20240425 Toxic-waste fire victims file complaint against authorities
Thailand Apr 25 2024 “Warehouses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Toxic-waste fire victims file complaint against authorities
Updated: 2024-04-25
The fire continues to burn under the rubble at one of the destroyed waste warehouses owned by Win Process in Ban Khai district of Rayong on Tuesday. (Photo: Pollution Control Department)
About 100 people affected by the fire at a hazardous waste storage plant in Rayong province have filed a complaint against the industrial authorities who earlier approved it.
They blame the authorities for the plant’s prolonged impact on their health and the environment.
Meanwhile, officials said on Wednesday they had not ruled out arson as the cause of the blaze at the shutdown waste warehousing facility in Ban Khai district. The plant’s electricity supply had long been disconnected. The owner, Win Process Ltd, is in bankruptcy.
Residents of nearby villages filed their complaint with police.
Their complaint targeted the director-general of the Department of Industrial Works and the industrial chief of Rayong province. They asked police to take legal action against them for allowing Win Process to store toxic waste there since it opened until it was destroyed by fire early on Monday morning.
The complainants said they had suffered from the adverse impacts for over a decade.
They also feared for the environmental impact when rain washes the ashfrom the destroyed facility out into the area of their homes and farms. No officials had bothered to meet with them or given any assistance, they said.
On Wednesday firefighters continued with their efforts to put out the blazein the Win Process warehouse compound.
It was still too dangerous for investigators to enter.
Win Process was founded in 2010 as a recycling business using waste from petrochemical plants in Rayong. Its warehouses are in Ban Khai district.
In 2021 local people complained about the environmental damage caused by the plant. The Rayong Provincial Court in 2022 ordered the company to clean up toxic waste contamination and pay 20.82 million baht in compensation to the affected villagers.
The company entered bankruptcy proceedings. The industrial wasteremained in its compound, stored in five buildings.
Web Source The Bangkok Post