Locals slam response to factory blast

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Locals slam response to factory blast

Accuse govt of cover-up over Map Ta Phut effect

Published: 8 May 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

RAYONG : Local residents and a non-governmental pollution monitoring group yesterday accused the government of covering up the environmental and health impacts of the Map Ta Phut chemical accident.

Recalling the chaotic scenes at their Takuan-Ao Pradu community in Muang district following a series of explosions and a fire at a petrochemical plant on Saturday, the villagers also complained the government's emergency response had been too casual.

They demanded a massive overhaul of the system.

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heartie
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Discussion 7 : 08 May 2012 at 12.477
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Discussion 1, Victor, you could say something similar to the people living all around the Gulf of Mexico. Remember the BP incident? Where is the justice?!
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Silkpit
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Discussion 6 : 08 May 2012 at 12.406
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Cover up's and p(l)aying money to resolve the issues are the norm here.
A few committees reporting to political leaders directly or indirectly, having stakes in the business at fault.
Lawmakers incapable of bringing companies to justice, due to the lack of will, ploitical interference and willing to take a bribe, all common practice here as the pride and prestige of persons is at stake.
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moruya
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Discussion 5 : 08 May 2012 at 11.255
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If your house, shop or factory catches fire, the firebrigade is so ill equipped to deal with it the chances are it will be destroyed.

The safety standards in Thailand, as we see time and again, day after day are 3rd world. Hotel fires, public transport buses crashing 10s of thousands of dead per year.

Working within the same safety standards and disaster response units factories such as these are permitted to pulute the environment at best and kill people at worst.

Will anyone actually do anything?

Nope
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khunbj
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Discussion 4 : 08 May 2012 at 10.154
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There should not be people living legally or illegally close to this kind of industrial estate, not in Thailand not anywhere else. Concerning the anger then that seem to name of the game with anything here in the Land of Smiles, maybe some anger management and general education would serve them better.
Accidents happen everywhere in the world, the problem with accidents in the oil/gas/chemical sector is that when it goes wrong then it goes really wrong and lives will for sure be put at risk. Having spent many years in the onshore and offshore oil industry I know that even with the highest level of education and safety awareness then there is always a risk that something goes wrong, especially when people are involved during shutdowns and repair works, and if people are brought in from outside to do repairs , as I believe was the case here then the risk increases a lot. Can't recall hearing about many fatal accidents in this zone but of course there may have been and they were just not in the press...
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maunder
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Discussion 3 : 08 May 2012 at 09.443
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Map Ta Phut sounds a lot like Texas City (near Houston Texas). It has a large petroleum distillation industry and ship loading/offloading facilities. In the last 70 years it has been the site of some of the largest most powerful explosions ever seen, short of thermonuclear blasts. The entire city has been blown out of existence, with such force that no count of deaths has ever been made.
But that's the price one pays to be "business friendly" na?
It's not just in Thailand, you see. Business profits are the supreme deciding factor worldwide.
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drsmith
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Discussion 2 : 08 May 2012 at 08.292
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The rich factory owners get away with anything. Lack of safety, lack of warning systems, coverups, it is all about the rich getting away with everything and the innocent poor are the ones always dying. These owners have no conscious where they operate strictly to put money in their own pockets at the expense of human life. Toxic residue can continue to cause health problems for years to come although no authority will admit it because they do NOT want to pay. I bet you the factory owner doesn't live anywhere near the factory and could care less about the toxic residue. Sick behavior as we see more and more incidents where human life is second to money.
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Victor
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Discussion 1 : 08 May 2012 at 07.191
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People living around the industrial sites should realize the fact that, by the law of average, and the average in this country is quite high, things will certainly go wrong when it's least expected and therefore should be prepared for the eventuality. By expecting any kind of help from the authorities is a wishful thinking.
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Locals slam response to factory blast | Bangkok Post: news