- Event: Environmental Crisis: Indonesian forest fires
and air pollution in Southeast Asia - Date: Thursday, Nov. 13, 1997
- Time: 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
- Place: Woodward Instructional Resources Centre, lecture
hall 5, 2194 Health Sciences Mall, UBC - Parking: Parking is available in the Health Sciences
Parkade. Enter off East Mall at Gate 1 on University Boulevard
A University of British Columbia environmental health scientist
who describes Southeast Asia’s smoke pollution as more of an environmental
crisis than a health emergency will present his views at a free
public seminar on Nov. 13.
Air pollution specialist Prof. Michael Brauer of UBC’s Dept. of
Medicine has recently returned from Malaysia where he dealt with
health care issues arising from forest fires burning out of control
in neighbouring Indonesia.
He will present a seminar called Environmental Crisis: Indonesian
forest fires and air pollution in Southeast Asia Nov. 13 from 12:30
p.m.-1:30 p.m. in Woodward Instructional Resources Centre, lecture
hall 5.
Brauer, acting as technical adviser to Malaysia’s health ministry
and Institute of Medical Research, helped identify local resources
and worked with researchers to assess health damage and determine
protection measures.
Clinic visits for respiratory complaints had tripled since the
fires began, says Brauer, who holds a joint appointment in the Occupational
Hygiene Programme. Infants, asthmatic and others with pre-existing
lung or heart conditions were the most affected.
Medical resources were able to handle the influx, Brauer says,
since the problems, though plentiful, were not critical.
“One of the most difficult aspects was psychological,” says Brauer.
“There was no escape from the smoke — no place to run.”
Among Brauer’s recommendations to the Malaysian government are
that health officials measure the effectiveness of protection practices
such as wearing masks or staying indoors. He has also initiated
studies assessing the health impacts of the smoke pollution.
For further information on the seminar, call Eric Hamilton of the
Occupational Hygiene Programme at 604.822.9861.
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