Excessive cadmium levels have been found in workers at the foundries in Samut Sakhon province where mishandled cadmium waste was first discovered last week, as officials continue to check for contamination in two provinces.
Samut Sakhon governor Phon Damtham said on Monday that health officials found unsafe levels of cadmium in eight workers employed at two foundries in tambon Bang Nam Jued of Muang district.
The high residual levels were found in some of the urine samples collected from 11 workers at the two foundries where mismanaged cadmium waste was found last Thursday.
He said none of the workers showed any symptoms of cadmium poisoning, but all 11 were taken to Samut Sakhon Hospital for examination and treatment on Monday.
He had also ordered tests on eight other workers at the foundries, and they would be examined at the same hospital.
Officials would collect samples of water and food from the vicitinity of the foundries for testing for cadmium contamination.
Health permanent secretary Opas Kankawinpong said samples were also collected from workers at a warehouse where cadmium waste was found in Ban Bueng district of Chon Buri, and from 20 people living within a three kilometres radius of the warehouse.
One young child was found suffering from chronic diarrhoea, he said.
Results of tests on wastewater samples from the area would be known in one week, Dr Opas said.
Dr Woraya Lueang-on, disease control director in Chon Buri, said cadmium contamination of the environment could cause acute and chronic headaches, exhaustion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and irritation of the nose, throat and windpipe.
Health concerns have risen following the discovery of 8,474 tonnes of cadmium waste at foundries and warehouses in Samut Sakhon and Chon Buri over the past four days. Officials believed it was part of 13,832 tonnes of cadmium tailings illegally sold from a landfill in Tak province. They said 5,358 tonnes had yet to be tracked down.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said in a social media post that the initial investigation found irregularities in the transport of the cadmium waste from Tak to Samut Sakhon.