No fishing after copper contaminated water

[rooster59]

No fishing  after copper contaminated water

 

Local authorities in Kumpavapee district of Udon Thani province have put up signs warning villagers living in  Ban Nadee village of Tambon Phasook not to use water and fish in Huey Sampard canal after it was found to be contaminated with heavy  metals.

 

The warning by Udon Thani deputy governor Mr Somwang Puangbangpho came after environmental scientists detected metal contamination in the water of the canal passing Ban Nadee village.

 

Scientists collected water from the canal for laboratory  examination after a truck loaded with metal  deposits from Laos crashed and fell into the canal.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/no-fishing-copper-contaminated-water/

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-08-26

[plachon]

OK, so they've identified copper amongst the "heavy metals" in the truck. But what other heavy metals were in there? Lead, arsenic, or others? And as usual in Thailand, the authorities try to deflect the blame elsewhere by saying the metal deposits were from Laos. OK, so what if they were? The truck would be Thai-registered and presumably the driver too. And presumably there was a manifest of the materials being carried, so what's with the secrecy about the nature of the load? Where was it travelling to and what was on board should be basic information provided to the public. As well, as what the emergency response of the authorities to try to prevent the pollution from spreading downstream. Anything in the local news in Udon Thani? 

[eliotness]

What are "metal deposits" ? One might assume it was scrap metal, but if that was the case it should have been fairly simple to recover it from the water.  Some heavy metals like Copper Zinc and Nickel are quite soluble, others like Lead are not.  So why were the "deposits" left in the water and what made the heavy metals dissolve ?

[Hereinthailand]

Oh come on whats a little copper in your fish with all the other chemicals/antibiotics etc. in the fish here. I never eat fish here.

[NanLaew]

On 8/26/2017 at 5:16 PM, plachon said:

OK, so they've identified copper amongst the "heavy metals" in the truck. But what other heavy metals were in there? Lead, arsenic, or others? And as usual in Thailand, the authorities try to deflect the blame elsewhere by saying the metal deposits were from Laos. OK, so what if they were? The truck would be Thai-registered and presumably the driver too. And presumably there was a manifest of the materials being carried, so what's with the secrecy about the nature of the load? Where was it travelling to and what was on board should be basic information provided to the public. As well, as what the emergency response of the authorities to try to prevent the pollution from spreading downstream. Anything in the local news in Udon Thani? 

According to the original news article, the truck was headed for Mab Thaput (Industrial Estate) in Rayong.

 

I doubt that Thailand has the equivalent of the US Department of Transport HAZMAT rules and regulations or if they do, then typically the enforcement is lacking. Sure I have seen the warning triangles on fuel tankers and gas trailers here but TBH, these mined ore trucks seem to be devoid of much labeling of any sort. I assume that the long-low containers they use are open-topped as well.

[plachon]

6 hours ago, NanLaew said:

According to the original news article, the truck was headed for Mab Thaput (Industrial Estate) in Rayong.

 

I doubt that Thailand has the equivalent of the US Department of Transport HAZMAT rules and regulations or if they do, then typically the enforcement is lacking. Sure I have seen the warning triangles on fuel tankers and gas trailers here but TBH, these mined ore trucks seem to be devoid of much labeling of any sort. I assume that the long-low containers they use are open-topped as well.

Thanks for further info NanLaew, and now I see from PBS article that ore contained lead, zinc and arsenic, in addition to the copper. The order for operator to retrieve the truck and heavy metals "within 15 days" seems a particularly lax order and typical local way of doing things, rather than declare a major pollution incident,  and get the material and truck removed immediately from the stream, contain the pollution, monitor the situation carefully with environmental and public health officials involved, including taking fish and water samples regularly, and send a bill for all the costs to the operator at the end. And if they won't pay, or there is any sign of negligence (e.g. unroadworthy vehicle or dangerous driving), then prosecute them to the full extent of the law and impose a fine on top of costs of pollution, recovery, monitoring, etc.

 

Yes, I know.....TIT.

 

I do wonder, if this truck was coming from a mining area in central Laos, Hinboun District, Khammuan Province, where there used to be a French colonial mine in the 1930s, but these days are reportedly operated by Russian and North Korean companies. Google Phon Tiou mines and look on satellite image to see the surface damage done by these mines, which have been seriously polluting with heavy metals a tributary of the Nam Hinboun for years. I have a feeling there are more valuable metals than just tin and zinc in the ore, possibly tantalum, which if you recall the Phuket incident in 1986, when there was a major protest against a proposed tantalum smelter on the island, which led the Merlin hotel being set ablaze and the plant being destroyed:

 http://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/06/24/Government-says-agitators-behind-riot/4783519969600/

 

Perhaps they relocated the plant to Map Thapud instead?