CHIANG RAI: Deputy Prime Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said he would travel to meet with Myanmar authorities to discuss issues of arsenic and heavy metal contamination in the Kok River.
Mr Prasert, who is also the chairman of a special subcommittee on surface water quality improvement, led a meeting at the Chiang Rai Provincial Town Hall on Tuesday.
He said the government had prioritised concerns about contamination in the Kok River, which flows in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north of Thailand, caused by polluted water discharged from a gold mine upriver.
Negotiations with Myanmar on the matter can be sensitive, he noted. Talks have been held on the operational level, but not yet on the policy level. The Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry is working to sort out the negotiation dates ahead of his trip, Mr Prasert said.
"We [Thailand] have satellite imagery. [Thailand and Myanmar] must agree on the root cause of the problem before we can find solutions," he said.
He also addressed concerns about reports of river fish that have been found to have red lumps on their skin, saying the condition was not caused by arsenic but by flukes and bacteria in the water.
Mr Prasert said test results of the water from various natural sources have mostly returned normal, but the level of arsenic was found to be higher than normal in the Thailand-Myanmar border area.
He warned people not to directly touch or consume the water from those sources. Tap water is safe, he added.
Meanwhile, Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit said the government should use its "close ties with China" to discuss the matter. It was reported earlier that the mining company is Chinese.
Ms Angkhana said that since Wa State, where the gold mine is reportedly located, is not recognised by the United Nations, Thailand cannot negotiate with authorities there but must rather enter into discussions with the mining companies and have them take responsibility.