Huge fire at palm oil factory in Samut Sakon

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Huge fire at palm oil factory



SAMUT SAKHON: -- A huge fire broke out before dawn Tuesday at a palm oil factory in Samut Sakon province, causing damage to the entire building after two hours of raging.

The fire happened at 3.30 am at the one-floor Kimkee Kitcharoen palm oil factory which was used as a godown while a dozen of workers in the night shift were inside.

It was not known the cause of the fire but workers said the fire broke out in area where heavy and production machinery were installed and palm oil were stored.

About 10 fire engines were rushed to the scene but encountered difficulty in fighting the fire due to strong wind help to fan the flames ton rage quickly.

However after more than two hours of raging, the fire was contained in limited area after the entire factory building was burnt to the ground.

The fire did not spread to residential areas around the factory.

Forensic police were inspecting the factory Tuesday morning to find exact cause, while pollution control officials also came to examine if the fire posed any environmental impact on residents or not.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/huge-fire-palm-oil-factory


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-02

[RickBradford]

Well insured, I trust?

Palm oil prices hit a 5-year low in September, Bloomberg reported recently.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-15/palm-oil-seen-dropping-as-mistry-has-buy-call-on-planter-stocks.html

[Mudcrab]

However after more than two hours of raging, the fire was contained in limited area after the entire factory building was burnt to the ground.

Gee lucky they contained the fire to a limited area.....might have done some real damage if they hadn't.

[Thai at Heart]

Well insured, I trust?

Palm oil prices hit a 5-year low in September, Bloomberg reported recently.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-15/palm-oil-seen-dropping-as-mistry-has-buy-call-on-planter-stocks.html

Chinese ligtning.

[tomross46]

Large inventory, decline in market price. Overnight insurance adjustment.

[Doc46]

Inside insurance job<>maybe?

[DeepInTheForest]

palm oil... one of the scourges of the world.

Let's go eat chocolate chip cookies and deforest the globe.

[JAG]

I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that anyone involved in the Palm Oil business would stoop to attempting an insurance scam for personal gain!

[Thai at Heart]

I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that anyone involved in the Palm Oil business would stoop to attempting an insurance scam for personal gain!

A factory processor might.

[englishoak]

I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that anyone involved in the Palm Oil business would stoop to attempting an insurance scam for personal gain!

A factory processor might.

A Thai factory processor would never do that.........

[halloween]

palm oil... one of the scourges of the world.

Let's go eat chocolate chip cookies and deforest the globe.

AKA known as a reasonably priced renewable energy source (biodiesel) whose viability has been reduced due to low oil prices.

Is there any way to keep a "greeny" happy?

[Thai at Heart]

I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that anyone involved in the Palm Oil business would stoop to attempting an insurance scam for personal gain!

A factory processor might.

A Thai factory processor would never do that.........

Don't be naive like that. Maybe he just wants someone to pay for a new warehouse and new machinery.

[englishoak]

I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that anyone involved in the Palm Oil business would stoop to attempting an insurance scam for personal gain!

A factory processor might.

A Thai factory processor would never do that.........

Don't be naive like that. Maybe he just wants someone to pay for a new warehouse and new machinery.

But but... that would suggest some wrong doing ...... unthinkable sir, unthinkable.

Edited December 2, 2014 by englishoak

[Time Traveller]

palm oil... one of the scourges of the world.

Let's go eat chocolate chip cookies and deforest the globe.

I hate to tell you this little secret but except for fish and seafood, almost all of your food that you eat required deforestation for it to be grown.

And if farmers weren't clearing forest to grow oil palm trees, they'd be clearing forest to grow something else anyway. There is nothing inherently bad with palm oil so why you are singling it out for criticism ?

Edited December 3, 2014 by Time Traveller

[JAG]

I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that anyone involved in the Palm Oil business would stoop to attempting an insurance scam for personal gain!

A factory processor might.

A Thai factory processor would never do that.........

Don't be naive like that. Maybe he just wants someone to pay for a new warehouse and new machinery.

But but... that would suggest some wrong doing ...... unthinkable sir, unthinkable.

My point exactly, participants in the Palm Oil business are universally recognised as paragons of virtue. Indeed one of the greatest names in the whole business is virtually regarded as a saint in some circles for his business integrity and crusading attitude against corruption!

[DeepInTheForest]

palm oil... one of the scourges of the world.

Let's go eat chocolate chip cookies and deforest the globe.

I hate to tell you this little secret but except for fish and seafood, almost all of your food that you eat required deforestation for it to be grown.

And if farmers weren't clearing forest to grow oil palm trees, they'd be clearing forest to grow something else anyway. There is nothing inherently bad with palm oil so why you are singling it out for criticism ?

There is nothing inherently bad with palm oil so why you are singling it out for criticism ?

Time Traveller, I am so glad you asked.

The rise of palm oil as a globally traded commodity is an example of how the global trading system monetizes and commoditizes everything possible in human life—often counter to human values, and to the detriment of most of us ordinary humans. In places like the Aguan valley in Honduras, small farmers have been dispossessed from their land by massive agribusiness firms hot on the spoor of palm oil profits. Hey, who are a few dirty peasants to stand in the way of profits? Those who protest have been subject to intimidation and murder.

“The west's drive to reduce its carbon footprint cheaply is fuelling a dirty war in Honduras, where US-backed security forces are implicated in the murder, disappearance and intimidation of peasant farmers involved in land disputes with local palm oil magnates.” http://www.theguardian.com/global/2014/jan/07/honduras-dirty-war-clean-energy-palm-oil-biofuels

Needless to say, this happens all over the world, not just in Honduras. Often indigenous peoples are victimized, in what could be termed ethnic cleansing. Why? Because land-grabbing is a way for agribusiness to get what it wants, and when there’s a hot new commodity in town, well…

In terms of diet, although it is not as bad for us as trans-fats, experts say it’s a dodgy substitute, and in fact is killing us.

“Biomedical research indicates that palm oil, which is high in saturated fat and low in polyunsaturated fat, promotes heart disease. Though less harmful than partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, it is far more conducive to heart disease than such heart-protective liquid oils as olive, soy, and canola. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, World Health Organization, and other health authorities have urged reduced consumption of oils like palm oil.”

http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/palm_oil_final_5-27-05.pdf

The fact that it is not healthy will not stop the marketing machine that is modern agribusiness from stuffing it down our throats at every opportunity. As we know, that’s how our system works. Try explaining that to your kid when he wants the latest delectable bonbon from the megastore. You won’t be able to—and the worldwide obesity epidemic will proceed apace. The pharmaceutical companies love it. Their profits are ballooning faster than our median body weight.

Your point about deforestation misses the obvious—much of the deforestation in recent years is driven by unsustainable cattle-raising, and the insane need for ever more beef and pork in the diet. Those soybean fields in Brazil? What do you think they’re raising those soybeans for? It’s not all for cute little edamame dishes in sushi joints, that’s for sure.

Worldwide meat production has tripled over the last four decades and increased 20 percent in just the last 10 years. Meanwhile, industrial countries are consuming growing amounts of meat, nearly double the quantity in developing countries.

http://www.worldwatch.org/global-meat-production-and-consumption-continue-rise

Edited December 4, 2014 by DeepInTheForest

[DeepInTheForest]

Oil palm plantations require lots of water and warm temperatures. That means tropical locations. (Palm oil trees are originally from West Africa, but are grown all over the tropics.) And that means tropical forests are disappearing, especially in places like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. Between 1990 and 2010, 3.5 million hectares of forest were lost in those countries. http://www.wwf.org.au/our_work/saving_the_natural_world/forests/palm_oil/palm_oil_and_deforestation/ But here’s the thing: much of the land in those forests was located over peat soils. Peat forests are one of nature’s mind-blowing concepts—there are these enormous deposits of water-logged carbon debris from the forests that have piled up over the centuries. They can be up to 65 feet thick, and can contain 18-28 times the carbon of the forest itself. http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/palm-oil-and-global-warming.pdf They’re normally too wet to decompose. But when they get drained for oil palm plantations, they release way more carbon dioxide than clearing a regular tropical forest, which if you’re in your right head, you wouldn’t want to do anyway. When a hectare of peat forest is drained, an estimated 3750-5400 tons of carbon dioxide will be released over the next 25 years. Hey, that's not good!! (In contrast, a regular tropical forest will release 500-900 tons.)

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6059

That hasn’t stopped palm oil companies from planting on peat soil. Yep, they’re that greedy. (Or maybe we should say they are deeply concerned about their shareholders.) As the soil is drained, it compacts further, lowering the ground level, requiring more drainage… you get the picture. Peat areas are usually too acidic to grow palm unless it’s chemically treated, so... bring on the tanker trucks!! And palm trees in these peat soil areas have an increased susceptibility to disease. It really doesn't make sense to plant there on multiple levels, but there is no end in sight for plans to cultivate peat soils. "... the industry now takes up over eight million hectares of land in Indonesia, expected to reach 13 million by 2020." http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php

And then we come to fire. Draining the peat increases the risk of fire. Sometimes it’s even started deliberately, to clear land. Peatlands have been the source of some of the world’s greatest fires, impacting health and releasing hundreds of years worth of sequestered carbon in a massive burp. Remember the fires in Indonesia in June of 2013? The ones that caused respiratory problems as far away as Malaysia and Singapore? I know you do.

http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/palm-oil-and-global-warming.pdf

One reason the price of palm oil is so cheap (it’s the cheapest of the food oils) is the child labor employed in harvesting, which is of course a human rights violation. Children carry heavy loads of fruit, weed the plantations, and spend hours bent over picking up fruit from the ground. They are paid little or nothing. In most cases these kids come from families who have been displaced from their former forest livelihoods and have no option other than to work for the palm oil companies. Their lives are subject to the fluctuations in the world market price of palm oil—which as we have seen lately, has plummeted. Of course all we will hear about is all the great jobs the industry creates for locals.

http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php

Another argument for trying not to lay waste to our remaining tropical forests is that they’re our richest biological reserves. Staggeringly so. This alone is a topic worthy of a book, but you can fill in the details for yourself.

Finally, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) purports to be a watchdog body. But its rules still allow for deforestation and the draining of peat soils to plant palm.

If these facts are overwhelming, well, they probably should be. If you'd rather tune it all out... well, enjoy nuzzling up to that Cadbury's... back to sleep.... ahhhh.... zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Edited December 4, 2014 by DeepInTheForest