Thailand to ask Myanmar to regulate Chinese-run mining

The Thai premier has assigned the Army, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Foreign Ministry to negotiate with the Myanmar government to halt the discharge of wastewater contaminated with heavy metals into the Kok and Sai rivers.

The wastewater is believed to be released from unregulated Chinese-run mining operations in Myanmar’s Shan State.

Lab tests on water samples—collected by the Pollution Control Department and the Public Health Ministry from various locations along the Kok and Sai rivers in Chiang Rai and parts of Chiang Mai—found arsenic levels exceeding safety standards.

Government Spokesman Jirayu Huangsap said on Tuesday that the issue of arsenic contamination in the rivers will be raised by the Thai delegation at the Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting, scheduled for June 17–20 in Kengtung Township, Shan State.

He said that the Thai Foreign Ministry has also invited a representative of Myanmar’s Embassy in Bangkok to discuss the matter, adding that the Pollution Control Department has collected information about arsenic contamination in the two rivers, from the Geomatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) and the Department of Health, for presentation by the Thai delegation at the RBC meeting.

In the short-term, the army engineering corps plans to dispose of sediment from the Kok River between Thanarak village and Yonglee Bridge in Muang district of Chiang Rai.

Chirayu said the Department of Health has tested random urine samples from people in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, but didn’t find any to contain high levels of arsenic or lead.

Dr. Veerawat Imsamran, deputy permanent secretary of public health, said today, however, that tests of water and sediment from the Kok, Sai and Khong rivers, conducted on May 1st and 2nd by the Pollution Control Department’s office in Chiang Mai, show unacceptably high levels of arsenic and lead.

As a precaution, he suggested that consumers avoid eating fish caught in the Kok and Sai rivers. They are also advised to clean vegetables under running water or to soak them in clean water for 15 minutes and again in water mixed with baking soda or vinegar for at least another 15 minutes.