APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Training in hazardous substances is to be introduced at 17 schools around the heavy industrial area of Map Ta Phut in Rayong province. Supat Wangwongwatana, director-general of the Department of Pollution Control, said the project would be invaluable in educating students, as they could be affected by any toxic leakages from the industrial area. The training would teach them how to protect themselves and their families, he added.
Five schools will participate in the project in the first stage. The department has planned to cover the rest all by next year.
The project will also receive financial support from PTT Plc, the largest petrochemical industrial conglomerate in Rayong. ''As the industrial area is within this community, and it cannot move, both sides should learn how to live together,'' said Mr Supat.
Previously, the department worked closely with the private sector to deliver training to communities close to the industrial zone in a bid to promote a clean and safe environment.
But Rayong province has recorded the highest incidence of cancer in the country, although state authorities have not concluded the disease is a result of pollution in the area.
The department last year set up a research group to identify any links between the cancer and pollution in the province. The results have not yet been processed.
Metha Vichienpetch, chief of the department's hazardous operations centre, who is in charge of the project, said his team has prepared to provide at least 15 types of hazardous chemicals likely to be found within a radius of 2.5 kilometres from the school. The students would be educated about their effects.
''We will draw up a map to show each school within a radius of 2.5 kilometres and identify each toxic substance which could possibly leak into their environment,'' said Mr Metha.
Students will learn about the smells and other physical properties of the substances so they can recognise signs of a leakage and take appropriate action, said Mr Metha, adding that each school has different levels of risk depending on their locations.
He further said that the training will include both theory and practical lessons.
''We will train them how to stay safely inside their classroom.
''If they smell something suspicious, a trained team of students should be ready to securely shut the doors and windows to prevent toxins getting inside the room.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Next
