Toxic waste dump in Prachin Buri has residents falling sick
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Local leaders and some villagers are complaining about the illegal dumping of toxic waste in their hometown, after an unspecified amount of waste was allegedly dumped last month on a plot of land owned by the mother of a councillor for the Tambon Pop Phra
Locals have complained that the waste smells bad and is causing nasal irritation.
“When it rains, I can see smoke coming from the pile of toxic waste or chemicals and rising into the air as high as the tops of the trees,” said Ampai Changrod, 54, who lives within 300 metres of the pile of toxic waste.
Her neighbour, Amporn Pikulkaeo, said the smell from the waste was very much like that of weed killer.
“It causes dizziness. I am worried that it will leak into our water sources,” she said.
Not many locals dared to speak up. Several residents were apparently worried about their safety amid reports that the toxic waste came from Chachoengsao’s Phanom Sarakham district, where Prajob Naowa-opas, a village head, was shot dead on February 25 during his attempts to stop the illegal dumping of toxic waste.
Kruawan Rokaphai, a village head in Prachin Buri’s Muang district, yesterday confirmed that police in Chachoengsao’s Phanom Sarakham district tipped her off about a truck carrying toxic waste.
“I was told the truck had left their area and moved into Prachin Buri. So, we are on alert,” she said.
Kruawan said that on April 26 she received a report that an 18-wheel truck had made seven trips to Moo 18 in Tambon Pop Phra and dumped toxic waste there.
Kruawan and two other village heads inspected the land plot from the outside before alerting Tambon Pop Phra Administrative Organisation’s chairman Panya Bamrungwat and a senior official from the Muang Prachin Buri District Office.
“We talked to the owner of the land plot and she agreed to sign an agreement saying that she would remove the toxic waste within seven days and not allow any further toxic waste dumping in her area. However, the seven-day deadline has passed and the toxic waste is still here,” Kruawan said.
She and some villagers are now trying to bring media attention to their plight.
Panya said his local administrative body would not allow the dumping of toxic waste and chemicals in the area because it would hurt the local environment.
“If the land owner still does nothing to remove the toxic waste, we will take legal action under current environmental laws,” he said.
