Amended Factory Act Aggravates PM2.5 and Undermines Environmental Protection

EARTH THAILAND 31 January 2019

(BANGKOK) – On 31 January 2019, EARTH, EnLaw, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, and Center for Peace and Conflict Studies of Chulalongkorn University held the Press Conference on “The NCPO’s Draft Amendment of the Factory Act: The Hidden Agenda – Aggravating PM 2.5 Problem?” in Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. The forum criticized the draft amendment of Thailand’s Factory Act that will aggravate the fine dust particles, PM2.5 problem and undermine the environmental protection.

The Press Conference on “The Draft Amendement of the FACTORY ACT By NCPO”: The Hidden Agenda – Escalating the PM 2.5?

31 January 2019, 10-12 am
LIVE from Chulalongkorn University via https://web.facebook.com/EarthEcoAlert

Organised by: EARTH, EnLAW, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies of Chulalongkorn University

The Amendment of Factory Act Undermines Environmental Protection: CSO Group Claims

BANGKOK – Parliament House of Thailand (23 JAN 2019)

EARTH and EnLaw, together with local people from Rayong and Phetburi Provinces petitioned against the new amendment of the Factory Act, pointed out that the amendment undermines the environmental protection and lack of public participation.

The petition letter endorsed by 67 civil society organisations and 34 individuals, urging to immediately withdraw from the parliament approval and demanding the amendment to be implemented under the elected government.

Faulty ‘waste recycling' harms Thai communities, expert presented

Arnika 27 September 2018

KRAKÓW – The Thai province of Samut Sakhon is highly contaminated with hazardous chemicals. At the international conference on halogenated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Poland, an expert on toxic pollution, Akarapon Teebthaisong, from Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH) presented a recent study showing one of the highest levels on record. The health-threatening dioxins contaminate the food chain of the local inhabitants.

Thailand to ban electronic waste imports after China move

Al Jazeera English 25 September 2018 | Wayne Hay

Thailand will stop importing most types of electronic waste within six months.

So far this year, it has seen an influx of waste arriving in the country, after China enforced a similar ban.

Waste Crisis in Thailand - the world's new dumping ground

Thai PBS, Broadcasted on 07 September 2018 | Backpack Journalist

TV Report (In Thai) on Thailand & E-Waste Crisis

Thailand: The new dumping ground for e-waste?

Sky News 01 July 2018

Authorities in Thailand say their country is becoming the new dumping ground for the world's illegal electronic waste.

"It could be the cause of different kinds of cancer diseases. And the situation like here, the chemical smell could cause or damage to respiratory system of the human", said Penchom Saetang, Director of EARTH.

Letter: Plea for the Thai government to solve the electronic and hazardous waste import crisis

EARTH 21 June 2018

Thailand has become the recipient of electronic, plastic and hazardous waste from dozens of developed and developing countries. On May 22, 2018, Deputy National Police Commissioner General Wirachai Songmetta and officials from relevant agencies uncovered electronic waste recycling operations in Plaeng Yao district, Chachoengsao province, eastern Thailand. Since then, more than ten companies have been exposed for violations related to the import of electronic and plastic waste into Thailand.

Making garbage count

The Nation 08 June 2018 | PRATCH RUJIVANAROM

New waste tech firms offer better ways to convert them into fuel but critics say prevention and segregation must come first.

NEW ADVANCED waste-to-energy techniques are being touted to the Thai business sector and related government agencies as being more efficient and less environmentally damaging choices to manage the country’s waste.

Environmental Advocates Buck Trash Incineration, Back Waste Prevention

PRESS RELEASE 05 June 2018 | IPEN

INCINERATION IS NOT THE SOLUTION

Puerto Princesa City - At a press conference coinciding with the observance of the World Environment Day, environmental advocates from Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines made a strong case against waste-to-energy (WtE) incineration touted as a solution to the garbage crisis.

Organized by the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), EcoWaste Coalition and IPEN*, the press event shed light on the pitfalls of incinerating discards from an environmental, health and socio-economic standpoint.

For healthier living in Thailand. Victims of industrial pollution defend their rights

PRESS RELEASE | 05 JUNE 2018

BANGKOK - The "Citizen Science Project" successfully enhanced the public participation for environmental and health protection in Thailand. Gold mining, contaminated water or inadequate worker rights shall no longer be serious issues in the sites targeted by the program. Local communities have achieved significant changes also thanks to the help of non-governmental organizations EARTH and Arnika, thus celebrating World Environment Day.

News Release - Thailand: Dismiss Charges Against Seven Women Environmental Defenders

BANGKOK 18 April 2018

Verdict expected tomorrow in peaceful assembly case

Thailand authorities should drop charges against seven environmental defenders involved in a peaceful protest in Loei Province, Fortify Rights said today. The Loei Provincial Court will issue a decision on the case tomorrow, April 19.

Contaminated eggs found in areas near factories

Bangkok Post 26 November 2017

The government has been urged to make a serious effort to combat persistent organic pollutants (POPS), toxic byproducts from industrial processes, from damaging the environment after a recent study found unsafe levels of POPs in eggs collected near factories in Samut Sakhon and Khon Kaen.

Though the levels of POPs were not alarming, levels of contamination in eggs from free-range chickens were "rather high", suggesting some types of POPs are entering the food chain, according to the study, unveiled by environmental groups Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (EARTH) and the Czech-based Arnika Association.

Two New Studies Revealed POPs Pollution across Thailand

PRESS RELEASE 23 November 2017 | Arnika and EARTH

Investigations proved toxic contamination in pollution hotspots in Thailand. It is caused, in particular, by dioxins and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs). High concentrations of POPs were measured in soil samples, but most frequent by far they were found in free range chicken eggs.

The recently released studies 'POPs at four Thai pollutions hot-spots: Map Ta Phut, Samut Sakhon, Tha Tum and Khon Kean' and 'Chicken eggs as an indicator of POPs pollution in Thailand' were conducted by two-nongovernmental organisations, EARTH and Arnika as part of the 'Increasing Transparency in..

The Thai Fish Contain Toxic Mercury

18 September 2016 | EARTH and ARNIKA

BANGKOK/PRAGUE - Everyday food of hundreds of thousands people living in Thailand is contaminated with mercury in various fish species, study shows (1). This common dish ingredient in the Asian country often contains twice the amount of this toxic heavy metal than limits allow. The highest contamination was found in fish from the industrial areas, however, further located and less exposed regions are also vastly affected, even the national parks. “The medical and economic consequences of food source contamination and fishermen livelihood should be considered,” director of Thai non-governmental organization EARTH Penchom Saetang suggests.

EARTH surveys the polluted waterways after receiving complaint

23 August 2017 | EARTH Editorial Team

On 22-23 August 2017, a team from Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH) visited the mangrove areas in Ranong province, southern Thailand, to collect the environmental samples after receiving the complaint from Ms Sureeporn Kulmaliwan, a local resident who lives 400 meters from a private company’s waste dumping site.

World’s First Health & Environment Global Treaty on Mercury Becomes International Law Wednesday, August 16th

IPEN Press Release 15 August 2017

(Göteborg, Sweden) The Minamata Convention, the world’s first legally binding global agreement to reduce mercury pollution, becomes International law on Wednesday, August 16th, 2017. Environmental health leaders from IPEN (a global network of NGOs in over 100 countries combatting toxic pollutants) celebrate the historical global health and environmental treaty and call on world governments to take the next steps to ensure “no more Minamatas.”

CITIZEN SCIENCE WORKSHOP

21-23 July 2017 at TOT Academy, Thailand

Co-organized by EARTH (Ecological Alert and Recovery - Thailand), Arnika Association.

Sponsored by European Union and Thai Health Foundation Promotion.

CITIZEN SCIENCE Workshop #1 participated by nearly 100 local people.

'EARTH' flags heavy metal levels

Bangkok Post 30 June 2017  

Environmental activists have called on the government to urgently come up with measures to curb pollution after eight provinces were found to have levels of accumulated heavy metals that exceed safety limits.

The petition was lodged at the Prime Minister's Operation Centre yesterday by 30 representatives from the Ecological Alert and Recovery-Thailand (EARTH) organisation as well as people representing six provinces.

Public rejects NCPO plan for Loei mine

The Nation 30 June 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom

Academics and local people living near a gold mine in Loei say the current law and National Council for Peace and Order’s (NCPO) order will not facilitate the community’s recovery plan.

A seminar on the Loei gold mine was held by Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (EARTH) and Kumamoto Gakuen University, from Japan at Kasetsart University yesterday. 

Speakers, including experts, NGOs, and local people, all said that the land recovery plan must include people’s livelihood and efforts to return harmony in the community.

Surveys find dangerously high levels of arsenic contamination at Loei mine

The Nation 29 June 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom

BANGKOK: -- Recent surveys performed by the environmental foundation Ecological Alert and Recovery-Thailand (EARTH) have found severe contamination of heavy metals such as arsenic and cadmium near a gold mine in Loei, with the pollution blamed for causing local residents to become sick.

The latest data on heavy metal contamination and local people’s health were disclosed at an academic seminar about the Loei gold mine held by EARTH and Kumamoto Gakuen University from Japan at Kasetsart University on Thursday.

Thai Local Communities Want Their Say in Fighting Pollution

VOA 15 June 2017 | Ron Corben

BANGKOK — Thailand’s industrial development faces fresh calls for greater local community participation in addressing the challenges of environmental pollution, especially as reports point to an escalation in the production of hazardous industrial pollution.

Govt failing on environment, efforts to curb pollution: report

The Nation 06 June 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom

THAILAND: POLLUTION PROBLEMS in Thailand are getting worse, the Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (EARTH) foundation has concluded, as there are no assurances that new industrialisation plans will not generate further pollution while existing problems have not been resolved.

On World Environmental Day yesterday, EARTH released a report on pollution in Thailand in 2015 and 2016, exposing serious problems at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong, unresolved issues at gold mines in Phichit and Loei, and ongoing environmental conflicts related to waste management and coal-fired power plant projects.

Fast-tracked EEC poses ‘risks environment, social unrest’

The Nation 29 May 2017 | PRATCH RUJIVANAROM

Article 44 invoked to rush EIA process, but academics warn special rules will violate people’s rights in affected area.

ACADEMICS and experts have warned of worsening environmental problems, unrest among affected people and violations of the Constitution after the junta passed an order using the sweeping Article 44 of Interim Charter to shorten the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for the new Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

Toxic Ash Poisons Our Food Chain

Arnika, National Toxics Network and IPEN, Toxic Ash Poisons Our Food Chain, April 2017

This extensive new report was prepared to address a major source of POPs contamination of the environment that is often overlooked, underestimated or incorrectly classified in risk assessments, exposure scenarios and regulatory controls on waste. Ash and other residues from waste incineration contain dioxins, furans (PCDD/Fs) and a range of other highly toxic POPs at levels which are a threat to human health and the environment. Current management practices and regulatory threshold levels for POPs that contaminate incinerator residues are not preventing releases of POPs into agricultural settings, the food chain and the broader environment.

Group demands public involvement in Eastern Corridor

The Nation 27 April 2017 | PRATCH RUJIVANAROM

RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS in the Eastern Region have asked the government to respect their rights, and claim that the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) development was pushing forward without public involvement.

Academics and rights campaigners yesterday demanded that the government disclose the complete EEC Bill, conduct a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), and protect people and community rights from the EEC development.

Call for Thailand’s ‘unacceptable’ water pollution problem to be tackled

The Nation 22 March 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom

Wastewater is still a prominent environmental problem for Thailand, with the pollution watchdog cautioning that Thai laws are still too weak to control and reduce water pollution.

The warning comes as the regulator, the Industrial Works Department, insisted it has done its best to control and monitor wastewater discharge.

The UN’s World Water Day was marked on Wednesday under this year’s theme of “water and wastewater”.