Come clean over toxic agents, say residents

Map Ta Phut residents yesterday demanded the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) disclose the names and details of all toxic agents used and produced in industrial estates in the area.

Their call came after an accident on Tuesday when toxic gas leaked from a partly built PTT Phenol factory and badly affected 120 workers.

"It's time for transparency. We have to know what kind of toxic agents are used around our neighbourhoods and how they can affect our health and community," said Suthi Atchasai, a coordinator of the Eastern People Network, which covers Rayong.

The leakage of the gas cumene, an organic compound that is a central nervous system depressant, on Tuesday was the third accident in Map Ta Phut since last December.

Suthi said residents know nothing about chemicals used in the industrial estate until an accident occurs.

Suthi was supported by a social scientist from Chulalongkorn University, Surichai Wankaow, who is concerned about health risks from development projects. Surichai said the latest accident reconfirmed the huge gap between health risks and state development projects.

"Health risk management lags far behind. The industry is growing while people are left at risk," he said.

Surichai urged the government to close the gap and develop mechanisms to protect local communities from risks from the industrial estates.

"To manage the risks, you have to first disclose all the risks," Surichai said.

Representatives of the IEAT were not available for comment yesterday.

Located in Muang Rayong district, Map Ta Phut is home to almost 100 factories on four estates - Map Ta Phut, Pha Daeng, Eastern and Asia.

Most are petrochemical and power-generation plants. Some are coal-fired. Since the first factories started operating in the district almost two decades ago, residents have suffered health risks from air pollution and factory accidents.

Toxic gases have sometimes leaked from factories and through accidents.

The Pollution Control Department in 2005 found 40 volatile organic compounds, including 19 cancer-causing agents, contaminating the air at a higher levels than the safety standards of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Map Ta Phut Phanpittayakhom School was moved out of the area and the Map Ta Phut Hospital is now being relocated due to air pollution.

Last year, Map Ta Phut residents asked the National Environmental Board (NEB) to declare the area a "pollution-control zone" under the 1992 environmental Protection Act.

The NEB decided instead to order the IEAT to reduce air pollution rather than declare the area a pollution control zone, as it would have affected further expansion of the estate.