Thai environmental officials are racing to stop polluted floodwater from spreading in two provinces near Bangkok. On Sunday, October 18, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin ordered the Pollution Control Department (PCD) to contain an oily film on floodwater in Prachin Buri and keep it out of the Prachin Buri River. The same day, more than 2,000 people gathered in the province to demand the permanent closure of waste plants they fear are poisoning their land and water. In Pathum Thani, just north of the capital, the PCD has told residents not to eat dead fish from two canals where tests found little or no oxygen in the water.
The Prachin Buri gathering took place at a community health park in Hua Wa subdistrict, Si Maha Phot district, and was organized by a local group called the Thung Bang Phluang Mothers’ Health Network, according to several news sources. One resident living about two kilometers from a waste recycling plant said black water with an unusual smell flowed into their rice fields and durian orchard during the floods, damaging more than 20 trees. Another participant said that despite a government closure order, locals could still see smoke and trucks moving on top of the plant’s waste pile.
The pollution complaints date back to late September. On September 28, water was reported overflowing from an industrial waste landfill run by Green Environment Technology Co., Ltd. and flowing beyond the site. Inspectors later found a rainbow colored sheen resembling used lubricating oil on the floodwater. The PCD’s regional office filed a complaint with Si Maha Phot police on October 2.
The Department of Industrial Works has since ordered the company to temporarily halt all operations under the Factory Act and close its landfill pits. It must also upgrade its wastewater treatment, move raw materials and waste indoors, and have engineers certify that its earth embankments and buildings are safe, all by December. Industry Minister Varawut Silpa-archa was scheduled to visit the company on Monday to check on the cleanup.
Test results released by the department on October 14 showed oil and grease levels above the legal limit for factory wastewater, along with high hydrocarbon readings that officials linked to used lubricating oil or alternative fuel. Most heavy metals were either not detected or stayed within standards. Even so, officials said the water was unfit for drinking or household use and told residents not to drink it or stay in contact with it for long periods.
Containment work picked up over the weekend. Joint inspection teams began field checks on October 17 and widened their surveys across Si Maha Phot and Si Mahosot districts. The Marine Department supplied oil booms, and booms and absorbent pads were placed at three bridges along the Bang Phluang Canal.
Prachin Buri has suffered more than any other province this flood season. It accounts for 26 of the 80 flood deaths recorded nationwide since September 16, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. A member of the Bang Pakong river basin committee warned that Chachoengsao, further downstream, could be hit next, and said farmers there are unsure whether they can grow rice or raise fish this season.
In Pathum Thani, the PCD’s regional office took water samples from five spots on October 16 after large numbers of dead fish and dark, foul smelling water appeared in Khlong Song and the Rangsit Prayoonsak canal. At Khlong Song, near the Pruksa 44 housing estate, dissolved oxygen measured zero, a level fish cannot survive. The four Rangsit sites showed between 1.41 and 2.61 milligrams per liter.
Field tests found no arsenic, and no volatile organic compounds or hydrogen sulfide gas at any of the five sites. Lab results for organic matter, bacteria, ammonia, nutrients and eight heavy metals are expected within about seven days of sampling. Officials say the lack of oxygen could explain the fish deaths, but they haven’t yet identified what caused it. Until then, the PCD has told people not to eat the dead fish and to avoid touching the canal water. Anyone who must go in should wear gloves and boots and wash right away.
More rain is on the way. The Thai Meteorological Department expects heavy to very heavy rain through October 25, starting in the South and East before spreading to Bangkok and the Central region from October 21.
For now, people in both provinces are waiting for answers. The Pathum Thani lab results should help explain what killed the fish, while the Prachin Buri company has until December to meet the government’s orders as residents push for a permanent shutdown. Minister Suchart has said water quality monitoring will continue as officials work to keep the contamination out of larger rivers before the next round of heavy rain arrives.
