To address long-term health concerns and improve the quality of life of industrial workers and communities living in industrial areas, a project has been set up to study the impacts on the environment of potentially toxic chemicals in petrochemical industries or gasoline service attendants with regarding to their chronic effect on the health of workers and on people living near industrial areas.
The research includes;
• Monitoring of pollutant levels in the workplace. Air and waste water samples as well as emission gases from selected factories involved in petrochemical and chemical industries will be collected and analyzed for levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) particularly benzene, styrene and 1,3-butadiene.
• Analysis of biomarkers of chemical exposure, biological effects and susceptibility as well as other metabolites of adverse effects on specific organ systems in the blood and urine of workers and population living in the industrial community.

    Interestingly, these studies revealed that there is an increase in genotoxic effects and health risk from occupational petrochemical exposure.    These results led to policy decisions to monitor and measure levels of these genotoxic compounds by the Pollution Control Department, the responsible regulatory agency in Thailand, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The results from the incense smoke study, was published in the journal of Chemical-Biological Interactions, and was selected as one of the top three science-related news items in Thailand in 2008. They also led to recommendations by the Department of Disease Control and the decision by many temples to reduce the use of incense sticks, or to use them in well-ventilated areas, in order to reduce exposure levels for the general public.