News

Bangkok Post 07 June 2010  

Map Ta Phut residents say safeguards still missing

RAYONG : The four-party panel working on solving Map Ta Phut's pollution problems has finalised a draft list of activities it considers harmful to the environment and public health.

BBC News 07 June 2010

A court in the Indian city of Bhopal has sentenced eight people to two years each in jail over a gas plant leak that killed thousands of people in 1984.

The convictions are the first since the disaster at the Union Carbide plant - the world's worst industrial accident.

The Nation 02 June 2010 |  JANJIRA PONGRAI

Toxins from Rayong's Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate could cause about 16 per cent of pregnant women living within less than four kilometres of the estate to give premature birth, a report revealed yesterday.

Bangkok Post 20 May 2012 | Tunya Sukpanich

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

Bangkok Post 06 May 2012  

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has set up a tripartite committee to examine possible toxic contamination in the Map Ta Phut area following the chemical explosion at a factory which killed 12 people.

The Nation 29 April 2010   

A subpanel will propose measures on tackling pollution in Rayong's Map Ta Phut area before the end of next month.

The subpanel would work under a fourpart committee that is chaired by former prime minister Anand Panyarachun and was established after the Central Administrative Court suspended dozens of industrial projects in the heavily polluted Map Ta Phut area.

Bangkok Post 23 February 2010  

Central Administrative Court judges have visited industrial projects in Rayong's Map Ta Phut area whose construction has been suspended after the public prosecution sought permission for them to go ahead.

Bangkok Post 20 February 2010 | Thanida Tansubhapol

Japanese investors have confirmed they are still ready to boost investment in Thailand but have asked the government to come up with a clear timeframe for resolving the Map Ta Phut impasse.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday invited Japanese investors to the ministry to clarify the Map Ta Phut pollution problem, which led to the administrative case filed by local villagers against eight state agencies.

The Nation 19 February 2010   

A roadshow led by Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij will leave for Japan on March 11 and spend two days explaining solutions to the Map Ta Phut crisis to the government and investors, a Finance Ministry source said yesterday.

The Nation 17 February 2010 | Chularat Saengpassa, Hassaya Chartmontree

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is trying to mediate between the Council of State and the four-party panel seeking solutions to the Map Ta Phut deadlock over changes to the panel's draft law to establish an industrial watchdog.

This independent organisation is expected to play a key role in striking a balance between ecological soundness and rapid industrial development."I have already talked to the secretary-general of the Council of State about the matter," Abhisit said yesterday.