The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) yesterday discussed means of safely stocking industrial chemicals, with the hope of reducing environmental pollution in the region.

At a conference on sustainable manufacturing practices, Sok Narin, the head of UNIDO in Cambodia, said growing awareness of environmental benefits by factory owners might lessen environmental pollution and contribute positively to workers’ health.

“Business with social and environmental responsibility is the approach for sustainable development,” he said.

 “Good management of chemical substances can ensure the health of employees to make them work efficiently, which eventually strengthens an enterprise’s productivity and competitiveness.”

UNIDO says the level of environmental pollution around the Mekong River has been increasing every year because of the growing number of factories in the area.

By Pitou, director of the department of industrial techniques at MIME, said many factories improperly stored chemicals.  

Industry, Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem said the import of chemical substances to support industrial growth had been increasing every year in Cambodia.

He said some factories imported more than 100 chemical substances, totalling more than 1,000 tonnes a year.

“It is useful, but it is somehow dangerous,” Sem said.