The Industry Ministry has suspended the transport of toxic cadmium waste indefinitely after a safety breach during the unloading of a truck at a depot in Tak province on Tuesday.
A tractor crane's chain broke as it was moving a huge bag of cadmium tailings from a big truck to a smaller vehicle at the warehouse of Bound & Beyond Plc in Muang district in Tak province. There were no injuries reported.
Upon hearing about it, industry permanent secretary Nattapol Rangsitpol ordered the immediate suspension of all cadmium waste shipments.
Mr Nattapol said officials and company representatives would draw up changes to ensure better safety for workers and nearby residents.
Under the original plan, the bags of cadmium waste were to be lifted from trucks after they arrived at the warehouse from Bangkok and Samut Sakhon province and loaded onto smaller vehicles for handling and temporary storage in the building.
The waste would later be buried at a permanent dump site owned by the company in the province, after it was brought up to standard.
Mr Nattapol did not say when transport of the cadmium waste would resume.
On Monday night, the first convoy of 10 trucks containing 254 tonnes of cadmium tailings in big bags left Bangkok and Samut Sakhon for Tak. They arrived at the Bound & Beyond warehouse on Tuesday morning.
About 13,000 tonnes of cadmium waste have been found, at several factories in the capital and in Samut Sakhon and Chon Buri provinces.
The transport plan requires all bags to be double-wrapped to prevent the waste leaking out. The trucks are also covered in canvas and the bags securely roped in place.
The movement of the waste to Tak was due to finish on June 17, but now faces an indefinite delay after only the first delivery on Tuesday.
Cadmium occurs in most soil and rocks and is mined and used in many products including batteries, pigments, metal coatings and plastics, and is also in cigarette smoke.