Mueang Phanom Sarakham was a city of Ayutthaya Kingdom, contemporaneous with Mueang Phanat Nikhom and Sanam Chai Khet. It became Phanom Sarakham District in 1894. In 1937 the district office was moved from Ban Mueang Mai, Phanom Sarakham Subdistrict to Ban Nong Ri, Mueang Kao Subdistrict.[1]
The original name of the district should be spelled as "Phanom Salakham" (พนมสาลคาม, pronounced[pʰā.nōmśālakʰāːm]). The word "Sala" (शाल) is Pali means sal tree (Shorea robusta) or resin tree (Dipterocarpus alatus). Phanam San is a name that corresponds to the geography that is full of resin trees. The word "Phanam San" means "grove of resin trees".[2]
Ko Khanun Subdistrict has become a centre for recycling potentially hazardous electronic waste (e-waste), despite a June 2018 ban on imports of foreign e-waste to Thailand. China banned the import of foreign e-waste in 2018 also. Since the e-waste ban, 28 new recycling factories, most dealing with e-waste, have started in Chachoengsao Province, where Ko Khanun is located. In 2019, 14 businesses in Chachoengsao were granted licenses to process electronic waste, six of them in Ko Khanun in Phanom Sarakham District. An official of the Basel Action Network, which campaigns against dumping waste in poor countries, said, "E-waste has to go somewhere, and the Chinese are simply moving their entire operations to Southeast Asia. The only way to make money is to get huge volume with cheap, illegal labour and pollute the hell out of the environment," he added.[3]
Administration
Central administration
The district is divided into eight sub-districts (tambons), which are further subdivided into 87 administrative villages (mubans).
