Cross-border smog that has plagued Thailand for decades has now been joined by a potentially deadlier threat flowing from Myanmar.
Recent tests showing arsenic contamination in the Kok and Sai rivers, which flow from Myanmar, have left residents of northern Thailand fearing for their lives.
“Cross-border pollution has been harming Thailand for over a decade now because Thai authorities have done little to address it,” said Chainarong Setthachua, a lecturer and environmental expert at Maha Sarakham University.
Flow of mercury and arsenic
Aweera Pakkamat, director of the Environmental and Pollution Control Office (EPCO) Region 1, said arsenic levels in Kok River samples taken at three locations in Mae Ai district of Chiang Mai last month far exceeded the safe limit.
“Most worrying was Ban Kaeng Tum subdistrict, where water samples contained 0.026 milligrams per liter – soaring past the safe limit of 0.01mg,” he said.
Worse still, mercury in the same water samples measured 0.076mg per liter – above the 0.05mg safe level.
The source of the poisonous heavy metals is believed to be Chinese-owned gold mines upstream in Myanmar’s Shan State.
Exposure to arsenic, particularly through water and food, can cause cancer, skin lesions, and cardiovascular disease. Long-term exposure can also lead to neurological damage and developmental problems in children. Exposure to mercury carries similar dangers.
Five mines implicated
Thai academics and activists in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces accuse the government of failing to address cross-border pollution from Myanmar’s open-pit mines systematically.
“Pollution Control Department data shows five Myanmar open-pit mines are located near rivers that flow into Thailand’s North,” they said in a recent petition to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The petition called for urgent action to combat contamination of the two rivers, which provide tap water for 1.2 million people in Thailand and livelihoods for thousands of families.
It demanded that Paetongtarn raise these issues with Myanmar’s leadership, pointing out that activities in the neighboring country are harming lives in Thailand.
The petitioners called for a working panel of representatives from the government, public and academic sectors to tackle the cross-border pollution. They also demanded a water-quality monitoring center for Chiang Rai.
They called on the Thai government to coordinate with Myanmar’s junta, ethnic forces controlling border zones where the mines are located, and China, to monitor river water quality and find solutions that prevent contamination.
“We also expect the government to keep the public informed and updated,” the petition said.
Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing made two visits to Thailand in April, attending the 6th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit on April 3-4 before returning on April 17 for talks with Paetongtarn and Malaysian PM and ASEAN chair Anwar Ibrahim.
The talks focused on ceasefires and humanitarian aid in the aftermath of the devastating March 28 earthquake. It is not known whether the river poisoning was mentioned.
The academic Chainarong said tackling river contamination is difficult, but the Thai government must make efforts to stop poisonous heavy metals flowing from mines, and force the polluters – no matter their location – to pay damages.
Asst Prof Satian Chunta, a lecturer in environmental management at Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, said the only effective way to tackle the problem was at its source – in Myanmar, a failed state whose junta has lost control of vast swathes of the country, including zones where the polluting mines are operating.
“Hence, the only way to handle these problems is through political means,” he said.
Thai government response
The Thai Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) reports it is coordinating with Myanmar authorities and the Mekong Committee Secretariat in a bid to launch a joint water-monitoring mechanism for the Kok River.
“The worsening quality of Kok River water is now threatening both the environment and people’s health,” the ONWR said.
Cross-border smog has long been on the Thai government’s agenda, having drawn ASEAN’s attention as far back as the 1990s. Yet, despite the 1995 launch of the Regional Haze Action Plan and the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) in 2002, smog continues to plague the region, including Thailand.
In 2017, the Thai government unveiled an action plan with Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia for a haze-free region by 2020. The plan failed.
Last year, the 2nd ASEAN Haze-Free Roadmap was rolled out with great fanfare, but the number of smog-producing hotspots – mainly farmland burning – have remained stubbornly high.
PM Paetongtarn promised to tackle the smog crisis when she took over as PM in August 2024. Her government quickly coordinated with Laos and Myanmar as part of the Clear Sky Strategy to eradicate hotspots.
Thai investment ‘part of the problem’
However, Chainarong dismisses the many rounds of negotiations as ineffective.
“Progress in negotiations has not translated into results,” he said.
He says large Thai conglomerates in search of cheap corn are behind the burning of fields in Myanmar.
“These investors buy corn from local farmers who clear their field stubble with fire,” he said.
He added that Thai investment is also driving the Xayaburi hydroelectric dam in Laos, which is blamed for widescale ecological destruction in the downstream Mekong basin.
Glimmer of hope
Amid the political and multifaceted problem of cross-border pollution, hope has emerged in Thailand’s deep South, where smog has reduced thanks to decisive action by Indonesia and Singapore.
A decade ago, thick haze from agricultural fires in Indonesia regularly blanketed Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces, spreading as far north as Songkhla, Satun, Trang and Krabi. The haze crisis regularly forced cancellations of flights.
However, southern skies began clearing after Indonesia introduced new curbs on factory and vehicle emissions and Singapore tightened its investment laws.
This article was first published by Thai PBS World.
