BANGKOK – The Department of Primary Industries and Mines (DPIM) has uncovered the source of 13,400 tons of “cadmium waste”, a carcinogenic substance from zinc mining, found in warehouses of at least three factories, two in Samut Sakhon province and one in Chonburi province. They came from the Padaeng Industry mine in Tak province.
Adisak Wasinon, director general of the Ministry of Primary Industries and Mines, told Prachachat Business that cadmium waste is a type of heavy metal produced during the mining of zinc, lead and copper. In the past, there was a zinc mining and metal processing plant of “Padaeng Industry Public Company Limited” in Tak Province. And of course the waste comes from this mine.
Padaeng Industry ceased mining operations in 2017 and changed its name to “Bound and Beyond Public Company Limited” in 2021. The company has now turned to the hotel business, while the zinc business is fully recycled.
According to 360 Industry Research, the cadmium market is expected to grow significantly during 2024–2032, owing to various business drivers like the increasing demand for NiCd batteries, pigments, coatings, and others that are also responsible for driving the market’s growth.
Industry Minister Pimpattra Wichakul said the investigation found that J&B Metal Co Ltd, the company in Samut Sakhon province where officials first found cadmium waste, smelted aluminum ingots and pellets from aluminum scrap and dross. The company stockpiled 2,440 tons of cadmium and zinc waste.
Later, on April 6, officials found large bags of cadmium scattered in a warehouse in Khlong Kiew sub-district, Ban Bung district, Chonburi province. They all came from the factory in Samut Sakhon and weighed about 6,720 tons. On the same day, another 1,034 tons were found in the warehouse of Sin Hong Cheng Inter Tech (2008) Co. Ltd., owned by Chinese national Zhang Chen Mao.
Officials have confiscated all waste and are preparing to urgently send it back to Tak Province within 7 days and bury it within 15 days to comply with environmental protection and mitigation measures and environmental quality monitoring measures.
The investigation against Mr. Zhang revealed that he had purchased 5,000 tons of cadmium waste from J&B Metal Co, Ltd. in Samut Sakhon province for 8,250 baht per ton, a total amount of 41 million baht. He planned to resell them to another Chinese man named Mr. Liu. Mr. Zhang claimed that he only received a small commission for the sale.
The officers checked Mr. Zhang’s passport and found that his residence permit for the Kingdom had expired on February 26, 2019, more than five years ago. He was therefore charged with unlawful possession of a dangerous substance under the Dangerous Substances Act and residence of a foreigner in the Kingdom after the permit expired.
The defendant confessed to the charges and was brought before the Investigating Officer of Branch 5, Special Investigations Division for prosecution. A motion for detention will be presented to the court on Tuesday, April 9.
A background check on Mr. Zhang revealed that he has been living in Thailand since 1991. On May 29, 2013, he was charged with unlawful possession of a dangerous substance, namely lead sludge. The court later sentenced him to one year in prison and a fine of 120,000 baht. The defendant confessed to the charges and the court reduced the sentence to 6 months in prison and a fine of 60,000 baht with a 2-year suspended sentence.
Officials are in the process of tracking down the broker who introduced Mr. Zhang to J&B to locate other investors who may have purchased cadmium scrap from J&B in order to trace and fully recover it.
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