Abnormal liver enzymes and thyroid hormones have been found among residents along the Kok and Sai rivers and the households there have to spend an additional 1,800 baht a month to buy clean water for consumption, according to findings by Chiang Mai University.
Recently, the Faculty of Public Health at Chiang Mai University and the Department of disease Control launched a joint research project by surveying a sample of residents, living along Kok River in Mae Ai district of Chiang Mai, for biochemical indicators in their bodies.
Preliminary findings show abnormalities in liver enzymes and thyroid hormone levels. The findings are a warning sign that the health of the residents there should be monitored closely.
Health authorities have not yet confirmed, however, whether illnesses among local residents are directly linked to the contaminants in the rivers.
The Department of Health has advised residents to avoid eating fish, shrimp and other aquatic creatures caught in some sections of the Sai and Kok rivers, where arsenic and heavy metals have exceeded standard levels.
Associate Professor Warangkana Naksen, vice dean of the Faculty of Public Health at Chiang Mai University, said that arsenic is not, however, the only the issue of concern.
The Pollution Control Department said long-term accumulation of lead in the body may affect the nervous system and brain development.
Besides health risks, the contaminants in the rivers have placed an economic burden on households. Data from 400 samples in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai show that almost all of them are having to buy water for consumption and this has increased their monthly expenses.
Senator Maneerat Khemawong, an advisor to the Health Impact Assessment Project of the Kok River, said the main concern of residents is that they cannot predict the threat to their health if the contaminants have accumulated in their bodies over a long time or the effects on their way of life.
There are more than 20 mines in Tachileik province of Myanmar and they have been blamed for discharging untreated waste water directly into Kok and Sai rivers.
Maneerat said that several agencies have been pushing for the government to treat the cross-border pollution as part of the national agenda, but without success as the government continues to conduct studies and collect data.
This does not align with the government’s stated policies to solve economic, security and environmental problems, said Maneerat.
