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 instructs a Mit Steel manager to clean drains and construct a storage tank in order to reduce toxic effects on the neighboring villagers.
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.
