Transport of hazardous cadmium waste comes to a halt after accident

The accident took place after 10 trailer trucks transporting the first shipment of 258 tonnes of cadmium tailings from Bangkok and Samut Sakhon arrived at a warehouse in Tak’s Muang district for temporary storage before burial.

After the trailers arrived, a team of officials led by Industry Ministry’s permanent-secretary Nattapol Rangsitpol arrived to inspect them and the warehouse of Bound and Beyond Co Ltd where the big bags will be stored.

The officials then initiated a trial run of transferring the big bags from the trailers to another truck that would be driven into the warehouse for offloading.

But as a forklift was shifting a big bag, two of its slings broke, causing it to fall and split open.

Officials then called off the operation pending a review of the process.

The village chief and other locals living near the warehouse showed up later to demand a promise from the officials that there would be no contamination during the uploading operation.

Separately, Preeyaporn Suwanket, director-general of the Pollution Control Department, said her department and the Industry Ministry had a contingency plan in case there is an accident while the cadmium waste is being transported.

Earlier this month, officials learned that 13,000 tonnes of cadmium waste buried in Tak’s Muang district by Bound and Beyond Plc had been dug up, sold and shifted to a J&B Metal foundry. Bound and Beyond stopped operating as a mining company a few years ago and is now dabbling in hospitality.

Officials later retrieved 12,800 tonnes of the waste at factories in Samut Sakhon and Chonburi and another 150 tonnes in a factory in Bangkok. The shipment of the hazardous waste in Bangkok and Samut Sakhon began on Monday.