Factories On The Eastern Seaboard

[sbk]

Eastern seaboard residents, it seems to me, from reading the news, that nearly all of the factories are located in your area. Do you think they should move? If so to where and would a move even be feasible? Is it possible to make them clean up?

How do you feel about the industry in your area?

[jaapfries]

Eastern seaboard residents, it seems to me, from reading the news, that nearly all of the factories are located in your area. Do you think they should move? If so to where and would a move even be feasible? Is it possible to make them clean up?

How do you feel about the industry in your area?

You're either Irish or Belgian . . . . . what a "brilliant"suggestion": cripple that little amount of business which is fueling that little of the 'left-over' economy ?!?!?!?!

Fabulous timing: you got nothing better to do, mate ?

[soundman]

Whoa, settle down there man, I think the OP doesn't have an opinion either way, was just looking to guage the feeling from residents in the vicinity of the factories, who appear to always be lodging complaints about the pollution generated.

[thaihome]

It would be helpful if the OP understood exactly what the issues are. The complaints come from people living in the area of the Map Ta Phut Industrial estate (and the smaller adjacent ones) that are home to the petrochemical industry and associated downstream processes for Thailand. The industry is about the third largest manufacturing sector (after electronics and textiles) and the eighth largest export item (worth almost 6 billion USD). The estate was established in 1984 with the building of the first gas separation plant and two crude refineries followed soon after. Currently there are literally hundreds of various plants that produce virtually all the various types of polymers of ethylene and propylene products that can be created from oil or gas. Within the last 3 years somewhere in the area of 3 billion USD has been invested in new plants, many of which will come on line this year and next.

The current environmental situation is due to the fact that when the early plants were built, the standards were not of the highest caliber. Just like most plants built in developing countries at that time. All the plants built since the late ’90 have been built to international standard and in most cases do not routinely cause any high level of pollution. There are indeed some serious issues that are going to have to be cleaned up, but unfortunately, the current direction is not to do the clean up, but to extort money out of the various companies that want to build new ones, even if the comply with all regulations and will be non-polluting. That is basically what the local community is doing with the recent court order that they must approve any new construction.

So to answer the OP, no moving the plants is not an option. As probably 90% of the population in the area is completely dependent on the industry and supporting companies, closing it down would be disastrous and would not be supported. Also, this is not the location for “nearly all” of the factories in Thailand. Most of the manufacturing plants in Thailand are located on the corridor between the Banga-Trat Elevated expressway and the Bangkok-Chonburi motorway south of Bangkok. Many more are spread all over Thailand with another large concentration located nearby in the Chachoengsao area.

TH

Edited August 19, 2009 by thaihome

[Cuban]

Many export industries need close links to the ports for materials and overseas sales so coast line is prefered over Issan where there is plenty of labor sitting around waiting for a well paid easy job. As power and oil are required for most industrial activities having it all in the same area is cheaper than putting the nasty smoke generating power plants next to the downwind Cambodian boarder were some Thais may like to put them.

I understand that the highest instants of lung cancer are found in these areas, nice!

Factories need people, people need homes food etc.

End of the day - overriding problem is overpopulation, everything else follows that.

[thaihome]

You would be hard pressed to find a smoke spewing power plant in the Map Ta Phut area, most are gas fired and are very clean.

For the Map Ta Phut area, both air pollution and ground water and sea contamination by heavy metals and volatile organic compounds due to illegal discharges by certain, older, plants are the issues. This has caused the area to have a higher incidence of hematological cancers (not lung cancer) then the rest of Thailand.

The new plants being built all conform to very stringent guidelines on emissions. It is the older plants that must be made cleaner.

TH

[QED]

OP makes it sound like the whole Eastern seaboard is some kind of industrialised wasteland. Have you ever been here? In actual fact it is a very localised industrial area between Rayong and Ban Chang.

Living in Ban Chang I wouldn't even know it was there other than the fact that my company relies on it to certain degree. It also has created one of the most prosperous regions in Thailand and a working expat community, quite a contrast from some of the expats I used to run into in Pattaya.

There are of course pollution issues, but I am upwind of Map Ta Put

[Soutpeel]

OP makes it sound like the whole Eastern seaboard is some kind of industrialised wasteland. Have you ever been here? In actual fact it is a very localised industrial area between Rayong and Ban Chang.

Living in Ban Chang I wouldn't even know it was there other than the fact that my company relies on it to certain degree. It also has created one of the most prosperous regions in Thailand and a working expat community, quite a contrast from some of the expats I used to run into in Pattaya.

There are of course pollution issues, but I am upwind of Map Ta Put

Well said QED...another gang of keyboard enviromental warriors, who dont even know where MPT & Ban Chang is even located on a map.

Would suggest they go an look at the industrial areas in the US & UK, I have worked in and come back and tell me about the pollution...in comparision the MPT area is pristine...

[sbk]

Well, cheers to those with intelligent answers that offer information in a non-aggressive tone.

[bazmlb]

The Reason most are in the area is Rayong is close to sea ports and a BOI Zone 2, there are also free zones in the area, but this can make things ridiculous, like Eastern Seaboard being located 10 km off 331, the reason is to get over a imaginary line that gets them into the free zone, but makes logistics for getting in and out of the zone terrible, not to mention that there is little in the way of accommodation for staff and they are bused in by the companies each day.