Agrichemicals severely contaminating tap water in province

[webfact]

Agrichemicals severely contaminating tap water in province

By Pratch Rujivanarom 
The Nation 
Nong Bua Lamphu 

 

Assoc Professor Puangrat Kajitvichyanukul yesterday holds up a test tube containing a sample of tap water, which will be analysed to see if it is contaminated with paraquat. She was at a local water plant in Nong Bua Lamphu.

 

THE CONTAMINATION with agrichemicals in Nong Bua Lamphu remains severe according to the latest analysis by Naresuan University researchers, which found very high concentration of four prominent herbicides in soil, water, vegetables, fish and even in local tap water samples.

 

“We have found that paraquat, glyphosate, ametryn and atrazine have contaminated the environment in all six districts of Nong Bua Lamphu province,” said Assoc Professor Puangrat Kajitvichy-anukul, head of the Centre of Excellence on Environmental Research and Innovation at the university’s Faculty of Engineering and the key researcher, yesterday. 

 

She added that contamination in tap water proved that even the waterworks systems were not safe in many parts of the province.

 

Puangrat said these fresh findings provided further proof that prolonged, intensive use of herbicides, especially in sugar cane plantations, has caused very serious chemical contamination in the soil, water and food. This could eventually have an adverse effect on people’s health and highlights the urgent need for the agriculture sector to switch to organic farming, she said.

 

“Almost all samples of soil, water, vegetables and fish in this latest examination have equally high levels of herbicides as the previous test last year,” she said. “This result indicates that despite local people now being more aware of the need to avoid direct contact with contaminated water and soil to prevent necrotising fasciitis, the farmers still commonly use four-times the amount of herbicides than necessary.”

 

 

Then there is the contaminated tap water. “The research team has found that the sources of water for tap-water production in many areas were severely polluted with farm chemicals,” Puangrat said. The water sources were situated in basins, into which contaminated water from farms is drained. The toxins then accumulate in the basins, she explained.

 

“Most tap-water production facilities are not designed to filter out the chemical contamination in the water. This combines with the fact that most facilities have long periods between cleaning, and results in tap water in some areas having even higher chemical concentration levels than before they were treated,” she explained.

 

She suggested that for short-term mitigation measures, the research team has developed ceramic and nano-carbon filters, which can eliminate chemicals from the water.

 

However, she urged farmers to avoid using herbicides and instead safer methods to kill weeds. They could switch to organic farming, she said, which will not only prevent health threats, but is really the best solution to the problem. 

 

 

The National Reform Committee on Public Health has demanded a total ban of paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos, three widely-used farm chemicals that are blamed for several adverse impacts, including being a threat to the human reproductive system. 

 

“A study by Chulalongkorn University has found that the sexual organs of frogs in paddy fields have changed [because of exposure to the chemicals],” Dr Thiravat Hemachudha said yesterday in his capacity as a committee member. 

 

He was speaking after his committee, which is chaired by Seree Tuchinda, held a meeting with the deputy chair of the National Reform Committee on Social Affairs, Anothai Rittiphanyawong. 

 

The meeting took place in the absence of the representative from the National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs, who failed to show up. 

 

“At the meeting, it was agreed that these three chemicals should be banned,” Seree said.

 

He said the conclusion would be forwarded to Public Health Minister Dr Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, the National Reform Committee on the Environment and also to a panel appointed to look into the controversy. Chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana, the panel will convene its first meeting this afternoon. 

 

“We believe the National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs share our concerns about the chemicals’ impacts on health,” Winai Dahlan, who sits on the National Reform Committee on Social Affairs, said. 

 

He said the committees, had so far been limited to presenting information and opinions to the government and policymakers.

 

Thiravat said the civil society sector was prepared to go to court if the government ignored the adverse health impacts from farm chemicals. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30352661

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-22

[Samui Bodoh]

"...The meeting took place in the absence of the representative from the National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs, who failed to show up. .."

 

Can anyone tell me what the 'National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs' has actually done? Seriously, anything? One concrete accomplishment? One piece of legislation? If they do not take up issues like this, what exactly do they do?

 

Anyone? 

 

Anyone?

 

 

[kannot]

45 minutes ago, webfact said:

Puangrat said these fresh findings provided further proof that prolonged, intensive use

more  like "misuse"..................once  again it  seems the minority who  use the  stuff  sensibly will  be  punished by  them  banning them  all. Just  like  speeding laws  cater for the cretins  who  drive too  fast  the  law  will  be  dumbed  down  for  those who are sensible so  u end up with  stupidly  low speed  limits.

[kannot]

50 minutes ago, webfact said:

However, she urged farmers to avoid using herbicides and instead safer methods to kill weeds. They could switch to organic farming, she said, which will not only prevent health threats, but is really the best solution to the problem. 

 

is  that  before  or  after  they  solve  the  massive  labour  shortage  in  this market, Thais and  Burmese  dont  want  manual farm work anymore

[zzaa09]

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...The meeting took place in the absence of the representative from the National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs, who failed to show up. .."

 

Can anyone tell me what the 'National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs' has actually done? Seriously, anything? One concrete accomplishment? One piece of legislation? If they do not take up issues like this, what exactly do they do?

 

Anyone? 

 

Anyone?

 

 

They have their cushy titles and collect a hefty salary....? 

That's what they do. 

 

 

Spinning wheels go round-n-round.

[zzaa09]

Sucking up and promoting the likes of Monsanto [et al] is all quite win-win and super profitable.

[canopy]

These people deserve high commendation for proving so vividly and definitively that the tap water, the vegetables, the fish, everything is full of poisons that make people sick. Their report is the key to unlocking a path to a healthy place to live. But the public reaction? Nobody cares. I mean seriously, nobody cares. In light of this report they will all just keep spraying their chemicals, eating poisons, getting sick, and not caring one bit. Even the government official whose job was to be there didn't even bother to show up. He should be named and shamed.

 

[Cadbury]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...The meeting took place in the absence of the representative from the National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs, who failed to show up. .."

 

Can anyone tell me what the 'National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs' has actually done? Seriously, anything? One concrete accomplishment? One piece of legislation? If they do not take up issues like this, what exactly do they do?

 

Anyone? 

 

Anyone?

 

 

A clue to the answer to your question is a single word in the name itself; in a cryptic sort of way..............Committee.

Of the thousands of government committees in existence I doubt there is a single one that is productive. Only the other day one of the heads of Prayut's 11 reform committees had to admit that nothing had been achieved in four years.

[lemonjelly]

So the large white drinking water containers/bottles are loaded with Roundup.... great.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[stanleycoin]

16 minutes ago, lemonjelly said:

So the large white drinking water containers/bottles are loaded with Roundup.... great.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Nah

Think roundup is just a watered down version, of this stuff. 

[happy chappie]

I live 20km from nong but lam phu and my water comes from there.the only blessing is no water comes out of the tap.i think someone has nicked the pump.

[canopy]

4 hours ago, kannot said:

is  that  before  or  after  they  solve  the  massive  labour  shortage  in  this market, Thais and  Burmese  dont  want  manual farm work anymore

You keep dragging this gem into threads so maybe it's time someone says something practical about it. I understand that you personally have failed to find workers and for a farang I can appreciate that can be a difficulty. However, all around you are farms operating with an ample work force accepting a meager wage doing manual labor. No different than anywhere else in Thailand. So please stop with this nonsense about a so called labor shortage / no one doing manual labor anymore. This is just your way of trying to escape blame when really the problem lies solely with what you've failed to accomplish on your plot of land.

 

[trainman34014]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...The meeting took place in the absence of the representative from the National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs, who failed to show up. .."

 

Can anyone tell me what the 'National Reform Committee on Environmental Affairs' has actually done? Seriously, anything? One concrete accomplishment? One piece of legislation? If they do not take up issues like this, what exactly do they do?

 

Anyone? 

 

Anyone?

 

 

They do what Thai's love to do; swan around telling their family, their Mia Noi and all others how important they are whilst they are doing absolutely nothing of any use to anyone other than themselves.    See it all the time in my Wife's family; the ones who are so called 'Managers' or are on some jumped up 'Committee' or 'Panel' think they have become High So and therefore anything that may be considered as 'work' is for anyone but them.   Most of them i wouldn't give a job cleaning the toilets !

[DrTuner]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

A study by Chulalongkorn University has found that the sexual organs of frogs in paddy fields have changed [because of exposure to the chemicals],

Always wondered why Thailand is ful of katoys.