INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Biologists have detected unusual genetic changes in animals living near the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong province, and believe they could be caused by long-term exposure to chemical substances.
Ranu Vejaratpimol, chief of a research team from Silpakorn University's department of science, said genetic changes were found in frog and mussel samples collected from Takuan beach near the industrial estate.
The biologists, however, could not specify the chemicals that had brought about the changes.
''The finding proves that toxic chemical residues in the environment can harm the genes of living things in the area,'' said Ms Ranu. Takuan Beach, the study site, has a number of factories making heavy use of chemicals.
Ms Ranu, who disclosed the study results at a forum on Map Ta Phut pollution held by a group of health and environmental activists yesterday, said the DNA damage could not be seen by a naked eye.
However, local people had told the researchers that they had noticed the crab shells found in the area were unusually fragile, while the mussels were abnormally big these days.
She said since the laboratory tests did not find any excessive levels of heavy metals, chemicals suspected of causing the genetical changes could be carcinogenic, such as benzene, which was detected in groundwater samples from many communities nearby the industrial estate.
It was also reported that fruit yields, especially durian and mangosteen, in the nearby plantations, had declined sharply in recent years. Fruit growers blamed the polluted air and water for the low productivity.
Khunying Suthawan Sathirathai, chairwoman of the Good Governance for Social Development and the Environment Institute (GSEI), said the findings were alarming and the government should seriously look into the pollution problem.
Studies by health experts have also found a rising number of cancer cases in Rayong and Chantaburi provinces.
''The situation requires urgent measures to tackle it,'' she said.
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