WATER TESTS
Industrial waste 'was in breach of standards'
PCD chief pledges to cut pollution at Rayong estates pending studies
Wastewater in Rayong-based industrial estates failed pollution checks, an informed source at the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry disclosed yesterday. He was referring to results from checks conducted by the Pollution Control Department (PCD) last May. According to the source, the findings showed that a litre of wastewater at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate spot where it is discharged into the sea contained 0.731 milligrams of lead while the limit was 0.2 milligrams per litre. At the Phadaeng Industrial Estate, it was found that a litre of wastewater contained 10,660 milligrams of total dissolved solids, also in the discharge area. The proper limit requires that a litre of wastewater should contain no more than 5,000 milligrams. The findings detected similar problems in other industrial estates in Rayong, too. The source said authorities had already notified the industrial estates of the findings in the hope they would try to reduce pollution. Currently, people in Rayong's Muang district have complained about the pollution at Map Ta Phut, citing adverse impacts on their health. They want the estate declared a pollution-control zone. So far, the National Environment Board has decided to wait for the results of in-depth studies that will take 12 months. PCD director-general Supat Wangwongwattana yesterday said his department would seriously enforce measures to reduce pollution in the estates pending studies. "Our measures will be as effective as those used in the pollution-control zone," he said, adding that factories at Map Ta Phut were also trying to reduce the pollution. Supat said if the pollution remained serious at Map Ta Phut, this zone might no longer be suitable for the planned Phase 3 of petrochemical plants. "Local people will have their say too," he said. In a related development, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning is now reviewing environmental-impact assessments from operators who plan to open petrochemical plants at Map Ta Phut. Janjira Pongrai The Nation
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