Industry Ministry takes charge of moving cadmium waste back to pit in Tak
The Industry Ministry has prepared a stringent plan as well as a backup plan to transport smuggled cadmium waste back safely to its original disposal pit in Tak province, Minister Pimphattra Wichaikul said on Thursday.
Earlier this month, officials learned that 13,000 tonnes of cadmium waste had been moved from the burial ground in Tak’s Muang district, belonging to Bound and Beyond Plc, which ceased operating decades ago.
Officials tracked it to a factory in Samut Sakhon province and found 2,500 tonnes of cadmium there. The factory had reportedly sold the rest of the hazardous waste to a factory in Chonburi province and a second factory in Samut Sakhon.
Pimphattra said as a central agency tasked by the prime minister to handle proper disposal of the smuggled cadmium waste, the ministry had set up a committee to supervise the transport of the waste back to Tak to ensure people’s safety and minimise environmental impact.
Breathing high levels of cadmium damages the lungs and can cause death. Cadmium can also be carcinogenic if it seeps into water sources.
The minister said that over the past week, the committee had held several meetings with representatives of Bound and Beyond and had finalised a plan to transport safely the cadmium waste. Ministry officials had also visited the burial site in Tak and checked its readiness based on industrial standards.
Pimphattra said the transport of cadmium waste was scheduled for May 7, and the operation would be supervised closely by ministry permanent secretary Nattapol Rangsitpol.
She also tasked her adviser, Danainat Chockamnuay, to preside over a separate committee to conduct an in-depth investigation into the incident. This ad hoc committee will comprise representatives from the Department of Special Investigation, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, police’s Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division, and Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment.
