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“I felt unusual because, this time, there were a lot of rashes and they kept spreading. It was itchy; I had never felt that before.”
Gob Kotekham has been making rafts in the Kok River almost all his life. It’s never made him sick until now. Credit: SBS News / Claudia Farhart
He says initially he thought he was having an allergic reaction, but then others working on the rafts got sick too.
“My friend got cut, and his wound wouldn’t heal,” Kotekham says.
Another person went into the water and felt feverish. Then, after two months, it still hadn’t gone away, so I went to see the doctor.
Officials from Thailand’s Pollution Control Department came to test the water and discovered arsenic levels three times higher than the safe limit.
Gob Kotekham developed this rash across his body. He says it lasted more than two months. Credit: Supplied
Local authorities ordered everyone in the village, which is in the Mai Ai district of Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, to stay out of the water, putting its largest source of income off-limits.
“So, we are all in debt. Not just me; the whole village.”
Unregulated mining thrives in war
“So, we said that this is not just ordinary mineral extraction or mining; this must be tied up with rare earth mining in Kachin State.”
One of the rare earth mining sites in Myanmar’s Shan State in satellite images seen by the Shan Human Rights Foundation. Credit: Shan Human Rights Foundation
The two sites are located just 2 and 3km from the river’s banks in territory controlled by the United Wa State Army, which is widely considered the most powerful militia in Shan State.
“We also have heard from local people that all the water is very brown and they cannot use it anymore, but they have to because they have no other water source. But the community in Shan State dare not speak up, because of the local authority.”
“If it cannot be fixed, then the community will change. Our way of life will change.”
What’s behind the surge in rare earth mining?
And global demand for the 17 chemical elements that comprise ‘rare earths’ is growing. Once processed, they can be used in a wide range of modern technologies, including smartphones, weapons systems and rechargeable batteries.
Environmentalist Pianporn Deetes says Myanmar’s internal conflict means rare earth mining is largely unregulated. Credit: SBS News / Claudia Farhart
Thai activists believe Chinese investors are largely behind the surge in mining in Shan State and, by extension, the contamination coming from it.
“It’s happening in an area where there are no laws or even rules on safety standards. They are exploiting the situation in Myanmar,” Deetes says.
The costs are being paid by our rivers, our forests, our lands, and our futures.
Testing shows the contamination has already spread beyond the Kok River. After it passes through Tha Ton, the river empties into the Mekong — Southeast Asia’s most important waterway — where abnormally high levels of arsenic have now been detected.
Environmentalists warn a regional crisis is coming
All have shown arsenic levels exceeding the safe limit.
Source: SBS News
In the small village of Ban Sob Kok, about 15km downstream from the border with Myanmar, fishermen are now finding deformed fish in their daily catch.
The arsenic levels detected in the Mekong are currently far lower than those found in three of its tributaries (smaller streams that flow from a larger river), which originate in Shan State: the Kok, Sai and Ruak rivers.
“But if upstream mining keeps discharging this in the same fashion, it will form more particulates, more sediment and will transport, wave by wave, there will be more impact for sure. This is not at a steady state yet.”
Thai fishermen are reporting finding deformed fish in the Mekong River and its tributaries. Credit: Supplied
Thailand, Laos and Myanmar all meet on the Mekong River. It then continues downstream into Cambodia and Vietnam, supporting 60 million people through fisheries, agriculture and drinking water before emptying into the South China Sea.
“You can do rare earth mining in an accountable manner. But this is open mining.
They are just allowing everything to spill into the waterways. It is unacceptable.
“It is long-term violence,” Deetes says.
The Mekong River supports 60 million people as it makes its way through Southeast Asia. Credit: SBS News / Claudia Farhart
“The result might not be seen within a year or two, but it might show itself in the next three, five or 10 years in newborn babies.
“Public health is the biggest issue for us. We don’t want our future generations to be sick. So I think it is important for the government to recognise the level of the crisis as it is, and fix the problem immediately.”
Mounting evidence of illegal mining
Its own mapping also points to a recent surge in mining activity. Bangkok’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency has now detected 60 disturbed earth sites across Shan State with suspected links to mining, 21 of which it says are newly active this year.
“This should lead to the conclusion, or at least the identification, that the contamination has to do mostly with rare earth mining.”
Phra Mahanikom was born and raised on the Kok River. He says the water is their way of life. Credit: SBS News / Claudia Farhart
Way of life under threat
That, Mahanikom says, is the reality of his community’s connection to the river.
La Boonruang has lived in this house by the Kok River for more than 50 years. Credit: SBS News / Claudia Farhart
Tha Ton is a village of less than 20,000 people. Almost all of them rely on the river in some way for their survival.
“They grow vegetables and they need the Kok River to water them. Now, we don’t know for sure if these vegetables can be eaten,” he says.
Some people say they can, but if you can avoid it, you should avoid it. And what if they sell the vegetables and something bad happens afterwards? These are their worries.
“It impacts everyone. Not just one person, not just the whole village, the whole river.”
