Residents line up to sign a petition against expanding
a Bowin landfill and wastewater storage facility.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
More than 500 Sriracha-area residents turned out to
protest the expansion of a Bowin landfill and wastewater storage facility
that continues to generate complaints about pollution and foul odors.
The Bowin Conservation Group, comprised of residents of
the Khao Khan Song Sub-district, are demanding that Eastern Seaboard
Environmental Complex Co., Ltd. fix problems with the first phase of its
waste-disposal development launched in 2001 before it begins Phase 2. Group
leaders petitioned the Sriracha District chief and members of the Chonburi
Administrative Organization to block any further expansion until their
issues with the wastewater pond on Road No. 311 are resolved.
The group says residents up to 15 km. from the landfill
continually deal with the rotting smell of fermenting chemical and
industrial waste. The problem worsens during heavy rains, when the
wastewater tank overflows, spilling sewage and other hazardous materials
into a nearby canal and is absorbed by the soil.
Residents fear contamination of the region’s water table
and for the health of children, the elderly and pregnant women.
Until these problems are resolved, petitioners say, no
further expansion of the facility should be made.
