Petroleum pollution in the Gulf of Thailand: A historical review

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Proceedings of the Horiba International Conference "New Direction of Ocean Research in the Western Pacific" : Past, Present and Future of UNESCO/IOC/WESTPAC Activity for 50 years and the JSPS Project "Coastal Marine Science"Section II: Historical Review of Coastal Research in Southeast AsiaWith its rapid economic growth in the past three decades, Thailand is encountering serious environmental problems. Among these, the issue of environmental pollution caused by oil has become increasingly important because their usage in large quantities have resulted in negative impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems including health effects on wildlife. Major oil spills are of public concern and usually under control of pollution authorities. However, small oil spills occurring in offshore areas due to ship operations are usually uncontrolled, unaccounted in oil spill balance and have smaller public concern. A review is presented of the database generated to the present concerning petroleum hydrocarbons in waters and sediments of the Gulf of Thailand. Historical changes in the extent of contamination are discussed and assessed by comparison to data produced elsewhere. In general, the level of petroleum contamination in the Thai waters is low to medium level compared with more urbanized and industrialized countries. Nevertheless, continuous monitoring and investigations on the level of petroleum contamination are still needed in Thailand.
2012-03-20