Recent tests by Thai government agencies have revealed alarmingly high levels of pollutants in a number of rivers across northern regions of the country.
The toxic pollution is threatening local fishing activities, and Thai officials suspect the cause is stemming from waste discharged by upstream mining operations in neighboring Myanmar.
In early April, the Pollution Control Department under Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment tested water quality in the Kok River in Chiang Mai province after local residents reported unusual turbidity and skin rashes following contact with the water, The Nation newspaper reported. The Kok River originates in Myanmar’s Shan State and flows across the Thai border. Arsenic levels in samples collected from multiple sites ranged from 0.012 to 0.026 milligrams per liter (mg/l) – exceeding the national safety limit of 0.01 mg/l – while turbidity levels were nearly 10 times above normal.
In May, further tests by the Pollution Control Department in Chiang Rai – another northern province – showed more alarming results. Water samples taken from tributaries feeding the Mekong, Kok, and Sai rivers showed significant contamination. Lead and arsenic were detected at several points near the Mekong and Sai rivers, with three samples from the Sai River registering arsenic levels 44, 45, and 49 times higher than the national safety standard. The report also noted that several local fish were found with ulcers and signs of inflammation, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper.
The severity of the contamination prompted the country’s Public Health Ministry to issue a warning advising Chiang Rai residents to avoid eating freshwater fish until further notice. The report also cited Suebsakun Kidnukorn of Mae Fah Luang University, who noted that the impacts of worsening pollution were becoming evident: fishermen were losing business, and restaurants had stopped purchasing fish from the Kok River...
