Abstract
“Khao Phanom Pha” located in the area of Ban Khao Phanom Pha, Village No. 7, Nong Pra Sub-district, Wang Sai Poon District, Phichit Province, is a little hill with the height above the mean sea-level of 50-155 meters, covering the area of around 200 rais, considered as mixed deciduous forest and commercial forest with houses scattering thoroughly. Most local people earn their living by doing agricultural work and general wages during the dry season. The area of Wang Sai Poon District and Phichit Province are situated in the basin of Nan River with canals and branch rivers. In the rainy season, it is usually flooded, on contrarily, in the dry season some areas face the problem of water short and cannot be used for agricultural advantage.In 1999, gold ledges were surveyed and found. This caused lots of trespassers from both the province and the neighborhood into the area of Khao Phanom Pha to search for nuggets and this led to the problem of natural resources and environment destruction, injury and death due to landslide. Though the prohibition of trespass was announced, sneaking mining of nuggets still continues.Phichit Provincial Administrative Organization receives the concession to mine nuggets in the area of Khao Phanom Pha in order that the local people can have mutual benefits in mining. This can solve a degree of some problems. Anyway, it cannot respond the people since the amount of nuggets is incomparable with the investment. The sneaking mining of nuggets in private lands in front of the mine of Phichit Provincial Administrative Organization still continues. The nuggets are washed to remove dirt out along river, natural canals. Some people dig ponds and build concrete wells to separate, wash and select nuggets.From the study, it is found that the activities involving nuggets mining are at two places: the mine of Phichit Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO) and the private land (A famous temple). Both areas are immediate but the excavation in the latter is illegal, lacks of facilities, measures or regulations. Garbage, wasted, refuse occuring are not correctly executed and natural resources and environment do not receive any protection. This may cause problem in the future.The three effecting areas to health and environment are considered as follows: 1) serious effecting areas where the possibility of injury and death from landslide is acute and serious are the area of Khao Phanom Pha including its vicinity, gold mine of Phichit PAO, the area of Wang Sai Poon District where people separate, wash and select laterite for nuggets 2) intermediate effecting area namely all areas of Wang Sai Poon District where no activity of gold mining is found and 3) low effecting area namely all areas of Phichit Province excluding Wang Sai Poon District.The impact can be summerized as follows: the private area is excavated until it becomes a huge hole for dumping waste. Its size increases and it probably collapses and is harmful to excavators. It may also damage the hedge of the neighber and the dispute may arise. Excavated soil or stone are piled up in many places without covering or are contained in decayed sack. Separated, washed and selected soil or stone piled up throughout rice field, garden, yard and other areas cover the ground surface until the abundance of soil and landscape are destroyed. There are new careers such as separator, washer, soil porter, excavator, soil seller or queue seller, mill worker, workers who use mercury to select nuggets, nuggets buyer, vender etc. All expect to have higher income, to have enough money for their children’s education, to have additional income, to discharge debts, to have a free-lance profession without going to work for wages in Bangkok, to gain rent from gliding area, to sell land, to get free soil for filling up and to develop their land to be tourist attraction. The economics will be better. Tools and equipment used for selecting nuggets, grinder,driver, scooper are invented and modified. This indicates the history of nuggets searching.The way of life is changed from that of agricultural society to that of struggling for exercise from the morning till the evening. Each lives in each own way, show a clean pair of huts, has no time for others. Society is broken and family loses either life, injury or freedom. Criminal problem occurs. There are problems of drug addiction. People do not consider the right and the wrong not even their own health. In addition, we can find other changes in the community. The old location of Kha Phanom Pha Temple was bought and the temple was moved to another place. People are distant from temple and monk. Only a few people go to make merit at a temple except in funeral or when gamble is made. Cooperation becomes less. Soil and stone in some areas of the temple are grinded for nuggets. Some little students have to take their younger siblings to school since their parents go to work in the mine. Most children do not continue their higher education because they have to help their family in the mine. People or community rarely participate in policy directing. They are not interested in meetings which are left to be the duty of local administrative organization or official units.Mercury is a toxic heavy metal introduced for the process of gold separation from contaminants. It is weighed 40.09 grams a day and 1,202.7 grams a month. The real amount of mercury could be higher since it is used in every area of gold separation, wash and selection.People who separate,wash and select nuggets are often sick with symptoms of asthma, hypertension, headache, anxiety, insomnia, leg pain and most of them also develop a symptom of itchiness and skin disease. This is due to their long hours of work in water. They find and buy medicine to treat themselves. Most of them rarely have interest in taking care of their own health, overtax themselves and do not take enough rest. Also, they eat unuseful food such as, coffee, energy-added drink, and beverage with mixture of alcohol and liquors etc. Some of them work until they forget their appointment and also forget to take their children to receive vaccination or forget to have pregnancy check at public health center. A trend of health status is deteriorated or not favorable. The disease/symptom that are expected to become problems of the area in the future are those derived from food and water, accident/disease from occupation, disease/mental symptom. The environment changes in hardship and deteriorated direction. The plan to restructure natural resources and environment in the local level of every area also lacks clarity. No operational plan/project to support the problems are mentioned by Nongphra Subdivisional Administrative Organization, the district where is the source of nuggets and where the nuggets selection is mostly performed.The separation, wash and selection of nuggets from Kao Phanom Pha will be proceeded continuously with relations to an individual, enforceable law and a large numbers of administration and management systems. There are also other factors. The arising problems are complicated and have linkage to one another. Phichit PAO cannot entirely solve the problems due to a small quantity of nuggets,complicated rules and regulations, brokers and inefficient services provided, etc. in comparison with a private area, where lower investment is required and no regulation is determined.The way of life, thinking system, household/community economics, various kinds of behavior, health status of people, natural resource and environment administration and management system, pollution, public participation and others are affected in both good and bad sides. In regard to public health, some people died due to the landslide, some become crippled and some suffer illness from hard work with a lack of enough rest. There are several types of impact on health. That is to say 1) A direct impact, such as, accidents, arising illness. 2) An indirect impact, such as, impact on changes in the community or ecological system. 3) An accumulated impact, such as, that of chemical substance used in the process, the accumulation of tension and weariness from work and occupationFor the strength of government organizations and agents, there is a lack of major department or organization to solve the problem and the officials are not sufficient. Cooperation from public is also enough. Local administrative organizations is also short of clarity in solving the arising problems as well as short of cooperative plan with relevant agents in order to prevent and solve the problems, promote and improve every matter.The evaluation of impact on health is considered a procedure for building and promoting the occurrence of body of knowledge and measures in taking care and protecting one’s own health, the health of family and community health from factors or provisions that shall affect such health. Also, there is an adjustment of oneself to survive in the changeable society. The procedure for evaluating health impact should be promoted in terms of knowledge, public and community participation as well as individuals and relevant units in order to be as the same system. Due to the fact that the study has been done in a short time by methods of surveying, inquiry, interviewing and conversation and each of them has been done in a short period of time, it cannot provide enough knowledge, understanding and explanation of such matter to public. Moreover, it cannot cause the occurrence of public organization as a studying unit or operational units for evaluating the impact on health from activities, projects, policies or others.The study should determine the scope of academic content covering all details for the view of linkage in various factors, by determining which factors should be studied firstly or lastly. Also, it should cover the extent of area because it is involved in the levels of severity and relations or pursuant to the types of impact.Nevertheless, this studying still consists of several defects which may cause an incomplete study. The improvement and correction of this study should be as follows: the determination of low or basic index which is suitably applied to the explanation of impact on health, the condition of work and the quantity of concentrate mercury in environment and living creatures should be examined, the local administrative organization should issue regulations enforced in local or some private areas of nuggets excavation, any entry to execute any activities should be approved by the landlord and local officials, such as, Governor, District chief and Chairman of Subdivisional Administrative Organization should exercise their rights pursuant to the relating law in order to suppress any events that may have caused danger to lives and properties of public.Local administrative organization that has been affected should cooperate to issue studying approach and seek impact control measures, support and promote the observation of public health and environment quality. In terms of human resources, curriculum concerning the impact of nuggets separating, washing and selection activities and toxicity and danger of mercury should be determined. The monitoring and evaluation should cover all levels of affected areas. It is also required to arrange strategic plan and operational plan for the administration, prevention, improvement of natural resources and environment. The emphasis should be made in all sectors in order to create community, strength and evaluation system on health impact in the region should be promoted and other careers should be provided and planned in case that nuggets come to the end to reach the option and lead to the sustainable problem solving.
