As the problem of scammer gangs in Myawaddy, Myanmar, tapers off, another serious transboundary problem emerged with the Pollution Control Department, under the Environmental Ministry, issuing a ban on April 4 against the use of water in the Kok River, which runs from Myanmar into Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces.
The health caution came after water samples were taken from the river in Chiang Rai's Mae Ai district near the Thai-Myanmar border. The river was found to have toxic arsenic content two times above safe levels. The standard level of arsenic in natural watercourses is 0.01 milligrammes per litre (mg/L), but the samples from the Kok River contained 0.026mg/L. Other samples of water and sediments showed signs of high arsenic levels and other heavy metals.
Kok River runs from Shan State, a northeastern region under the United Wa State Army (UWSA) control. Unlike other ethnic groups, the UWSA maintains good relations with the Myanmar government. Following the Feb 1, 2021, Myanmar coup, UWSA granted more concessions to Chinese investors to operate gold mines. To extract valuable minerals, miners need to use massive amounts of water from rivers, which is discharged into the environment. It would not be a big surprise if miners did not have proper toxic waste treatment processes to deal with heavy metals byproducts such as arsenic materials.
However, toxic waste is not the only problem that involves transboundary rivers. Last September, severe flood runoff of red soils flowed from upstream in Myanmar's Shan State, running into local rivers such as the Kok and Sai rivers, overflowing communities in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. Half a year later, the Thai government still has not told the public where the avalanche of mud and soil came from.
The big question is what the government can do to solve these problems at a fundamental level. Local administrations in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces can ramp up more water tests and continue warning people not to consume water. But how long can such Band-aid solutions last?
There are growing calls for Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to bring this matter to the Myanmar government. First, both governments should investigate the causes of suspected pollution from these gold mines. If the mines are found to have released toxic materials into waterways or if mining has pushed large amounts of soil into rivers, the Myanmar government and UWSA must show goodwill to Thailand by cleaning up the environment and installing wastewater treatments like good mining operators do.
The case will be a testament to whether the Paetongtarn government can handle transboundary pollution from neighbouring countries. Ms Paetongtarn and particularly her father, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, have warm ties with Gen Min Aung Hlaing, who was invited to attend a regional forum in Bangkok early this month. At least, she and her father should show they can use personal relationships with the Myanmar junta to protect public health.