DSI wants Map Ta Phut inquiry

       The Department of Special Investigation is seeking to bring the environmental problems in Map Ta Phut within the scope of its juridical responsibility.
       The department will make a proposal to a meeting of the Special Case Commission next month, department chief Thawee Sodsong said yesterday.
       The commission, set up by this government, decides which criminal cases should be treated as special cases, and instructs the department to carry out investigations.
       Pol Col Thawee said the prolonged pollution problems at the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong might stem from a lack of enforcement of regulations.
       The industrial area had been allowed to expand to such an extent that it had caused problems for Rayong's city plan,he said. The DSI also found the environmental problems at Map Ta Phut remained very serious, Pol Col Thawee said.
       The DSI started looking into Map Ta Phut's environmental problems following complaints from local residents. A group of residents also petitioned Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva about their ordeal.
       Pol Col Thawee yesterday invited representatives of relevant agencies and local residents to a meeting to discuss ways to solve Map Ta Phut's environmental problems.
       Noi Jaitang, a residents' representative,said the expansion of industrial factories at Map Ta Phut had affected local people's health and opportunities to earn a living.
       Mr Noi said toxic contaminants in the water and soil had caused members of his family to develop cancer. His mother, his mother-in-law and his wife had died of lung cancer and eye cancer while he was suffering from respiratory disease.
       Fish farm production in his neighbourhood had also suffered a decline,Mr Noi said.
       Renu Wechratpimol, a biology lecturer at Silpakorn University, quoting the findings from a research study on genetic changes among the people and animals at Map Ta Phut, said high levels of abnormal genetic changes and toxic contamination had been found in samples of frogs, crabs, fish and clams collected from Map Ta Phut.
       The findings clearly show the pollution at Map Ta Phut and nearby areas had reached a dangerous level, she said.