ENVIRONMENT
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
A list of the various pollutants being emitted by factories in Rayong's industrial estates will be made public soon to help local villagers learn more about the contaminants in their communities.
Sunee Piyapanpong, director of the Pollution Control Department's (PCD) waste and hazardous substance management bureau, said the agency had sought more information on the emission of contaminants by the 500 or more factories on the 12 industrial sites in the eastern province.
Emission inventories obtained from the factories would be posted on the department's http://www.pcd.go.th website some time next year, she said.
It remained to be seen how much information the authority would be handed by factory operators since the project was being conducted on a voluntary basis, she added.
"However, we do hope to get good cooperation from them," Ms Sunee said, adding that any data that could hurt a company's business operations would be kept confidential.
"All we want to know is what chemicals are being used by them."
Ms Sunee said factory operators are required by law to submit a list of the chemicals they use and the level of pollutants they emit to the Ministry of Industry, but the information will not be disclosed to the public.
The pollution information gathering scheme is part of the department's Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) project, which aims to gather and distribute information about toxic emissions and hazardous waste discharged by the various industrial estates around the country.
Rayong is the first province selected for the project as villagers there have been badly affected by industrial pollution, said the official.
"Rayong residents want to know more about the health and environmental impact caused by chemicals used in factories next door," she said.
The PRTR, which is a mechanism under Agenda 21 on sustainable development adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil, stresses that people living close to an industrial zone must be informed about the kind of chemicals used in the factories and the amount of chemical emissions released each year.
Rayong has been plagued by pollution problems, mainly brought on by factories inside the industrial estates such as petrochemical factories and power plants.
According to the Public Health Ministry, the rate of cancer deaths in Rayong province is the highest in the country, or 88 per 100,000 people.
The PCD also found levels of volatile organic compounds - 1,3-Butadiene, Benzene, 1,2-Dichloroedthane and 1,3-Butadiene - well over the safety levels there.
Penchom sae Tang, of the Campaign for the Alternative Industry Network, praised the project and said it should be initiated in other pollution-hit areas as well.
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