National—
On April 25th, 2024, Pol. Maj. Gen. Watcharin Pusit, the Commander-in-Chief of the Environmental and Natural Resources Crime Suppression Division (ENRC), publicly revealed the result of an initial inspection of a fire at a massive chemical waste storage factory in Ban Khai, Rayong.
According to the Commander-in-Chief of the ENRC Division, the nature of the fire at the factory in Rayong was similar to a fire incident at the chemical waste storage factory in Phachi, Ayutthaya on February 29th. Moreover, the two factories were found to have connections with some of the company’s directors.
The fire incident at the chemical waste storage factory in Rayong was possibly a human made attempt to avoid being sued to pay compensation to the Thai government for the destruction of industrial waste, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the ENRC Division.
To destroy industrial waste, the Thai Department of Industrial Works would use the central budget, and then the government would sue to recover the costs accordingly. It may result in as much as tens of billions of baht.
However, the Thai authorities were investigating the case of the fire incident scene to determine the exact cause of the incident. It was reported that, as of press time, the fires could not completely be extinguished and multiple fire spots were still detected by drones.
The ENRC warned locals that ammonia and other hazardous chemical substances were still contaminated in the air near the factory even days after the initial blaze.
Regarding the fire incident at the chemical waste storage factory in Ayutthaya, the ENRC would request an arrest warrant for involved individuals from the court for having hazardous chemicals in possession which would be in process in May, stated the Commander-in-Chief of the ENRC Division.
