New Projects To Ease Pollution In Map Ta Phut Area Proposed

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MAP TA PHUT

New projects to ease pollution proposed

By Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation

Panel pushes 15 schemes, costing a total of Bt255.72m, to relieve environmental problems

Next Tuesday, the Cabinet will consider 15 new projects to help ease pollution in Rayong, especially in the Map Ta Phut area.

If approved, the projects - being pushed by a governmentappointed subcommittee - will cost the state a total of Bt255.72 million. The first project, which involves providing health checks for people in the Map Ta Phut area, will cost Bt30.2 million and be implemented by the Public Health Ministry.

The second project, involving the expansion of waterworks service in Rayong's Muang district, will require Bt78 million, while the expansion of water services in Map Ta Phut and Ban Chang will require Bt66 million. The Provincial Waterworks Authority will handle these two projects.

The fourth project, costing Bt2.5 million, will cover the improvement of emergency response plans for factories outside industrial estates in Rayong's Muang district. The Department of Industrial Works (DIW) will be in charge of this project.

The fifth project, to be supervised by the Pollution Control Department, will cost Bt12 million and involve the setting up of airquality monitoring stations at Rayong's governmentagency complex.

The sixth project, to be implemented by DIW, will need Bt6.1 million to survey and identify odour sources at factories in Muang district. DIW will also handle the seventh project, involving strategic environmental assessment costing Bt7.8 million.

The eighth project, to be supervised by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (Onep), will cost Bt8 million to develop monitoring mechanisms to promote compliance related to measures on heath/environmental impact.

The ninth project will prepare guidelines for health and environmental impact assessment at a cost of Bt5 million. Onep and the Department of Health are expected to jointly implement this project.

The 10th project will include the development of a health database, which will cost Bt15 million and be prepared by the Public Health Ministry. The database will be compared with environmental information of Rayong.

Under the 11th project, food and water sources in Rayong will be monitored by the Department of Health and will cost the state Bt3.65 million.

The 12th project will cost Bt5 million and include the development of a volunteer network, which will monitor health and the environment. Onep and the Department of Health will implement this project.

The 13th project, costing Bt11.84 million, will promote public participation in public forums on health/environmental impacts. The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry as well as the Public Health Ministry will jointly work on this project.

The 14th project, supervised by the DIW, will need Bt1 million to develop good engineering practices to avoid fires in factories. The 15th project involves the assessment of environmental impact and the survey/design for the construction of embankment to prevent coastal erosion on Namrin and Payoon beaches. The Ban Chang Municipality needs Bt3.5 million to implement the project.

-- The Nation 2011-01-07