Thailand is waiting for Myanmar's response regarding potential lead and arsenic contamination in the Kok and Sai rivers, says Deputy Interior Minister Theerarat Samrejvanich.
Ms Theerarat said the special subcommittee on surface water quality improvement, established by the government to address contamination in the rivers, had forwarded a letter to Myanmar to address the issue.
It is waiting for Myanmar to respond and schedule a meeting so that "a third country will then be reached".
Ms Theerarat spoke yesterday after a second video call with the Chiang Rai provincial governor and related agencies was held. Departments that participated include the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Military Border Affairs.
The subcommittee also finished the design of underwater sediment barriers in the Kok River and will submit it to the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) to request a budget for the design development, said Ms Theerarat.
The barriers will be located in the high-pollution areas to help reduce arsenic concentrations before the water reaches local communities.
In recent weeks, local communities in northern Thailand have called for the issue of unregulated gold mining in Myanmar's Shan State, particularly by Chinese companies, to be addressed.
Senator Chiwaphap Chiwatham, Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Environment chairman, said his committee yesterday discussed the contamination issue, not just in Kok and Sai rivers, but in the Kra Buri River in Ranong, a province that shares a border with Myanmar, and where mining was also blamed for river pollution. He also commented on insufficient responses from Thai public agencies, particularly those concerning cross-border issues.
He proposed that the ONWR revise the Mekong River Commission treaty, which originally comprised Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Myanmar and China, countries upriver of the Mekong, are not part of the MRC.
"I disagreed with building the sediment barriers. No academics have come out to confirm that the water and fish, when the barrier has been constructed, would be safe to consume. Thailand has been attacked, but who can we complain to?" Sen Chiwaphap said.