Thread: Blaze breaks out in Map Ta Phut reportedly after explosion

No confusion on my part. No confusion on my part.

Originally Posted by osensnolf

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Hey:

Are you the same thegent that was on Mambo years ago and helped me with the Home Builders Association website?

I'm not asking for help, I just want to know.

Let me know one way or the other. PM me your email if so since I can't respond to PM

Thanks.

Steven

(If someone would, please send him this post via PM. Thanks!)

No, I'm not. Seems we "gents" are two a penny.

After the debacle on Saturday, there was another gas leak (Chlorine) from a plant (Aditya Birla) on the Maptaphut Eastern Industrial Estate yesterday evening..

Thinking about re-locating from Banchang. The standard of construction and maintenance at these plants has really taken a nose-dive during the last few years.

Aditya Birla Chemicals plant suspends operations after gas leak

Aditya Birla Chemicals plant suspends operations after gas leak

วันจันทร์ ที่ 07 พ.ค. 2555



BANGKOK, May 7 - The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) on Monday ordered the suspension of operations of a chemical plant in the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate following an emergency shutdown which caused a chemical leakage and dizzied at least 42 people.

IEAT said chlorine leaked from the Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) factory in the eastern province of Rayong on Sunday after an emergency shutdown of the plant's operations.

The smell of the gas reportedly spread through surrounding areas for a short time, making those who inhaled it feel dizzy.

Forty-two persons were sent to Map Ta Phut Hospital, with seven remaining hospitalised.

IEAT ordered temporary suspension of the plant's operations until the investigation of the accident is complete.

Aditya Birla Chemicals is a leading manufacturer of bulk and speciality chemicals and viscose filament yarn. The business is spread across multiple manufacturing locations in three countries – India, Thailand and China.

The incident occurred just one day after an explosion and fire at the Bangkok Synthetics Co (BST) petrochemical factory in the nearby Map Ta Phut industrial estate on Saturday.

The public health ministry confirmed 12 people were killed in Saturday’s accident. Twenty-four of the 142 injured remain hospitalised.

The industrial estate agency ordered the company to stop butadiene rubber production in order to find the cause of the explosion and to assess damage from the incident as well as to equipment in nearby areas. (MCOT online news)

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http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...ill-after-leak

Dozens fall ill after leak

• Published: 7/05/2012 at 01:51 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Dozens of workers were sent to hospital yesterday after an abrupt discharge of a bleaching agent at a chemical factory in the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard industrial estate in Rayong.

The accident took place at Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Co about 6.30pm when workers smelled a strong chlorine-like odour at the plant.

About 50 workers at the plant and a nearby construction site felt weak and developed throat irritations after inhaling the gas.

They were taken to Map Ta Phut Hospital and eight of them were admitted.

Chumpol Pichayachai, a disaster prevention and mitigation official in Rayong, said the odour probably came from sodium hypochlorite, which was discharged from the plant during an emergency shutdown.
The cause of the emergency shutdown was unknown.

Sodium hypochlorite is frequently used as a disinfectant or a bleaching agent.

The plant was sealed off and only officials wearing protective gear were allowed to enter it. The plant is about 5km from the Bangkok Synthetics Co factory in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate, where an explosion on Saturday killed at least 12 people.

^^I hope that plant is shut down forever. It has been the source of constant leaks and complaints from surrounding factories and neighbours, due to it's corner-cutting and poor maintenance.

Activists urge government to resolve Rayong industrial estate problems



RAYONG, May 9 -- The Eastern People’s Network plans moves to urge the government to solve the problems related to last weekend’s explosion and chemical leak in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in the eastern province of Rayong and will file suit against an agency responsible for that.

Following the explosion and fire at the Bangkok Synthetics Co (BST) petrochemicals factory at Map Ta Phut on last Saturday (May 5) which killed 12 people and last Sunday’s chemical leak at the Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) factory in the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate, Suthi Atchasai, coordinator of the Eastern People's Network, said Wednesday that the civil society group is taking action, demanding that relevant agencies take responsibility and prevent any recurrence.

The activist group said it will submit petitions to Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) governor at the Map Ta Phut industrial estate office as well as file complaints with the police against IEAT and entrepreneurs of the two factories on Saturday (May 12).

On Tuesday May 15, the network will submit proposals to the government at Government House, to the Senate committee on natural resources and the environment and to independent bodies to probe the accidents.

The group will go to the Administrative Court on May 25 to file lawsuit against the IEAT, Mr Suthi said.

Following the accidents at two industrial estates last weekend, the civil network movement intends to urge relevant agencies to take responsibility for the accidents and to map out measures to prevent a possible repeat accident.

Mr Suthi said that the group asked that the government transparently release all information and facts related to the accidents to the public, to study and seriously enforce the National Plan on Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation 2010-2014 (Buddhist Era 2553-2557), particularly relating to chemical leakages, including warnings, responses, prevention and rehabilitation in terms of environmental quality and public health.

In addition, the government and relevant ministries should manage the relief system seriously and systematically, the network’s coordinator explained.

Meanwhile, the industrial estates must build a buffer zone between their industrial zones and residential areas in order to prevent or reduce the possible impacts on communities, Mr Suthi said, adding that new town planning should be carried out systematically.

mcot.net

3-monthly inspection planned - The Nation

3-monthly inspection planned

Nalin Viboonchart
The Nation May 9, 2012 1:00 am

After the blast at Bangkok Synthetics on Saturday, the Industry Ministry is thinking about the establishment of an ad hoc centre to analyse industrial disasters. The centre would have to provide correct information to villagers living near factories wh

3,000 plants in line for more frequent checks; chemical facilities main focus

The Industry Ministry will tighten the regulations on hazardous plants, particularly those involved with chemicals, by mandating about 3,000 factories to be inspected every three months for risky operations.

The measure follows the blast at Bangkok Synthetics on Saturday that killed 11 workers at its plant in Hemaraj Industrial Estate, Map Ta Phut, Rayong province. On Sunday, another accident happened at Aditya Birla Chemicals, also in Map Ta Phut, due to a chlorine leak.

Witoon Simachokedee, permanent secretary of the Industry Ministry, yesterday said factories currently had to be inspected when applying for operating licences, when expanding their licences, and during licence renewal, which takes place every five years. But to prevent serious accidents, inspections now will be required more frequently.

He said that of the roughly 140,000 plants nationwide, about 3,000 were categorised as major hazardous operations. These plants, particularly large-scale operations, are the major targets of the proposed regulation requiring three-monthly inspections.

"We expect to finalise the ministerial regulation within this budget year, that is, by September," he said.

Witoon said the ministry had to revamp other regulations such as the process of granting manufacturing licences. It may have to set up a specific committee to consider and approve such licences, particularly for hazardous plants. Currently, the Department of Industrial Works handles this job alone, and this may not be sufficient if Thailand wants to prevent serious accidents in the future.

He said the ministry was also thinking about the establishment of an ad hoc centre to analyse industrial disasters. The centre would have to provide correct information to villagers living near factories whenever accidents happen.

The Industry Ministry has also assigned relevant departments and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand to review risk-assessment and risk-analysis reports as to whether they reflected proper scrutiny or skipped some processes to deal with the situation as fast as possible.

IEAT to check 65 plants after blast - The Nation

IEAT to check 65 plants after blast

PONGPHON SARNSAMAK,
ACHARA VISETSRI
THE NATION May 9, 2012 1:00 am


The massive explosion at the factory of a Bangkok Synthetics subsidiary that killed 11 and injured another 129 people on Saturday has prompted the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) to examine 65 hazardous factories in Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate.

The Pollution Control Depart-ment (PCD) has also called on manufacturers in the estate to reveal to the public and other agencies all hazardous and non-hazardous chemical substances used in their production processes.

The IEAT's deputy governor, Peerawt Rungrueng, said his agency would send teams to investigate 65 factories likely to be at risk accidents inside the estate.

The team will comprise staff from related agencies, local representatives and the Industrial Works Department.

"We will not investigate without participation from local people," he said, adding that the survey was expected to be finished next week.

Currently, IEAT staff are examining damage to the BST Elastomers facility and nearby factories affected by the massive explosion.

The IEAT has also ordered Aditya Birla Chemicals to suspend operations after a chemical leak at its Map Ta Phut factory on Sunday that led to the hospitalisation of 138 people.

PCD director-general Wichan Simachaya said all factories in Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate should reveal information about chemical substances.

"Knowing about chemical substances in the production process of each manufacturer would help the community surrounding the estate to estimate the risk of factory accidents," he said.

PROCESS ALWAYS A SECRET

Since the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate was established two decades ago, information about chemical substances in the production process of each factory has never been revealed publicly or to the PCD. The information was handed only to provincial governors and the IEAT.

"We had to make an effort to get this information, as we needed it to control and prevent pollution in the area," Wichan said.

The PCD has teamed up with the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the IEAT to start a project called the "Development of Basic Schemes for Pollutant Release and Transfer Registration System" to collect and register all information about chemical substances being used in the estate.

"We will know the type and volume of chemical substances the factories are using in the production process. We will also find out about the transport routes of these chemicals," he said.

"All this information will be sent to the IEAT and related agencies to estimate the risk to the community."

Wichan said his agencies had also sent a team of inspectors to monitor air quality and environmental impact in 15 communities within 2 kilometres of the estate. The result of this investigation will be disclosed next week.

He insisted that the flammable solvent toluene - released during the blast at the BST Elastomers plant - would not cause cancer.

LAWSUIT THREATENED

Anti-Global Warming Association president Srisuwan Chanya said he would file a lawsuit with the Central Administrative Court asking the Industry Ministry to withdraw the licences of the two factories.

He will also ask the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning to withdraw their environmental and health impact assessments so they cannot ask for permission from the IEAT to extend their operations in the future.

Thai-ASEAN News Network - IEAT Investigates Map Ta Phut Explosion



IEAT Investigates Map Ta Phut Explosion

UPDATE : 9 May 2012

The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand is cooperating with the EIT to inspect the BST Petrochemical factory and 7 nearby factories following the explosion on Saturday in Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate. Peravatana Rungraungsri, Deputy Governor of the IEAT ensures that inspection will help decide when factories can operate again. Khun Tanhathai Kanjanasoon has the story.

11 people were killed and 141 were injured from the explosion at the Bangkok Synthetics Co or BST petrochemical factory on Saturday, with a damage of 1.7 billion baht.

Coincidentally a gas leaked at the Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Co 5 kilometres away the following day.

The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand or IEAT provide answers to the unknown cause of the explosion with investigation on the BST plant, by the Engineering Institute of Thailand, local municipality, and people's participation.

Professionals from the civil and environmental engineering fields are also inspecting 7 other factories damaged by the increased air pressure during the explosion.

The Pollution control department also confirms that no VOC cancer causing toxins were evident in the air.

Yet The two consecutive incidents in Map Ta Phut gave nearby communities the cold feet to continue their daily lives in the Industrial vicinity.

A warning was delivered through the community broadcast system with an evacuation order to relocate upwind. Locals said they were scared and no authorities were present to answer questions.

The IEAT is working with Map Ta Phut's local police to set up a mini station to assist citizens whose health and properties were affected by the incident.

Bangkok Synthetics Co offers a compensation of 1 million baht and the IEAT 20,000 baht to families of those who have died in the explosion.

Authorities still have a long way to go in recovering the BST and nearby factories, which are expected to remain closed for another 6 months.

The IEAT will now have to face further questions concerning the debatable topic of environmental safety of the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate.

This should have been swept under the carpet days ago!

Map Ta Phut residents rally for govt's assistance - The Nation

Map Ta Phut residents rally for govt's assistance

THE NATION May 16, 2012 1:00 am


A group of protesters rallied outside Government House yesterday to demand that the authorities urgently start assisting those affected by the recent factory explosion in Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong province.

Sutthi Atchasai, the chief of the Stop Global Warming Association who led the gathering, called for a government-commissioned management of future chemical leaks and an immediate imposition of industrial safety regulations, which he said have been lax. He also demanded that the areas near the factory be rehabilitated.

Sutthi, who was behind the petition against the lack of a mandatory environmental study at the industrial estate, which later resulted in most projects being put on hold to this day, said the fire should be used as a precedent in establishing comprehensive industrial hazard prevention and management. He added that it should also set a precedent in fair and quick compensation under government supervision and declaration of storage locations where chemical or toxic materials are housed.

The group, which comprises 20 activists, also called for the scrapping of investment in petrochemical plants both inside and outside the industrial compound or a review of projects that have been approved.

The protesters submitted their demands to the prime minister through a representative before heading to the National Human Rights Commission, where they submitted their written petition. The group had earlier submitted their demands to the Senate committee on natural resources and environment.

Senate committee chairman Senator Surachai Liangbunlertchai said he and other members of the panel would visit the factory on Wednesday and seek advice from Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra directly on how to solve residents' grievances.

Deputy panel chairman Sujarit Cheeravej said Yingluck's recent visit to the estate in her capacity as head of the National Public Disaster Relief and Prevention Commission had made little progress and yielded few solutions.

"Rayong's gross domestic product is the highest in the country, but people live in hellish conditions because the central and local authorities have paid very little attention to their welfare, while regulatory agencies are more concerned about investment output rather than residents being affected by industrial operations," Sujarit added

Map Ta Phut locals demand say in industrial safeguards | Bangkok Post: news

Map Ta Phut locals demand say in industrial safeguards

The utter lack of warning and evacuation measures during the recent twin disasters at the industrial estate has galvanised nearby communities to insist on the right to have a greater say in how they are protected

• Published: 20/05/2012 at 02:25 AM
• Newspaper section: Spectrum

Two weeks after two horrific chemical accidents at Map Ta Phut industrial estate left 12 people dead and hundreds injured, many who reside near the estate are still living in fear. They are demanding to know why there were no effective safeguards in place to protect them despite many chemical accidents occurring in the area over the past few years.


CATASTROPHE AT MAP TA PHUT: Black smoke pours out of a plant run by Bangkok Synthetics Co on May 5 after an explosion that killed 12 people and injured 129. PHOTO: JERDSAK SAENGTHONGCHAROEN

On May 5, a tank holding the highly flammable chemical toulene exploded at a factory run by Bangkok Synthetics Co (BST), killing 12 people and injuring 129. The following day, gas, thought to be a mix of hydrochloric acid and hypochlorite compound, leaked from a factory belonging to Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand), only about five kilometres from the site of the fire. A total of 138 people were hospitalised.

Phusit Pokalakorn, director of Map Chalood School in Map Chalood community near Map Ta Phut, said BST sent a warning to residents in the area about 40 minutes after the explosion and fire.



"During an earlier safety drill, it took about 30 minutes for us to learn of any possible incidents, which we thought was too long because toxic gas would reach the school within a few minutes," said Mr Phusit.

He added that complicating matters is the fact that factory owners determine whether nearby communities should be evacuated.

"The factory decides whether to evacuate people living near the industrial estate. If the accident had taken place on a school day, there would be chaos since the school is responsible for 500 students from four to 11 years old."

Phra Sommai, the abbot of Wat Nong Fab agreed it would take only a few minutes for toxic gas to reach the communities located around the Map Ta Phut complex. "As for the leak of a toxic substance from Aditya Birla Chemicals on May 6, the company's management only knew of the incident after about 60 locals were taken to hospital," said the abbot.

"In the case of the BST accident, it took 40 minutes before we received word of the fire, but there were no details of where it happened, what kind of toxic chemicals were involved, or whether we should be evacuated," Phra Sommai said.


PHOTO: COURTESY BY NHCO

Instead of fleeing to safety on May 5, many locals gathered in front of the industrial estate to pick up family members working there because they had no faith in the estate's safety measures.

Patcharee Ditkhen, from Ban Sak Look Chang community about four kilometres from BST, said locals there had not participated in any of the emergency drills arranged by local authorities and the factories. "We made requests to join, but the factories decide which communities participate in the exercises," she said.

SAFETY DESIGN IN PROGRESS

Last Tuesday, the National Health Commission Office of Thailand organised a meeting with locals who wanted to become involved in designing their own safety plans. They also wanted to be in charge of mapping an emergency evacuation plan for their communities. The plan must be able to accommodate children as well as the old and the disabled, say community leaders. More than one plan may be devised and evaluated by community members. Most importantly, local leaders must make sure that everyone in their communities knows and understands evacuation plans and participates in practice drills. Locals say it makes sense for them to take the lead because they are well aware of the risks posed by industrial accidents _ sometimes through bitter experience _ and they also know the area best.

Suppakit Nantavorakarn works closely with communities near Map Ta Phut on safety issues in his role as a researcher for the Foundation of Healthy Public Policy and a committee member of the Independent Commission on Environment and Health.

At the meeting he said that once an incident occurs, factory managers may underestimate the problem and the impact to the communities and try to handle the situation by themselves, rather than seek help from state and civil agencies.


IS IT OK TO BREATHE?: a member of the Pollution Control Department checks air quality at the Bangkok Synthetics Co factory.

Mr Suppakit said that while factories have legal liability for accidents, it is locals who usually bear the brunt of the effects of major incidents. ''Local authorities and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand should set up a centre to help evaluate the scale of all incidents and their impact on communities, and make the decision on whether to evacuate people,'' said Mr Suppakit. He said authorities and locals must no longer allow factory heads to make such decisions unilaterally.

Renu Vejaratpimol, an associate professor and scientist at Silpakorn University, said that factories must immediately report every incident _ minor or serious. She said that Aditya Birla Chemicals did not issue a timely warning, and this resulted in more than 100 people being hospitalised. She pointed out that in 2010 there was a gas leak at an Aditya Birla factory that resulted in its operations being suspended.

Heavy rain around the time of the May 5 explosion and subsequent fires rendered normal communication methods such as mobile phone and community radio stations ineffective in warning people of the danger.

It has been suggested that flags be used both as an alternative warning method and to indicate wind direction.


TETRA TALLY: an information board in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate, which lists the airborne content of tetrachloroethylene at 0.86 microgrammes per cubic metre.

''At present, factories are holding a lot of fire drills inside their compounds, but these do not usually involve much interaction with communities,'' said Mr Suppakit.

He suggested that communities ask for assistance from authorities and factories in conducting evacuation drills under different scenarios, including heavy rain.

Another proposal which needs local approval and participation is a buffer zone between the industries and the communities.

''In the Map Ta Phut industrial complex, factories are too close to communities. A buffer zone must be established to ensure safety for both sides. The locals should help in the allocation of suitable plots of land for a buffer zone,'' Mr Suppakit said.

Poranee Swadirak, from the City Planning for Society Nework, said that normally it is considered satisfactory for industrial operations to be located 50m-100m from a community. However, chemical industries such as those in Map Ta Phut need a buffer zone of at least two kilometres.

''In fact, the recent accidents affected communities three or four kilometres away,'' Ms Poranee said.


COLLATERAL DAMAGE: siding was ripped from a factory adjacent to the Bangkok Synthetics Co, site of the May 5 explosion.

However, there is not much vacant land in the area, so any available plots should be reserved as a ''green'' buffer green zone in the Map Ta Phut city plan as soon as possible, she said.

Now that the immediate danger from the May 5 blast is over, many locals are wondering about possible long-term health risks from inhaling toluene released in the accident, or from residual amounts of the chemical in the air. Some Thai government officials have claimed there is no health or environmental risk related to the release of the hydrocarbon into the atmosphere in the May 5 accident, while some academics disgree. It is well known that exposure to high levels of toluene may affect kidneys, the nervous system, liver, brain and heart, and can cause unconciousness and even death.

Breathing toluene over long periods of time can cause permanent brain damage, or depression, and may be particularly risky for pregnant women.

According to Walaiporn Mooksuwan, a chemical management expert and deputy director of Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand, toluene normally breaks down easily.

However, in the sunshine and with a high ozone concentration, the chemical can remain longer in the atmosphere. Records from the Pollution Control Department show that the area around Map Ta Phut generally has high ozone levels. Without continual monitoring of toluene levels it is difficult to assess the risk to locals in the area.

Unless adequate safety measures are in place, those most at risk from exposure to toluene and other chemicals at Map Ta Phut are workers in the factories. Perhaps not surprisingly, they are usually less willing to talk about safety measures at the industrial estate than local residents are, but some told Spectrum off the record that they are concerned about the long-term health effects of their work environment. Some workers in a factory close to BST also said they were ordered to continue working after the fire was brought under control.

PROPOSED PLANS TO KEEP LOCALS SAFE

Somporn Penkham, director of the Health Impact Assessment Section of the National Health Commission Office of Thailand, told Spectrum that the organisation has proposed the following safety measures to avoid or deal with future industrial accidents involving chemicals in Thailand:

1. All chemicals used in each industry must be publicly disclosed so that the surrounding communities can use the data to determine health risks.

2. Each community must design and develop a detailed plan to deal with these risks itself.

3. When an incident occurs, the factory must report it to an independent crisis management team authorised to enter the factory compound. The team must include chemical experts.

4. The independent investigation team will investigate what happened and how, and make a judgement on who should be held responsible. (At present, the factory hires a team to investigate.)

5. A population monitoring plan should be set up by national and local health agencies to register people affected by an accident and follow up on their medical treatment. The team will also identify, screen, measure and monitor the population's exposure and contamination to chemical materials. The data and information will benefit both the affected people and systems for long-term monitoring and medical treatment.


THE AFTERMATH: Containers litter the factory floor after the explosion and blaze at Bangkok Synthetics Co. Industry Minister Pongsvas Svasti said the accident had resulted in about 1.6 billion baht in damage. PHOTOS:BANGKOK POST ARCHIVE


SPURRED TO ACTION: the meeting was attended by representatives of the National Health Commission Office of Thailand and related agencies, civil organisations and community leaders at Map Ta Phut.


MINDS ON SAFETY: Renu Vejaratpimol, right at a meeting last Tuesday to discuss safety measures for communities near Map Ta Phut.