Pattaya is considering burning its infectious medical waste at incinerators in Nakhon Sawan, Nonthaburi and Rayong following protests over disposal in Khao Maikaew.
City Councilman Maj. Gen. Popanan Luengpanuwat chaired an April 11 meeting of the Cleanliness and Environmental Maintenance Committee with Deputy Mayor Apichart Virapal and heads of the Public Health and Environment departments.
The panel decided to seek information on disposal rates at the three incinerators and start the process of finding a hauler qualified to move hazardous materials.
The new disposal site is required after Pattaya was caught violating its agreement with Khao Maikaew not to keep more than 100 tons of infectious waste at its Khao Maikaew dumpsite. Discovery of 120 tons of improperly stored medical waste led to public protests and an expensive, emergency removal.
That hazmat was sent to Nakhon Sawan, but the long distance to the site as well as that incinerator’s own regulatory problems put it at a disadvantage to the other two sites being considered.
