The Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate is a large

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

in the town of

Map Ta Phut Map Ta Phut ( th, มาบตาพุด, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Rayong Province, Thailand. It is the site of Thailand's largest industrial park, the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate. Provincial offices are in Map Ta Phut. Geography ...

Rayong Province Rayong province ( th, ระยอง, ) is one of seventy-six Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') lies in Eastern Thailand#Administrative divisions, eastern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Chonburi province, ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Part of Thailand's eastern seaboard economic region, it is the country's largest industrial estate and the world's eighth-largest petrochemical industrial hub. It was opened in 1990 and is managed by the

Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (I-EA-T), ( th, การนิคมอุตสาหกรรมแห่งประเทศไทย) is a state enterprise under control of the Ministry of Industry of Thailand. It was established ...

, a state enterprise under the

Ministry of Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

. Map Ta Phut houses five industrial estates, one deep-sea port, and 151 factories, including petrochemical plants, oil refineries, coal-fired power stations, and iron and steel facilities. The zone occupies 166 km². The area contains around 30 agricultural and residential communities with more than 49,000 residents.

Environmental issues

According to the

World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, fore ...

, "Map Ta Phut is one of the Thailand's most toxic hot spots with a...history of air and water pollution, industrial accidents, illegal hazardous waste dumping, and pollution-related health impacts including cancer and birth deformities." In 2007, 11 communities in the Map Ta Phut zone filed a lawsuit against the National Environmental Board (NEB), alleging that the board had improperly failed to designate Map Ta Phut and its vicinity a pollution control zone. Another lawsuit was filed against the NEB and eight other Thai ministries by community organizations. Managed by the Eastern People's Network, the lawsuit focused on the failure to follow prescribed procedures, including conducting environmental and health impact assessments, before issuing licenses to 76 new industrial projects. In 2009, the Supreme Administrative Court suspended the development of 65 projects at the estate, worth an estimated US$8 billion, due to inadequate health impact assessments. It allowed 11 projects to proceed. Ultimately, 74 of the 76 contested projects were allowed to continue. * On 6 March 2000 a

phosgene Phosgene is the organic chemical compound with the formula COCl2. It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. Phosgene is a valued and important industrial building block, espe ...

gas leak at the Thai

Polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...

s plastic factory killed two workers and injured many locals. * A 2012 explosion at the factory of a Bangkok Synthetics subsidiary killed 11 and injured another 129 people. * A day following the Bangkok Synthetics explosion, a chemical leak occurred at the Aditya Birla Chemicals plant, leading to the hospitalization of 138 people.

References

External links

Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate website
Geography of Rayong province Industrial parks in Thailand Environmental issues in Thailand Infrastructure completed in 1990 1990 establishments in Thailand {{Thailand-stub