"So many people from Rayong, especially children, come to seek treatment for asthma in Chon Buri," said Dr Jarupong Prompitak, who used to work in a Rayong hospital before being reassigned to Somdej Phra Barommaratchathewi Hospital in Chon Buri.

Jarupong said many doctors in Chon Buri had now opened asthma clinics in response to the growing number of asthma patients from Rayong.

"Don't just look at the incidence of cancer! We should also compile statistics about abnormality rates in children born in Rayong, including conditions like autism, mental retardation and asthma," he said.

Rayong residents are currently demanding that the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate be declared a pollution-control zone.

A study by the National Cancer Institute said Map Ta Phut residents had three to five times more reported cases of leukaemia than people living elsewhere. This corresponded to the Pollution Control Department's information that Map Ta Phut was polluted by at least 40 dangerous compounds, some cancer-causing.

Jarupong said the 10-year-old son of a Rayong-based doctor who he knew personally was suffering from leukaemia and that pollution could be a likely cause.

"But we have to monitor the incidence of other diseases too," he said.

In a related development, Sutti Atchasai of the Network of Eastern People said yesterday that Rayong residents would fly green flags from their houses on Monday to show that they want their areas declared pollution-control zones.

Sutti said the green-flag campaign would take place in many Rayong districts that host industrial estates, not just in the Muang district where the Map Ta Phut estate is located.

Janjira Pongrai

The Nation