Environment activists are preparing a bill which will ask industrial operators to reveal to the public information about pollutants created by their businesses.
Penchome Sae-Tang, Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (Earth) director, said the information included the quantity of hazardous chemicals released into the environment during manufacturing.
It also includes the quantity and types of chemicals used.
She said the bill was now being drafted by Earth, Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for the Wants (EnLAW) and lawyers.
The bill would include provisions subjecting industrial manufacturers to fines and prison terms if they refuse to provide details about pollutants discharged by their factories, or submit incomplete or false information.
It would also require the manufacturers to provide the public with easy access to such information.
Ms Penchome said no manufacturers based in Thailand provide pollution information to the public.
Manufacturers are required by law to provide pollution information to authorities through environmental impact assessment reports, but this information includes only an average level of toxic substance concentration during specific periods of time.
Officials and industrial manufacturers are the only ones who can gain access to this information, Ms Penchome said.
Manufacturers are not required to provide details on the quantity of materials released into the environment.
Such materials include hazardous waste produced in the manufacturing process, toxic gas emitted into the air and chemical substances released into the ground and water sources.
Ms Penchome said public hearings on the bill were expected to be held this year. The bill is expected to be completed by next year, she said.
Ms Penchome said she expects at least 10,000 supporters' signatures would accompany the bill when it is submitted to the parliament president. "We believe the bill will be passed. It's just a matter of how much time it will take," she said.
Ms Penchome said environmentalists expected the bill to be opposed by officials and businesses because the bill, if passed into law, would subject officials and manufacturers to closer public scrutiny.
She anticipated industrial business operators would be reluctant to provide information on the pollution created by their activities. "We want industrial business operators to understand the bill is not designed to go against industrialisation. On the contrary, it will make industrial businesses progress with safety, sustainability and efficiency," she said.
She said similar acts had been enforced in 32 developed countries and more public pollution data helps businesses prepare for industrial disasters.