CHONBURI – On April 6, Chonburi Provincial Police officers and police officers of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division discovered and seized large bags containing cadmium waste from a factory in Samut Sakhon in the factory area’s warehouse in Khlong Kiew Subdistrict, Ban Bueng District, Chonburi province. There were 4,200 bags, with an estimated total weight of 6,720 tons.
Later, Mr. Liu Lu, a 38-year-old Chinese warehouse owner, was detained and questioned at the Khlong Kiew Police Station. Mr. Liu confirmed that he purchased all of Mr. Zhang’s cadmium waste and is waiting for distribution.
The cadmium waste was firstly discovered on April 3 inside 100 bags at a warehouse in Samut Sakhon Province and believed to have been illegally transported 13,450 tonnes from Tak province which border on Myanmar. The area has been declared a disaster zone.
Samut Sakhon governor Phon Damtham on April 4 ordered a factory to send back within 7 days a large quantity of the waste back to Tak province and properly dispose of it in accordance with established procedures. Initially, Samut Sakhon Province has yet to find anyone harmed.
However, according to the Thai PR Government, this situation has raised serious environmental and health concerns, with the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) pointing out the dangers posed by the cadmium waste. Stored in large bags susceptible to producing dust, this form of waste increases the risk of soil and water contamination.
Health and environmental experts have warned of the severe risks associated with cadmium exposure, which can potentially lead to cancer through the consumption of contaminated food or air. As a precautionary measure, the Samut Sakhon governor has imposed a 90-day access ban on the factory and its surrounding area.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Friday ordered Minister of Industry Pimpatra Wichaikul to personally inspect the warehouse in Samut Sakhon to speedily oversee the handling of cadmium waste there.
“I have instructed the Minister of Industry to ensure measures controlling dangerous substance so it won’t happen again,” the PM said.
Minister of Industry Pimpatra announced on Saturday cadmium waste that were discovered in Samut Sakhon Province were just total 2,440 tons but 10,000 tons remained unaccounted for. Following that, the Department of Industrial Works’ speeded-up searching the waste until they found them in Chonburi Province.
Cadmium (Cd) is a soft, pliable, blue-white metal found in zinc ores and, to a lesser extent, in greenockite. Nowadays, zinc byproducts and wasted nickel-cadmium batteries provide the majority of the cadmium production.
Rain or water exposure will cause cadmium waste to seep into the earth and transform into a carcinogen, a substance known to cause cancer. People who ate or inhaled contaminated food would suffer long-term health consequences.
____
Related article:
Samut Sakhon governor ordered a factory to send back cadmium waste back to Tak province
