Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Saturday ordered a swift investigation into the disappearance of 11,000 tonnes of cadmium waste from a smelting factory in Samut Sakhon.
The premier took to his X account on Saturday, saying the aim was to demolish all scattered tailings within 15 days.
Last Thursday, about 13,450 tonnes of cadmium tailings and some zinc tailings were found stored at a smelting factory in Muang district without permission.
The cadmium tailings were owned by Bound & Beyond Plc in Tak, and the smelting factory is owned by J&B Metal Co in the province.
Samut Sakhon governor Phon Damtham on Friday declared the smelting factory and the surrounding area as off-limits to people for 90 days.
The government also on Friday ordered all the cadmium waste to be transported back to its origin within seven days and demolished within 15 days.
Spokesman Chai Watcharonke said on Saturday the PM had ordered strict management in a way that will not affect people's lives.
The Pollution Control Department (PCD) collected samples of soil and air within a 10m to 1km radius of the factory and has so far not detected any cadmium contamination in the ground and the air, said Preeyaporn Suwannaked, PCD director-general.
However, the department found high levels of cadmium contamination inside and in front of the factory, she said.
The samples collected from the ground inside the smelting factory had 7.15 grammes/kilogramme of cadmium while samples collected from outside the facility but still in front of the factory had 31.58g/kg of cadmium.
The sample at the gate of the factory had 2.83g/kg. All three collection points were found to have much higher levels than the safe level of 0.81g/kg.
PCD also collected water samples from the drainage system and a nearby canal for laboratory tests. She said the department will expedite the results.
On plans to send the cadmium waste to be buried at its origin in Tak, Ms Preeyaporn said the department has also looked for an alternative location to bury the cadmium waste if the plan is delayed.
Meanwhile, Suraphon Wongsukpaisan, deputy Tak governor, said local authorities inspected the two pits where cadmium tailings were dug up and found the structure strong enough to rebury the waste.
Pol Gen Phatcharavat Wongsuwan, Minister of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, earlier ordered the PCD to speed up its investigation process and open up all information.