Kantarawaddy Times
Snails in the Salween River, which flows through both Myanmar and Thailand, have been found to contain arsenic levels dangerous to human health at concentrations 10 to 20 times higher than safety standards, according to a report by the Thai news outlet The Transborder News.
The report cited comments made on May 3 by Somporn Pengkham, who leads a research project aimed at improving environmental health awareness through the “Citizen Science” approach. Due to these findings, Thai authorities have warned residents living near the Salween River in Mae Hong Son Province not to consume snails collected from the river.
During periods when the river water level drops, local residents commonly collect snails for cooking and consumption, making the warning particularly significant.
A resident from Ywarthit said that people in areas along the Salween River in Karenni State, including Hpasawng, Shardaw (Somo Preh Soe Lay), and Bawlakhe (Ywathit), are still catching and eating fish and snails from the river.
The Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) previously stated that health officials would continue public awareness campaigns regarding poisoning in the Salween River.
However, according to a resident from Ywarthit, many local people are still unaware of the arsenic contamination in the river, and public education campaigns have not yet been widely seen.
Residents of Ywathit also said that even before research findings confirmed the contamination, people often experienced dizziness after eating fish from the Salween River, especially larger fish.
The IEC has also announced that arsenic levels in the Salween River exceed safe standards by more than 50 times and warned people not to come into contact with water from the river or from the Molo Creek flowing from the Mawchi region.
