After more than 1,000 tons of carcinogenic cadmium waste from Tak went missing, concerns are growing that loopholes in Thailand’s hazardous waste controls could be fatal.
Exposure to cadmium and its compounds can lead to fever, headache, and breathing difficulties. Worse still, it is known to cause cancer and also exacerbate diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Health checks on locals living near a Samut Sakhon-based foundry where 6,492 tons of smuggled cadmium waste was found earlier this month showed unusually high levels of the poisonous metal in 16 people’s urine. They require medical treatment.
The foundry’s operator, J&B Metal Co Ltd, was listed as the buyer and recycler of 13,882 tonnes of cadmium waste from Tak-based Bound and Beyond Public Co Ltd (BEYOND), previously known as Padaeng Industry.
However, only half of that amount was found when the foundry…
