Report points to years of toxic dumping

MSG factory's power bills raise questions

Ang Thong_Experts from the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) have reportedly found evidence that a monosodium glutamate factory run by KTMSG Co has not been properly treating its wastewater over the past 10 years.

The firm has been accused by villagers of dumping untreated wastewater into the river, killing fish and other aquatic life along a 20km stretch in Pa Mok district in Ang Thong and Bang Ban district in Ayutthaya on March 12.

Stock in fish farms owned by 200 families was wiped out.

Sources at Bang Sadet tambon administration organisation in Pa Mok district said the EIT had sent its findings to a team set up by Ang Thong governor Wiboon Sanguanpong to look into the cause of the pollution.

The governor is under threat of being transferred by the Interior Ministry if he fails to quickly wrap up the slow-moving investigation into the cause of the pollution.

EIT sent its own team of experts to look into the pollution.

According to the sources, the institute found alleged irregularities in the company's electricity bills which indicated poor environmental management.

As calculated by the EIT, the company would have generated more than 30,000 tonnes of wastewater during the nearly 10 years it has been producing monosodium glutamate.

That would require the firm to use a large amount of electricity in its wastewater treatment process.

But the figures in its power bills did not indicate that it had treated this amount of waste.

The company told the institute that most of the wastewater was used as raw material for making liquid fertiliser.

According to the EIT report, the company was found to have sold only 3,000 tonnes of liquid fertiliser _ 10% of the total amount of wastewater.

The EIT report raised questions about the missing 27,000 tonnes of wastewater and whether this waste had been treated if it had been discharged into the Chao Phraya river.

''We'll ask the governor about the EIT report today,'' said Suthep Gakaew, chairman of Bang Sadet tambon administration organisation.

Mr Suthep had led a protest against the company, accusing it of discharging the waste into the river, resulting in last month's serious water pollution.

KTMSG has refused to comment since it was publicly accused by the villagers of being the source of the pollution.

The Ang Thong governor did not answer his phone yesterday.

Mr Suthep said the villagers planned to travel to Bangkok for a protest rally in front of Government House on Wednesday if the government fails to identify the party responsible for the pollution.

The affected farmers have previously challenged a theory offered by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment that a huge amount of sugar from a capsized barge caused the pollution.

At the same time, they alleged that KTMSG was continuing to use wastewater pipes discharging into the Chao Phraya river even though it had promised the surrounding community it would not do so.

''Somsak Prisananantakul, the former Ang Thong MP and Chart Thai deputy leader, promised to lead us to Government House,'' Mr Suthep said.

The Department of Special Investigation is expected to announce this week whether it will further investigate the case and take action against the company after considering primary information obtained in the troubled area.

Bangkok Post

Monday April 09, 2007