Commission rejects 3 'harmful' projects

The Independent Commission on Environment and Health (ICEH) yesterday refused to give the go ahead to three industrial projects because it deemed them harmful to the environment, the ecosystem and people’s health in Rayong’s Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate.
ICEH’s chairman Professor Piamsak Manasawet said the commission, which was established last year, had been given five projects to study for environmental and health impact.
 According to the Constitution’s Article 67(2), these projects are required to undergo environmental and health impact assessments (EHIA) because
 they were classified as harmful to the environment, natural ecosystem and people’s health.
Of the five projects submitted, the commission has only approved two.
The schemes that won approval were ethyl benzene styrene monomer (first extension) project run by IRPC Co, under which production processes will be improved and the risk of transporting hydrogen and other chemicals reduced; and the mixed C4 production project (second extension) run by Bangkok Synthetics Co.
The projects not given the go ahead were the manufacturing of ethyline oxide and ethyline glycol (extended project) by TOC Glycol Co; the electricity generation plant run by GHECO-ONE Co; and the propylene production unit run by IRPC.
Surapon Duangkhae, who chairs the sub-committee tasked with studying the EHIA report on Bangkok Synthetics’ mixed C4 production project, said more details were needed on risk and accident evaluation as well as the impact of volatile organic compounds, air-pollution management and the prevention of chemical leaks.
He said the project would be producing chemicals that will be used to produce synthetic rubber and that the substance would contain the highly volatile mixed C4 substance and Raffinate-1. He said that the project report did not provide clear details on how these dangerous toxins would be destroyed without causing pollution.
Piamsak Menasveta, who chairs ICEH, said his agency had faced a lot of problems over the past year including the lack of funds as well as the lack of cooperation and flexibility.
Besides, he said, the agency was just an ad-hoc organisation and he was not sure if constitutional amendments would affect the status of his agency.
“We are ready to work if the government does not do anything with the Constitution’s Article 67, but if they do, we will just go home,” he said.
From now on, projects that have been approved by the ICEH will have to submit their EHIA to state agencies for a final nod.
IRPC’s production manager Somchai Jankhaew said his company had already conducted an opinion survey among the locals and added that to its EHIA report about its project. This report was also submitted to the Industry Ministry’s Industrial Works Department.
“I am sure we can go ahead with our plans for this project, which has been suspended for several months. Now, we have complied with the law,” he said.