Sixteen people living in the vicinity of the J&B Metal warehouse in Samut Sakhon’s Bang Nam Jerd sub-district have been found to have high levels of cadmium in their bodies and have been treated at the provincial hospital, according to the Provincial Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office.

Health officials tested urine samples from 34 people living near the warehouse, where cadmium slag, illegally sent from Tak province, is being stored. 16 of showed high levels.
At the provincial hospital, four of them were found to be suffering from skin rashes, but their conditions are not life-threatening.

Thirteen employees at another company, Chin Hong Choeng Intertrade (2008), also in Bang Nam Jerd sub-district, where 1,034 tonnes of cadmium slag were found, were tested as well, but nothing unusual was found.

Earlier, urine samples were taken from 21 employees of the J&B Metal Company and seven were found to contain high levels of cadmium, with four also suffering from mild anaemia, although none of them fall sick. They were advised to get medical check-ups periodically.

About 15,000 tonnes of cadmium slag have been illegally removed from a landfill in Tak province and taken to the warehouse of J&B Metal Company in Samut Sakhon since late last year. Some of the hazardous material was later distributed to other warehouses in the province, in Chon Buri and Bang Sue district of Bangkok.

At the J&B Metal warehouse, 6,491 tonnes of cadmium slag were found and impounded. 1,034 tonnes were found in the Chin Hong Choen Intertrade warehouse in Bang Nam Jerd sub-district and 468 tonnes were found in a warehouse, allegedly belonging to Korn Watcharaphol, in Krathum Baen district of Samut Sakhon.

About 150 tonnes, not 300 tonnes as previously reported, were found at a warehouse in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district.
All the impounded cadmium slag found in Samut Sakhon is to be sent back to the landfill in Tak province by the end of May.