Hazardous waste Illegally buried in 5 provinces in Thailand

Police are unearthing hazardous waste dumped or buried illegally in Ayutthaya, Chon Buri, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phetchabun and Rayong provinces, according to an assistant police chief.

Pol Lt Gen Thatchai Pitaneelabut told Thai PBS TV on Tuesday that police now had evidence that two companies, Win Process and Aek Uthai, had illegally buried industrial waste in the five provinces. Teams were locating and uncovering the waste.

He said the companies either rented warehouses in provinces to illegally store hazardous waste or had illegally dumped the waste in forests and on farmland. Police were tracing the waste and would take further legal action accordingly, he said.

On Monday police found hazardous waste in Uthai district of Ayutthaya and in Ban Khai district of Rayong.

In Rayong, local residents had complained to industrial authorities that waste had been buried there between 2013 and 2020. On Monday officials found aluminium dross, a byproduct of the aluminium melting process, in five of six locations where they randomly dug.

Police had already pressed charges against 10 people, Pol Lt Gen Thatchai said.

The operators had tendered successful bids for the disposal of hazardous waste, but apparently had no intention to do it properly, he said.

One of the suspects is Opas Boonchan, director of Win Process, who was arrested in Phetchabun late last month. The assistant national police chief said the suspect was being detained in Rayong and police would continue to oppose his temporary release on bail.

He also said that police suspected arson in a fire at a hazardous waste facility in Ayutthaya and were investigating if the fire in Rayong had also been deliberately set.