No hazardous air pollution detected after petrochemical plant blast in Thai East

BANGKOK, June 10 (TNA) - The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says that hazardous substances did not breach their safety levels, after Monday's explosion at a petrochemical plant in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, located in Rayong Province in the Thai East. Wichien Jungrungruang, Director-General of the ministry's Pollution Control Department, told journalists of the update, insisting that staffs of his department have already checked the levels of several air pollutants, especially volatile organic compounds like benzene, styrene and sulfur dioxide, at the factory and surrounding communities and did not find any substance breaching their safety levels. Wichien revealed that, to ensure safety, local natural resources and environment officials would carefully measure pollutants around the factory again on Tuesday. Sukrit Surabotsopon, President of IRPC Public Company Limited, the owner of the petrochemical plant, told reporters that a hydrocarbon leakage caused the explosion at his factory's Vacuum Gas Oil Hydro Treating Unit (VGOHT) at 6pm on June 9 and the fire was completely put out at 8:20pm with no casualties. According to the IRPC president, staffs of his company are checking air quality in the vicinity, while most local refineries and petrochemical plants have continued to operate, with only the burnt facility and adjacent ones having been closed temporarily. (TNA)