title: Safety and health in the petrochemical industry in Map Ta Phut, Thailand.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Petrochemical industries are known as sources of many toxic chemicals. Safety and health risks of the petrochemical workers employed at Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, located in Rayong, Thailand, are potentially high.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research materials consisted of documents emanating from statutory reports on safety in working with toxic chemicals and the results of interviews by questionnaire among 457 petrochemical workers regarding occupational health and safety issues.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most of workers who were working with toxic chemicals had knowledge and awareness of health risks and chemical hazards at work. We found that safe behavior at work through read the safety information among operational workers less than non-operational workers around 10%. Most of workers had perceived occupational health and safety management in their companies. Some companies revealed that they had not been performing biological monitoring of blood or urine for their health examination reports and that workplace exposure monitoring had not correlated well with health examination of workers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggested that occupational health and safety for petrochemical industries requires standards and guidelines for workers' health surveillance aimed at protection of workers.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Public Health, Thammasat University, Rangsit Campus, Thailand. uma_langkulsen@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Uma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Langkulsen
authors.forename: Nuntavarn
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vichit-Vadakan
authors.forename: Sasitorn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taptagaporn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D002617:Chemical Industry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D009623:Noise, Occupational; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016272:Occupational Health; D012449:Safety; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational