Bound & Beyond Plc will start transporting cadmium tailings from Samut Sakhon, Bangkok and Chon Buri back to their original location in Tak on May 7 and expects to complete the job in under 36 days, according to Industry Minister Pimphattra Wichaikul.
Ms Pimphattra on Tuesday said the committee overseeing the transport of the tailings had considered a revised plan by the company that owns the cadmium waste.
The company will begin transferring the cadmium tailings to Tak on May 7 using 30 trucks.
It will move 450 tonnes of cadmium tailings per day.
Originally, the company was looking to deploy 10 trucks for transport, with the cadmium tailings predicted to be transferred in 92 days, but the committee requested an increase in the number of trucks to reduce the duration.
Authorities are preparing disposal pits in Tak where the cadmium tailings will be buried.
Today, officers of the Industry Ministry's Department of Primary Industries and Mines (DPIM), along with officers of Tak Provincial Public Works, the Town & Country Planning Office and some other agencies, will inspect the safety and sturdiness of the disposal pits.
Safety measures such as double-bagging the cadmium tailings before transport and examining subterranean water from a monitoring well near the disposal pits every three months will be enforced after the waste has been buried to ensure the environment is protected from contamination and that no leakage will occur.
The disposal pits are secured using two layers of 1.5-millimetre HDPE sheets.
Once the cadmium tailings have been buried, the pits will be shut using sand, HDPE sheets and reinforced concrete.
So far, 12,421 tonnes out of the 13,382 tonnes of cadmium tailings that were illegally moved from a landfill in Tak have been found, comprising 6,378 tonnes at J&B Metal Co in Samut Sakhon, 1,034 tonnes at Chin Hong Cheng Inter Tech (2008) Co in Samut Sakhon, 468 tonnes at a warehouse in Khlong Ma Duea, also in Samut Sakhon.
Another 4,391 tonnes were found at a warehouse in Chon Buri's Ban Bung district, and the other 150 tonnes were found at LL0 Metal Co in Bangkok's Bang Sue district.
Meanwhile, Akaradech Wongpitakroj, United Thai Nation Party MP for Ratchaburi and chairman of the committee on industry, said on Tuesday his committee had invited agencies to provide details of the plan at today's parliament meeting.