Hazard Alert After Fatal Map Ta Phut Blaze

[webfact]

Hazard alert after fatal blaze

Chumphon Nikhomruk,

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Rayong

Officials from the Pollution Control Department conduct airquality tests in Rayong after a major explosion and fire at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate on Saturday.//BY Suphakit Khumkun

RAYONG: -- Toll of 11 dead, 129 injured after Bangkok Synthetics factory fire in Map Ta Phut; industry minister says air quality in Rayong normal, but health officials suspect toluene leak played role in deaths.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday ordered a tripartite committee to be set up to gauge the extent of chemical contamination after a plastics plant burst into flames in Rayong on Saturday, killing 11 people and injuring 129.

Operations at Bangkok Synthe-tics' facility in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate have been suspended following the accident, at its synthetic tyre furnace.

Yingluck met with officials from the Interior Ministry, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, Public Health Ministry and Pollution Control Department, as well as local authorities to discuss measures to contain the health impact and control toxic leakage from the factory.

The committee comprising representatives of the Pollution Control Department, Industry Ministry and civic groups would be tasked with determining if the environment was still polluted.

The prime minister asked the panel to improve an early-warning system for chemical accidents at the industrial estate. The panel will report to the premier every three months on the situation.

Yingluck also told health officials to monitor the health of people living around the blast site and Map Ta Phut estate.

The Public Health Ministry said 11 people were killed and 129 people injured as a result of the fire. Eight were killed at the scene, while three others succumbed later at hospitals due to severe injuries.

Killed were Chaiyo Aksornsri, Hassanai Chansettee, Noppaphon Rungrawee, Manop Kulkhai, Khwanpracha Chartthai, Teerayuth Chantarasing, Watcharakorn Boontaweetrakul, Sompong Prom-kham, Sarayuth Uthaya, Sanom Noichamnong and Ekkasit Boopphakosum.

Of the injured, 27 remain in hospital and three are in intensive care units.

Industry Minister Pongsvas Svasti said yesterday, before accompanying Yingluck on her helicopter ride to Rayong, he had ordered a thorough check of security systems at all facilities in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, as well as the air quality.

He noted that hydrocarbon in the air remained at normal levels, and no carcinogenic substances had been found, despite the leak of toluene, a feedstock for synthetic tyre production.

Villagers evacuated from 10 communities nearby were able to return to their homes yesterday, he said.

About 102 blast victims suffered minor injuries such as burns. They had already been discharged from hospitals.

Deputy Public Health Minister Dr Surawit Khonsomboon said inhaling a large amount of toluene could be fatal, especially for people with existing problems such as asthma, heart disease and respiratory disorders. "The ministry suspected that the inhaling of a large volume of this chemical substance would be one of the major causes of death," he added.

The Public Health Ministry has now advised local people to wear facemasks as a precaution against inhaling toxic gases such as toluene. It ordered local health officials to monitor problems such as respiratory disease and mental health conditions. The officials would also check the quality of local water supplies.

Surawit said that apart from toluene, which was known to have leaked from the factory, there could be other contaminants.

According to many sources, the fire started in a toluene tank, which workers were cleaning to prepare for the scheduled factory opening today. It was initially suspected that human error caused the fire, but police were still investigating.

Pongsvas, however, said the explosion occurred while the |factory was not operating. He suggested that the fire might have started from inflammable chemicals left behind in pipes by maintenance officers.

Weerapong Chaiperm, governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, said damage to the factory was about Bt1.5 billion to Bt1.7 billion. Repairs will likely take six months, he said.

Bangkok Synthetics Plc will pay Bt1 million compensation to relatives of the employees killed. The company will also pay for the treatment of those injured.

-- The Nation 2012-05-07

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Factory should ' lose licence'

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The government should revoke the licence of Bangkok Synthetics, whose factory was the scene of an explosion and major fire on Saturday that killed 11 and injured another 129 people, a major non-government group said yesterday.

"The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) should cancel its licence," Stop Global Warming Association chairman Srisuwan Janya said.

He pointed out that the disaster was not the first harmful incident at Bangkok Synthetics.

He said in 2009, this company was also responsible for a chemi?cal leak inside the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong.

"The IEAT should consider withdrawing the factory licence of Bangkok Synthetics Company to protect the quality of life of peo?ple who live in 30 communities around Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate. If not, it would be an example for other factories to follow this failure," he said.

According to Srisuwan, BST Elastomers factory - owned by Bangkok Synthetics Plc - has also been seeking to expand its factory. In March this year, the IEAT held a public forum to gather opinions. The Independent Commission on Environment and Health raised many concerns about the project's Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) report - required by an article in the Constitution as the factory was classified as harmful to the environment, ecosystem and people's health - due to the incomplete information

"The recent explosion which killed and injured many people is solid proof that the factory-expansion project should not be approved," Srisuwan said.

He urged relevant state agencies to pay compensation to relatives of those killed and injured by the massive fire at the Bangkok Synthetics factory.

Meanwhile, Pollution Control Department (PCD) director-general Wijarn Simachaya said air-quality tests around the Bangkok Synthetics factory and nearby communities found 19 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which was quite a high amount.

"We will closely monitor the air quality for the next one or two days," he said. However, the last air-quality check at the factory found no toluene while up to 200 PPM was allowed at workplaces.

The toluene concentration in nearby communities ranged from 0.1 and 0.4 ppm as of 1pm yesterday. Toluene is a flammable solvent that is toxic. Direct exposure can cause dizziness, nausea and headache. So far, it is not carcinogenic.

It has not accumulated in human bodies too.

Sumetha Wichienpetch, who heads the PCD Chemical Emergency Response Centre, advised locals to avoid storing rainwater for consumption.

-- The Nation 2012-05-07

[sparebox2]

I am sorry to say but life is cheap in Thailand.

Most of the sub-contractors workers in the plant are merely Por 6 (grade 6 or year 7).

Edited May 7, 2012 by sparebox2

[AyG]

We don't yet know the cause of the explosion, but Bangkok Synthetics is one of the most safety-conscious factories in Thailand - almost to the point of paranoia. Being a contractor to them is a real pain.

[Thai at Heart]

Bangkok Synthetics Plc will pay Bt1 million compensation to relatives of the employees killed. The company will also pay for the treatment of those injured.

All very sad.

Having done some business and BST, worked with a few of the engineers from BST, knowing that a lot of them have been there since the place opened, I would imagine that 1mn baht may be less than if the company had sacked them. The place did have what appeared to be pretty efficient and conscientious safety system, but accidents can and will happen

However, long weekends are notorious for accidents the world over. The facility was under huge pressure from environmental groups and had invested a lot in VOC and pollution detection and control in the last few years after pressure from NGO's in Rayong,

[TomTao]

Condolences to the family of the dead, I hope all the injured make a full recovery, I wonder if the government or the factory owners have in place a system which would cover the costs of medical treatment for the injured and compensate the families of the deceased?

[sparebox2]

We don't yet know the cause of the explosion, but Bangkok Synthetics is one of the most safety-conscious factories in Thailand - almost to the point of paranoia. Being a contractor to them is a real pain.

Perhaps that is the problem. Contractor letting out some steam.

[NanLaew]

Accidents happen... and NGO's will get on their high horse about them.

[webfact]

Aditya Birla Chemicals plant suspends operations after gas leak

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)

-- TNA 2012-05-07

[Jim walker]

Obviously the H&S measures were not adequate enough before a major catastrophe like this was allowed to transpire resulting in 12 deaths.

[MEL1]

What is it with her and setting up committees?

"Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday ordered a tripartite committee to be set"...

Every time there is something that seems a challenge, which in most other countries is dealt with by "normal Ministers" and MPs, she has this knack of setting up huge cost investment teams that will deal with the issue/after event and prevent another such challenge in the future.

Helen of Troy's horse seems to just need mounting again, and again, and again against the repetitive battle.

The obvious answer is that these committees are full of fund robbing members, and each member that she allocates creams off the pie to line her pockets under the psudonym of some thorough-bred, qualified group that is in control of future events.

How many times has she re-set the flood committees and team members of so called experts, with multi-billion Baht funds and yet for nothing to happen, and nothing of the coffers from the original funds left, but then for another committee to surface?

She must have one suave off-shore banker, to be shifting this to Dubai, without so much as a sneeze.

-mel

[sandrabbit]

I was travelling from the airport to Ban Phe on Saturday and didn't notice anything untoward except for all the traffic being stopped while some vip went to Pattaya. There are a lot of these chemical companies in Rayong and from the outside I have to say that they do look modern & well maintained, I hope they find the cause quickly and learn from it.

[webfact]

ACCIDENT

Rayong chemical plant closed following chlorine leak

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- 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 that caused a chemical leak and led to 42 people experiencing dizziness.

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.

The IEAT ordered suspension of the plant’s operations until the accident investigation 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 (BST) petrochemical factory in the nearby Map Ta Phut industrial estate.

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.

-- The Nation 2012-05-07

[MEL1]

I am sorry to say but life is cheap in Thailand.

Most of the sub-contractors workers in the plant are merely Por 6 (grade 6 or year 7).

Never thought I'd hear, "I am sorry to say but life is cheap in Thailand", from a Thai! I think that's pretty poor, myself.

"Hazard Alert After Fatal Map Ta Phut Blaze"

Mind you, I could understand if it was all down to the fire-brigade having the wrong "Map" to get there.......

-mel.

[sparebox2]

I was travelling from the airport to Ban Phe on Saturday and didn't notice anything untoward except for all the traffic being stopped while some vip went to Pattaya. There are a lot of these chemical companies in Rayong and from the outside I have to say that they do look modern & well maintained, I hope they find the cause quickly and learn from it.

Correct, around mid-day we were held up for a long time in the Motorway. I didn't know what happened? An accident? Lots of police on the road.

Finally I saw the convoy. It was so graceful, and I feel I am so honored and lucky to catch a grim. Who ever in the car must be important. I am so proud and happy to be within 100m. I am sure I will go to heaven now. All the wait is worth it, the atmosphere was celestial. Some local folks even lift up their hand and "wai" while the police salute.

[anterian]

Interestingly the smoking and drinking habits of those exposed to toluene will partially determine the elimination of toluene. Even a modest amount of alcohol consumption can significantly decrease the elimination of toluene from the blood resulting in increased tissue exposure. Conversely, smoking has been shown to enhance the elimination rate of toluene from the body.

[msg362]

Accidents happen... and NGO's will get on their high horse about them.

Try talking from the other end, closer to your head!

The standard procedure when cleaning a tank that contained inflammable solvents is to flush it through with air/ nitrogen, check the atmosphere to ensure there is not an explosive environment and it is safe to breathe and to constantly ventilate. This prevents explosions, it's done all the time in organised countries. ( There are variations on this). I strongly suspect these precautions were not taken. Somehow I think the police are not best equipped to investigate this, it is not in their rule book concerning road violations.