About 81% of the mishandled hazardous cadmium waste totalling nearly 13,000 tonnes has been returned to its source in Tak province, with the remainder in Samut Sakhon and Chon Buri provinces awaiting transport, according to the Ministry of Industry.
The ministry reported on its website on Thursday that 10,507 tonnes of tailings had been delivered to Bound and Beyond Plc in Tak, accounting for 81% of the 12,948 tonnes controversially sold from its landfill in Muang district last year.
It said the tailings transported included those from J&B Metal (6,200 tonnes) and Cin Hong Cheng Inter Tech (1,013 tonnes) in Muang district of Samut Sakhon, as well as from LLT Metal (142 tonnes) in Bang Sue district of Bangkok.
The remaining 19% had yet to be transported from a factory in tambon Klong Kiew of Ban Bung district in Chon Buri and a warehouse in Krathum Baen district of Samut Sakhon.
Nattapol Rangsitpol, the permanent secretary for industry, said on Wednesday that 10-13 container trucks were used daily to transport the tailings, and the convoys were escorted by police vehicles.
The tailings were first discovered in Samut Sakhon in early April, leading to serious health concerns because the hazardous waste should have been kept in a specially prepared landfill in Tak.
Bound and Beyond had sold the tailings to J&B Metal under a contract that required the latter to dispose of them. The terms did not allow the company to resell the waste, but its owner admitted he intended to do so in order to shore up the company’s finances.
The waste will be taken to a storage site owned by Bound and Beyond in Tak province, where it will be properly landfilled by Sept 30. The SET-listed company was formerly known as Padaeng Industry Plc, which operated a zinc-mining business in Tak until 2016. It has since switched to the hotel business.
Cadmium has many uses, notably in the production of rechargeable batteries, pigments, metal coatings and plastics. Cadmium and its compounds are highly toxic and can cause damage to human tissues and organs when they enter the food chain. Because of this risk, its disposal is tightly regulated.
