Thailand's Pollution Control Department Seeks Measures To Combat Toxic Waste

[webfact]

PCD seeks measures to combat toxic waste
Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation

Plan to control illegal dumping

BANGKOK: -- The Pollution Control Department (PCD) will propose measures to Cabinet to strictly control the movement of hazardous industrial waste - after discovering the illegal transfer of 30 million tonnes of waste from manufacturers to unknown destinations.

PCD director-general Wichien Jungrungruang said the agency was drafting strict proposals to control hazardous industrial waste management and trans-boundary movement to try to stop illegal dumping of toxic waste.

Under these measures, five provinces - Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Rayong, Samut Prakan, and Prachinburi - would be designated as strictly industrial hazardous waste areas, requiring local administrative agencies to closely watch waste management and disposal.

Also, the system tracking and verifying the movement of hazardous waste would be used to monitor whether such waste was disposed of properly.

"The problem in controlling industrial wastes' illegal trans-boundary movement is a lack of law enforcement," he said.

Wichien said the PCD would confer today with the Industrial Work Office to find out effective ways to control the illegal trans-boundary movement of toxic industrial waste.

It would also team up with the Department of Special Investigation to probe the disappearance of 30 million tonnes of industrial hazardous waste from the legal dumping process.

In a related move, the PCD will collaborate with member countries and its allies including China, South Korea and Japan to formulate a standard for green products on shelves across region. Paper, fluorescent lamps, and automotive items would be in the first group of environmentally friendly products approved for green labels before sale.

Under this collaboration, "green" public procurement would be promoted around the region as well, to boost the market and reduce damage to communities and the environment.

The PCD has promoted green public procurement and "eco-labelling" since 2008 with 170 central state agencies participating at the department level.

Some 14 items are listed for the project, including ink cartridges, printing pens, document boxes, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, building paint, white board pens, cleaning, photocopier rental and hotel services.

A study conducted by the National Science and Technology Development Agency found that the green procurement project could reduce carbon emissions by 25.7 million tonnes. And the government sector could gain a financial benefit of Bt233.51 million, or 24 per cent of the budget spent on goods and services.

To support continuous implementation of the green procurement project, the PCD is preparing a plan for 2013-2016, to cover local government agencies, enterprises, universities, government agencies and public organisations.

The plan aims to foster behavioral change in services and |the production and consumption of goods and will also act as |an important driving mechanism for the green procurement process.


-- The Nation 2013-04-30

[davehowden]

"The problem in controlling industrial wastes' illegal trans-boundary movement is a lack of law enforcement," he said.

​Really, you do surprise me, I am shocked!!

[Thai at Heart]

30 million tonnes????

That's a bloody big pile. Of course no mention of who, where and what?

[chainarong]

I think the whole of this department needs disbanding and restart a fresh, you have taken 10 years to clean up lead concentrates in a village drinking water area along with the Health Department this should have been completed at least nine half years ago , with on going health checks/ monitoring for higher cases of leukemia, to put it in a nut shell you are totally useless.

[daiwill60]

_{PERHAPS SOME ONE COLLECTED ALL THE DISCARDED PLASTIC BAGS , BOTTLES ETC TO GET THE FIGURE UP TO 30 MILLION TONNES.}

_{IF THEY ARE GINIG TO SERIOUSLY ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM , THEN THEY HAD BETER PULL THEIR BLOODY SOCKS UP IF THEY ARE GOING TO MATH THE LIKES OF JAPAN AND KOREA, I RECKON.}

[LuckyLew]

they can start by getting rid of all the toxic waste at Government house lol

[Thai at Heart]

In all honesty, the PCD has to be one of the most useless and corrupt organisations around. They are split between apparently big influence in Bangkok, and then maintain a presence with local offices who are ABSOLUTELY toothless to check, audit or organise anything. There are few if any big industrial complexes in Bangkok, but that is where they are. They cover so many various types of environmental issues that they cover everything and specialise in nothing. They are responsible for everything from pig farms sloshing waste into rivers, to controlling oil refineries.

Either they bolster the power and funding of the guys who are sitting out in the provinces, or this will keep going on and on, because even modest back handers are sufficient to get them to turn a blind eye to anything.

[A Member]

In all honesty, the PCD has to be one of the most useless and corrupt organisations around. They are split between apparently big influence in Bangkok, and then maintain a presence with local offices who are ABSOLUTELY toothless to check, audit or organise anything. There are few if any big industrial complexes in Bangkok, but that is where they are. They cover so many various types of environmental issues that they cover everything and specialise in nothing. They are responsible for everything from pig farms sloshing waste into rivers, to controlling oil refineries.

Either they bolster the power and funding of the guys who are sitting out in the provinces, or this will keep going on and on, because even modest back handers are sufficient to get them to turn a blind eye to anything.

I see however they've learned to use stirring buzz words to make it sound as if they are actually going to do something hence " combat " toxic waste

[Thai at Heart]

In all honesty, the PCD has to be one of the most useless and corrupt organisations around. They are split between apparently big influence in Bangkok, and then maintain a presence with local offices who are ABSOLUTELY toothless to check, audit or organise anything. There are few if any big industrial complexes in Bangkok, but that is where they are. They cover so many various types of environmental issues that they cover everything and specialise in nothing. They are responsible for everything from pig farms sloshing waste into rivers, to controlling oil refineries.

Either they bolster the power and funding of the guys who are sitting out in the provinces, or this will keep going on and on, because even modest back handers are sufficient to get them to turn a blind eye to anything.

I see however they've learned to use stirring buzz words to make it sound as if they are actually going to do something hence " combat " toxic waste

I have dealt with them on a couple of things and they are responsible for absolutely everything and can never have enough people to cover all of it.

They do things from checking emmissions from paint booths, to monitoring water quality in the beaches, to checking hotels waste water emmissions to approving shut down plans for major refineries. I can just imagine why they were set up, as a headline to "combat" pollution. Where they can even find specialists remotely qualified in all of these issues is absolutely beyond me, and they can wield an awful lot of power which ordinarily is solved with a brown envelope and a hand shake, and a promise to do better next time.

It isn't helped at all by the fact that there is virtually no zoning plan for industry that goes beyond the industrial estates, and at the end of the day, who is going to have the balls to really act upon real problems when it can involve shutting down a multi million dollar business. So huge amounts of issues slip through their fingers day by day, until, a disaster happens, and bazzilions of fish die, or people go all fuzzy in the head because an oil recycling plant opens up next door to the village. Or say, 30 MILLION tonnes of HAZARDOUS waste going missing. That is an absolutely gargantuan amount of stuff.