Complaint lodged over gas leak

A group of residents lodged a complaint yesterday against the recent leakage of an unknown gas inside the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate and the discharge of black smoke by IRPC.

"Those responsible will be charged with recklessness causing harm to others and violations of the Environment Act," the group said.

After deeply inhaling the gas of unknown origin, six workers had to be hospitalised immediately with symptoms of shock, dizziness and nausea.

The gas, which spread to roads I5 and I6 in the industrial park, also triggered the evacuation of over 200 workers in factories near the Glow power plant.

The IRPC factory located at Moo 5 of Tambon Nern Phra in Muang Rayong district also spewed black smoke.

Most of the villagers living near the factory were panicking over the incidents and many drivers stopped their cars on Sukhumvit Road to watch the huge cloud of black smoke.

An IRPC representative blamed the black fumes on an electrical malfunction inside the factory caused by insufficient current from the Provincial Electricity Authority. The factory needed to shut down and release the black smoke that remained in the manufacturing process into the air.

"What are the safety measures for local people living here that the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand has provided?" a representative of the local people asked. "How can we be sure that their measures to control accidents are safe enough?"

After exposure to the non-toxic but highly flammable petrochemical gas last Saturday, up to 63 people needed urgent medical treatment at a local hospital.

Last month, a chemical leakage also struck Laem Chabang Port in the neighbouring province of Chon Buri. The sodium persulfate - extremely irritating for the skin, eyes and respiratory system - sent dozens of people to the hospital. One woman later died in hospital.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva urged the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand to improve its safety measures for accidents.

In Khon Kaen, more than a hundred students of Thetsaban Wat Klang School were rushed to the hospital following vomiting, itchy eyes and dizziness after breathing in ammonia gas, which leaked from the Mittrapap Ice Factory located near the campus.

Tanasin Unsakol, a 32-year-old owner of the factory, said the leakage of ammonia gas was caused by the malfunction of a machine. He also promised to get rid of the stench within seven days.