The government is monitoring sulphuric acid contamination in the Mekong River on the Lao side of the border.
Local people in seven riverside provinces have also been warned to keep an eye out for the chemical leak which is expected to reach Thailand next week.
The contamination occurred in Laos’s Luang Prabang town where a lorry carrying more than 30 tonnes of the acid overturned in a road accident on Wednesday, leading to the acid leaking into Nam Khan River which flows to the Mekong.
The Office of the National Water Resources alerted seven provinces along the Mekong River — Loei, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen and Ubon Ratchathani — to monitor the water quality of the river flowing past them following the accident.
The office expects the chemical in the river to flow past Loei’s Chiang Khan district between April 8-10.
The Minister of Higher Education Science Research and Innovation, Supamas Isarabhakdi, said she instructed an emergency response team from the Department of Science Service to support efforts to monitor river water quality in the seven provinces and assess any possible impacts on the environment.
Dr Rungruang Kitphati, director-general of the department, said sulphuric acid is a corrosive substance, harmful to the skin, e yes, teeth, and lungs. Severe exposure can lead to blindness and even death.
He said Thai authorities have contacted Lao officials to discharge water from the Xayaburi dam in Laos to dilute the chemical in the river to ease the impacts on the water quality downstream in Thailand.
He said health officials are now educating people in the seven riverside provinces about how to protect themselves from the danger of the chemical and if they come into contact with the contaminated water, they are advised to see doctors immediately.
Paitoon Suthamma, director of the Provincial Waterworks Authority’s Nakhon Phanom office, said an initial check of the quality of the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom on the advice of experts found the water was still safe and had not been affected by the contamination.
However, the office will continue to monitor the water quality and provide residents with regular updates on the situation. “The production of water supply [from the Mekong River] has not been affected. The quality of water still meet safety standards,’’ he said.
He added the scene of the accident is far from Nakhon Phanom, though precautions have been taken to prevent any emergency.