The Spills: A Close Look into Hazardous Waste Accidents and the Clean-ups

The Photo Essay series: SDGs I The Depth of Field

At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, where the UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a clear common vision on sustainable consumption and production patterns were set alongside other key challenges

Their joint communique said: “We envisage a world in which every country enjoys sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent work for all. A world in which consumption and production patterns and use of all natural resources — from air to land, from rivers, lakes and aquifers to oceans and seas — are sustainable.”

From the vision, the UN member states turned them into their new commitment known as Sustainable Development Goals, with a total of 17 goals. Sustainable consumption and production patterns have since then become a part of these new goals. (SDG 12).

The member states said they were committed to making fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume goods and services. They called on governments, international organizations, the business sector and other non-state actors and individuals to contribute to changing unsustainable consumption and production patterns, especially to help developing countries move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

“We encourage the implementation of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production. All countries take action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries,” the member states said of their new agenda.

Alongside other waste challenges, chemicals and hazardous or industrial waste, were highlighted. As noted in the report on progress towards the SDGs by the UN Secretary-General at the beginning of the implementation of the SDGs goals in 2016, “sustainable growth and development require minimizing the natural resources and toxic materials used, and the waste and pollutants generated, throughout the entire production and consumption process”. 

Important conventions were then emphasised and lined up for countries to participate, ranging from the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, simply known as the Basel Convention, the Rotterdam Convention (on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade), and the Stockholm Convention (on persistent organic pollutants). According to the UN, all members states — with six exceptions at that time — were party to at least one of these conventions. 

Under SDG 12, 11 targets and 13 indicators to guide the governments’ action were introduced, including the commitment to this 10-year framework and the conventions. In Thailand, the sustainable consumption and production roadmap was introduced along with other critical measures. This will run until 2037, according to the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council.

Still, some major challenges including the management of hazardous waste are stressed by the agency. It cited that all concerned parties must get serious in tackling the hazardous waste problem, as it still poses a challenge to the country’s waste management.

As shown by EARTH (Ecological Alert and Recovery-Thailand), an anti-industrial pollution advocacy organisation, at least 25 sites related to hazardous or industrial waste and pollution have been plotted in its new map to try to help locate the problems for the public. EARTH said this is just the start and it expected to see more. 

Among the longstanding hazardous waste-related problems are the clean-ups and recovery and recycling processes themselves, which are challenging the existing regulation and management plans, as seen from the cases in Ratchaburi and Rayong provinces.

The immediate impact of the oil spills on the environment could be observed from life on the beach. Seen in the picture are ghost crabs soaked in the oil that was washed ashore. Such impacts are subject to controversy as state agencies and concerned parties hardly disclose the studies to the public, if there are any.
Photo: ©Panumas Sanguanwong

Firefighters and rescue volunteers rush to the scene to try and control the fire that broke out following an explosion at Ming Dih Chemical Co Ltd, a foam pellet and plastic factory, in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan province, early on July 5 last year.

The Commission of Insurance Commission (OIC) examined the initial damage after the incident and found that it had damaged houses, factories, and vehicles within a radius of 500 metres. The OIC reported that one person had died as a result, while there were more than 30 casualties, more than 70 houses were damaged, along with more than 15 vehicles. Other properties were also subject to further examination, according to the OIC, which investigated the company’s insurance policies to see how it could cover the costs and damage.
Photo: ©Panumas Sanguanwong

An officer photographs a helicopter of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, spraying chemicals to put out the blaze at the factory. Due to the fire, the hazardous chemicals turned into huge toxic fumes. It dispersed in the air and settled in the environment around the factory, including the water sources.

This incident led to various questions on city planning, disaster management and preparedness, and last but not least, existing industrial works and substances regulation, as well as environmental rehabilitation from such an incident.
Photo: ©Panumas Sanguanwong

Several farm plots in Nong Phawa community near a hazardous waste treatment plant of Win Process Co Ltd in Ban Khai district in Rayong province have been contaminated by chemicals and wastewater. Fully grown trees like rubber and betel nuts were left damaged and dead.

The Nong Phawa reservoir nearby has also been contaminated to the point that the water cannot be of use and a sign banning the use of water has been put up to warn people there. The residents there said that they have been affected by the pollution for many years and they too have fought the case in court.
Photo: ©Panumas Sanguanwong

Since being conceived in 1992 during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, “sustainable development” has become a buzzword that has helped guide development around the world. The goals have followed a steady trajectory of increased emphasis — from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, strengthening the world’s new development paradigm. At the heart of the SDGs addressed by the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are 17 key goals that call for action by all countries to end poverty and other deprivations. These must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth — all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests, according to the UN. The only challenge is: how to translate all those goals into a strong commitment and action. To flesh out the ideas so that people can understand them easily and therefore take action, Bangkok Tribune has come up with a new project: “SDGs I The Depth of Field”, using its signature style of photojournalism — storytelling through photo essays — to interpret and translate the ideas and challenges behind the goals into powerful visual stories told through the lenses of noted photographers.