Cadmium saga, fire lead to resignation of Industrial Works Dept chief

The session, which was chaired by Ratchaburi MP Akradech Wongpituchroj, focused on two main topics: The fire at Win Process Ltd’s hazardous waste storage facility in Rayong province, and the smuggling of 13,000 tonnes of cadmium waste from a burial site in Tak province to Samut Sakhon, Chonburi and Bangkok.

The latter incident has been in the headlines since early April after several of the individuals involved tested positive for cadmium poisoning. Breathing high levels of cadmium damages the lungs and can cause death. Cadmium can also be carcinogenic if it seeps into water sources.

Pundits believe that Jullapong resigned due to the several problems recently faced by the department.

The source said that on April 27, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited the fire-damaged facility in Rayong and reproved Jullapong for his tardiness in inspecting the site.

Jullapong was reportedly attending a meeting to prepare for his trip to Japan to discuss measures for handling industrial wastes with Japan’s Ministry of Environment.

Industry Minister Pimpatra Wichaikul said on Wednesday that she has not seen Jullapong’s resignation yet, adding that she had not pressured the director-general to quit.

“The only pressure I put on my staff is to fix problems faced by the people, as these happen repeatedly,” she said. “Whenever a problem arises, I always encourage officials in charge and follow up the latest updates via group chats with executives of related departments.”

Pimpatra added that the ministry will continue to fix the problems to mitigate impacts on the public and the environment. “Every irregularity that happened lately will be thoroughly investigated. Whether the problem was caused intentionally or not, we must have answers,” she said.

Jullapong was appointed the department’s director-general on October 1, 2022. He is scheduled to retire on September 30 this year.