The whole city panicked when “More than 15,000 tonnes of cadmium waste” found hidden in a factory in Mueang Samut Sakhon District This created panic among the villagers who feared the impact on the environment. and immediate health initially The Pollution Control Department (Pollution Control Department) went to the area to collect soil samples outside the factory within a radius of 10 meters to 1 km. “No contamination was found,” except for the results of soil tests inside the factory, outside the smelter, atmospheric vapors, and water. Disposal: “Cadmium was found at 24,884 mg/kg” which is hazardous waste contaminated with higher than 100 mg/kg. This matter Penchom Saetang, director of the Niwet Restoration Foundation. Has followed up on important facts, made observations about the problems and shared them for society to know together and issued a statement that As for cadmium waste detected in Samut Sakhon Province, it was transferred from Tak Province from 2023 to April 2024. It is noted that this is likely due to the benefits of investing in the landfill project and already having a development plan. “But there was a problem beneath the floor with hazardous waste contaminated with cadmium,” so much so that an excavation plan had to be made. and move this out Part of this is probably related to benefits consistent with the policy to recycle waste and use it to achieve the greatest economic value. Because cadmium waste, although highly toxic, creates enormous value. Just smelting 1 ton of it costs over 100,000 baht. This is quite an incentive and also a response. “Mining from unused materials” is in line with the BCG policy, which is part of the circular economy that the “government” is pushing to promote the use of unused materials. or hazardous waste into recycling until the definition of the method has been changed from “Hazardous waste from industry” was turned into this waste material instead. Penchom Sae Tang brought “Used as a raw material in the foundry. or recycling business” and if we consider enforcing the law, there are loopholes to escape such as “EIA measures” that often do not have measures to follow up on actual implementation. Until it turned out that “EIA does not have serious punishment measures” and, moreover, approval to move the waste back was easy as well. “Policy of the Ministry of Industry (Ministry of Industry)” that has assigned officials to approve the transfer of industrial waste quickly. and more convenient in the past 3 years, while “Smelter plants” do not have to assess environmental and health impacts, including no standards for measuring pollution released from smelters even if they are a business. Or how much of an impact will the raw materials used for smelting have? “Some civil servants are afraid of the influence of the private sector,” he said, noting the policy given to the Department of Industrial Works to expedite the issuance of business licenses just by looking at the dimension of making it convenient and quick for the private sector. But it fails to consider that issuing permits may have serious environmental impacts. and communities near the factory are not considered “Does the area have the potential to support pollution?” causing this to come back to destroy the country’s environment as it appears. And especially in many matters “The bureaucracy does not enforce the law” for fear of being sued. The latest thing I heard was that The “private company” insists on doing the right thing with the matter that happened. Even preparing to file a lawsuit with the Ministry of Industry. As far as following the case “Foundation of cadmium residue in Samut Sakhon Province” according to information about a private company being allowed to mine. and transporting cadmium waste out since June 29, 2023, starting to move in the month July of the same year Moving part The last trip was on January 8, 2024, with a total of 13,832 tons of waste removed, which is equivalent to “The transport of hazardous waste has been in progress for more than 8 months” before the matter became public. Therefore, it is not possible that “Only the industry in Tak Province” knows and is involved in this matter. The problem is that “Private companies in Samut Sakhon Province” do not have the capacity to manage cadmium waste safely at all. causing it to be a further cause “Sending cadmium waste to other factories.” But if you consider that this private company has been a metal smelter for 30 years until now. There are 3 industrial business licenses, the first one received in 1994, the second one in 2014, and the latest one received in 2023 related to cadmium waste because it is a factory license type 60, operating a zinc-cadmium smelting business. As for the previous two licenses, they were only able to smelt aluminum. However, even though they “have a license to be a zinc and cadmium smelting factory,” information as of March 4, 2024 states, “This company has never applied for a license to be a factory in type 60.” Legally, Still cannot process the cadmium waste picked up from Tak Province. Therefore, the technological potential is still unclear because it can only be checked when “A request for permission to operate a business has been made,” therefore allowing the transport of cadmium waste to a destination that does not have potential This is the next issue that must be asked of government agencies. “How much cadmium waste is there? And where has it been scattered?” If we look back at the route of the transport process from Tak Province on January 8, 2024, totaling 13,832 tons, did all of the cadmium waste enter the factory in Samut Sakhon Province? Because the amount of waste found was only 2,400 tons, but it was discovered in “Khlong Kiew Subdistrict, Chonburi, 3,000-7,000 tons”. Later, it was found in another place in Bang Chuet Subdistrict 1. ,034 tons “This raises the question of why hazardous industrial waste can be transferred so easily…?” Even though the Ministry of Industry has a system regarding approvals and permits that is quite modern, concise, very precise, able to detect and control “With GPS system” confirms that all waste moving from source to destination must be reported. When that happens “In the case of the discovery in Chonburi Province of 3,000-7,000 tons” it shows that hazardous waste escapes the detection system. Has it become a huge loophole for wrongdoing? When it’s like this “The polluter must be responsible for all impacts” because ever since it appeared in the news, it was found that “cadmium waste in Samut Sakhon Province” still has become a problem of many missing wastes. and is highly dangerous Therefore, the owner of the waste that was once landfilled in the area ended up digging up tens of thousands of tons. and moved out according to information from “Those who are permitted to take waste and unused materials” outside the factory through the electronic system to Samut Sakhon Province, the permit period is 10 July 2023 – 9 January 2024, causing damage, resulting in “the owner of the waste Dangerous” must be held responsible accordingly. National Environmental Quality Promotion and Preservation Act 1992, as well as expenses for “agencies” to come and solve the problem. Follow up and check the health of people in the area as well. What happened reflects the “failure of the industrial waste management system.” According to information from 2017, the Department of Industrial Works had previously ordered provincial industries to be the approval agency through the electronic system for waste transport, “except for Tak Province.” In 2020, there was an order for industries in every province to issue permits to move hazardous waste from the area. For this reason, we called for follow-up on whether “What areas does cadmium waste spread to?” and announced measures to prevent its spread into the environment. “Living things will be exposed” and the entire process must be examined in terms of legality. Operating correctly according to academic principles and refraining or neglecting to perform that duty, especially checking for loopholes, errors, corruption. Proceed with punishment for offenders and the recovery of illegitimate benefits. Then find ways to improve the system. Related mechanisms and review and adjust the structure of industrial waste management throughout the system. Improve the pollution control system and preserve the environment,” Penchom said, emphasizing important principles in resolving this issue. “It must be based on the principle that the polluter is responsible” and must adhere to public safety as the highest priority. Click to read more in the “Scoop Page 1” column.
