Bankai Sub-district Mayor Sanit Putsang
instructs a Mit Steel manager to clean drains and construct a storage
tank in order to reduce toxic effects on the neighboring villagers.
Theerarak
Suthathiwong
Long-suffering residents of a Rayong village may
finally have forced a nearby pipe-coating factory to curb putrid fumes
emanating from its property.
After years of unheeded complaints, about 20
residents from the Nonglalok section of Bankai forced their way onto the
Mit Steel Co. Property with a top sub-district official and a Rayong
Industrial Office engineer Feb. 20.
The forced inspection came after the factory released
yet another cloud of nauseating fumes from a water drain on its
property. The noxious odors sickened neighbors and caused some to seek
medical treatment for respiratory problems.
Bankai Sub-district Mayor Sanit Putsang and engineer
Monthol Thanthunanon found the factory didn’t have any storage tanks for
its wastewater and simply flushed out chemicals and polluted water into
the city’s drains. When it rained, the pipes backed up, spreading the
noxious brew around the neighborhood.
Mit Steel was ordered to clean drains and construct a
storage tank within three days. Threatened with another inspection in a
month, the plant also promised to resolve all odor problems within 30
days.
