Call for Tighter Electronic Waste Controls
by Kultida Samabuddhi, The Bangkok Post
3 June 2003 –
Thailand is likely to become a dumping ground for electronic waste from Japan and the United States due to a lack of controls on imported second-hand appliances, a senior Pollution Control Department official has warned.
Sopon Tatichotiphan, director of the Wastes and Hazardous Substances Management Bureau, said there were no available landfills in Japan and the US had a policy of protecting its citizens from toxic substances found in electronic waste.
Both countries were shipping their electronic waste to developing countries by breaking down products into parts for sale locally or repairing them for re-export.
Thailand's electronic waste management scheme was very weak, he told a seminar organised by the Thai Society of Environmental Journalists.
Mr Sopon said the poor management of electronic junk containing toxic substances stemmed from the lack of co-ordination between the departments of Customs, Pollution Control, Foreign Trade and Industrial Works.
Most officials at the Industry Ministry and the Customs Department do not place enough emphasis on the risks involved, he said, urging them to implement more stringent measures to limit and screen the import of second-hand electronic goods from industrial countries to prevent environmental problems.
Nudjarin Ramungul, a senior researcher at the National Metal and Materials Technology Centre, said domestic electronic waste was also a serious problem.
Thailand generated a lot of outdated mobile-phone equipment and batteries, which had potential risks if improperly disposed, she said. Thai consumers frequently replaced their mobile phones, Mrs Nudjarin said. ``However, we still have no idea where the junk cell phones and batteries are dumped.''
If improperly disposed of, toxic substances in mobile phones, including lead, mercury and cadmium would contaminate soil and water, easily entering the human body.
She also suggested the electronics industry reduce the use of toxic substances in their products and design environmentally-friendly electric appliances to avoid trade barriers from the European Union.
As of December 2006, the European Union will require that electrical and electronic goods be free from hazardous substances and that they can be re-used or recycled.
If the standards are not met, exporters have to pay the disposal costs or return the waste to its point of origin.
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