The manager of a steel mill in Lop Buri's Phattana Nikhom district yesterday said he did not believe that metal dust caused chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - and the mill was fixing its malfunctioning dust screening devices.

Earlier a 52-year-old non-smoking dairy farmer, Sanom Phorat - who was last week diagnosed with COPD - alleged that his illness was caused by seven years of inhaling metal dust emitted by the mill.

As the ailing farmer gathered proof of his claim, officials from the Lop Buri Industrial Office planned to visit the area.

Namheng Steel Co manager Somsak Methawattharakul yesterday told The Nation dust had escaped the plant because dust screening bags had expired, but the firm had not ignored the problem and promptly ordered new bags. It would take a few days to replace them, he said.

The life span of each dust bag was not fixed, but as an economy measure the company tried to extend their use as long as possible because one set cost about Bt1 million. He insisted it was impossible metal dust could cause COPD - "or our employees would have died already".

Lop Buri Industrial Office's head of factory affairs, Samphan Kositpol, said he took up his post a year ago and, in that period, had never received a complaint about the mill's dust emissions.

Samphan said officials would visit the site today to collect information before asking the Department of Industrial Works to test the air quality.

If the amount of dust in the air exceeded the legal limit he would order the mill to take preventative action, and, if the situation was severe he would temporarily close the mill, he said.

Sanom, meanwhile, said that if the factory did not believe him and take responsibility, he was prepared to undergo a biopsy to check his lung tissue for metal dust to prove his claim.

President of the Deelang Tambon Administration Organisation, Boonkhum Tomthira Boonkhum told The Nation he received complaints about the mill five years ago but the provincial industrial office had dealt with the matter.

However, he had seen dust coming from the mill, recorded it on videotape and warned the factory to solve the problem.

To the local villagers' complaints that the mill released dust every weekend, Boonkhum said he did not know because he could not inspect it every day.

"There's no bribery to hush up this case, I guarantee. The mill owner also knows who I am," he said. He urged the affected villagers to file written complaints so he could take action.

Boonkhum said he would call the factory, the Industrial Office and affected villagers to discuss solutions to the problem. 

Meanwhile, Tambon Deelang kamnan Preecha Manayingmet said he had received several complaints a year from villagers about dust from the mill. The provincial industrial office had in the past collected information but he did not know what they did afterwards because the mill still emitted dust.

"There was no dust in the first three years because the mill used metal billets, but it later shifted to using old metal and therefore emitted dust," Preecha said.

He said villagers did not want the mill to be shut down because it provided local jobs, but they wanted it to be responsible.

Somroutai Sapsomboon

The Nation