantara2,3, Wan Wiriya3 and Ibrahima Faye4 1Civil Engineering Department, 4Fundamental & Applied Science Department, Universiti Teknologi, PETRONAS, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia 2Environmental Chemistry Research Laboratory, Chemistry Department, 3Environmental Science Program and Centre for Environmental Health, Toxicology and Management of Chemicals (ETM), Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, 50200, Thailand
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Several studies indicated organophosphate (OP) and neonicotinoid (NEO) insecticides are endocrine... more Several studies indicated organophosphate (OP) and neonicotinoid (NEO) insecticides are endocrine disruptors; however, data are scarce. This cross-sectional study recruited 143 male farmworkers aged 18–40 years in Fang district, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. OP exposure was assessed by measuring urinary dialkylphosphate (DAPs) using a gas-chromatography flame photometric detector. Urinary NEOs, their metabolites (NEO/m) and serum steroid hormones were measured using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Characteristics of participants were determined by face-to-face interviews. DAPs and five NEO/m were detected in more than 60% of samples. The concentration of diethylphosphate was highest among DAP metabolites (geometric mean concentration (GM: 23.9 ng/mL) and the concentration of imidacloprid (IMI) was highest among NEO/m (GM: 17.4 ng/mL). Linear regression models showed that the IMI level was positively associated with testosterone, dehydrocorticosterone (DHC) ...
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Papers by Somporn Chantara