Pollution Management in Wood Manufacturing Community in Don Mun Sub-district, Sung Men District, Phrae Province

Abstract

This research aimed to study 1) the situation of general problems and impacts of wood manufacturing process, 2) the pollution management of the entrepreneurs, and 3) the procedures of pollution management. This research used both quantitative and qualitative data. The research instruments were questionnaires, interviews, observations and the subjects were focus groups selected from 155 operators, 335 people in community and 30 government personnel. This study examined the pollution management of the Don Mun wood products cooperative  since it was established in 1998. The results found that most factories of wood manufacturing process distributed around community and also lacked the systematic approach to manage pollution in emission standard. Moreover, all steps of process were polluted air, noise, odor and waste materials pollutions. This situation caused the environmental impacts on community. The perspective impact levels were on a medium level. The pollution from dust contamination in the atmosphere was the highest, the second highest contamination was noise, odor, waste materials, and smog pollutions, respectively. The pollution management by entrepreneurs showed that the pollution management was generally limited by production cost. Additionally, the pollution management from wood manufacturing process required cooperation from entrepreneurs, community and government personnel by considering appropriate processes. Because the pollution had specific characteristic so the protocols of management were varied. The best management was to control and prevent the cause or source of pollution. The receiver who was most at risk from direct pollution should have necessary safety equipments to protect themselves. Finally, the pollution management should use the integrated methods and optimal performance for the highest efficiency.