Page 22 - รายงานการปฏิบัติตามกติการะหว่างประเทศว่าด้วยสิทธิทางเศรษฐกิจ สังคม และวัฒนธรรม

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the Fifth National Economic and Development Plan (1982-1986).

Three years after its establishment, the government modified the

town plan which resulted in the expansion of the industrial and

warehouse zones to include the areas around the Estate. In 1994,

people living near the Estate started to experience problems in the

air and water quality as well as some illnesses which they believed

were caused by the air and water pollution and hazardous wastes

released by industrial plants in Map Ta Phut Estate into the local

environment. An incident which clearly shows the seriousness of the

problem is a case where an average of about 40 teachers and students

of a school in Map Ta Phut area were reported to suffer badly from

headache believed to be caused by acrid smell in a day. They also

experienced other symptoms including sore throat, irritation in the nose,

chest pain, suffocation and rash. The situation was so bad that the

school had to be moved to a new location. Apart from health

problems, people in some communities were faced with water

shortage as limited water supply had to be apportioned for industrial

uses.

6. In 2005, the Pollution Control Department conducted a survey of

volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the Map Ta Phut Estate and

found that the concentration of as many as 19 carcinogenic substances

exceeded the level of air quality monitoring of the US Environmental

Protection Agency. The survey also found that the concentration of

heavy metals with carcinogenic effects in the soil and water was