Acid Deposition Monitoring Initiative in DMH

Acid Deposition Monitoring

As an EANET member country, Myanmar is obliged to monitor the state of acid deposition in the country with existing facilities. Accordingly DMH, the national center of EANET is carrying out its responsibility by wet deposition monitoring at the chosen urban site, Yangon (Kaba Aye). Since acid deposition has been recognized as one of classical transboundary air pollution issues, its impact can be experienced in the country, though Myanmar has no such big energy consumptions like some neighboring countries such as China, Thailand and India.

Asia Center for Air Pollution Research – ACAP(former ADORC), the Network Center of EANET had already provided two sets of HORIBA pH meter and Wet Sampler. The systematic rain water collection by Wet Sampler was started in June 2007. Acid deposition monitoring in DMH is just beginning stage at the present. Although there are four methodologies practiced by EANET member countries, Myanmar (DMH) is taking part only in wet deposition monitoring. Even in this one part, it still needs to analyze ion contents in addition to pH and EC, to fulfill the requirement of EANET network. To identify the state of acid deposition at Yangon and other cities, further observation with systematic analysis by the relevant instrument is much required.

As a national monitoring center of EANET (acid deposition monitoring network of East Asia), DMH is responsible to monitor acid deposition of Yangon rain water. After the installation of Ion chromatograph and Ultra pure water production system in August 2009 with the support of JICA, the Laboratory of DMH has been able to analyze the ion contents such as Cation NH₄⁺, Na⁺, K⁺,Ca²⁺,Mg²⁺ and Anion SO₄^2-, NO₃^-,Cl, in addition to pH and EC.

During the end of October 2010, the experts from Asia Center for Air Pollution Research – ACAP(former ADORC) has visited to the laboratory of DMH and they implemented the activities in accordance with the objectives of the mission: to exchange views and information on the institutional arrangement on the acid deposition monitoring of EANET in Myanmar; to discuss and exchange information on technical issues, especially QA/QC activities and data reporting, including check on condition of analytical instrument; to discuss the maintenance of sampling instruments, and Others.