WHO help to be sought on Map Ta Phut
A polluted canal, where wastewater from Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate was discharged. Rust colour on the banks indicate the residue of heavy metals.
|
|
|
Health Organisation will be asked to study DNA blood samples of residents
The National Cancer Institute will seek the assistance of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in studying the DNA of blood samples of Map Ta Phut residents, says a senior researcher with the institute. Petcharin Sriwattanakul said yesterday that to determine the relationship of leukaemia and pollution emitted from the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, a study of the genetic structure of the residents was needed. "If we find their genetic structure has been changed, we can conclude the relationship between the disease and the pollution, since toxins in the environment can cause DNA to change and can lead to anaemia and leukaemia," she said. Petcharin conducted research from 1997-2001 that recorded very high rates of cancer, particularly leukaemia, in Map Ta Phut residents. She said she wanted to continue her study by conducting molecular research on blood samples she collected in 1998. Petcharin said that from her rough research on the blood samples, almost 500 showed some irregularities. However, she could not specify them. The blood samples are now being kept at the laboratory of the National Cancer Institute. Petcharin said to complete the research, a further round of blood samples of the same residents must be conducted. The DNA will then be extracted and compared with the DNA structure of the initial blood samples. Petcharin said studying the DNA of so many samples was complicated and required high technology. She said she hoped experts from the WHO could assist her in the project. Dr Somsak Chunharat of the National Health Foundation said Petcharin's blood samples from 1998 would prove very useful for studying the effects of pollution on public health. "Many times we've heard that people have suffered from pollution, but there was no concrete evidence proving it, because we didn't have health records for the people before they were exposed to pollution," he said. Several scientific studies have shown that heavy industrial factories in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate had emitted air and water pollution affecting 25 communities surrounding the estate. Large amounts of volatile organic compounds, including the carcinogen benzene, were found to have contaminated the air in high volumes, while several heavy metals had contaminated water sources people used for their daily needs. Pennapa Hongthong The Nation
|
