|
Ranjana Wangvipula
Officials are checking the water quality
in three major rivers in the Central Plains for toxic contamination in
the wake of a recent fire at a pesticide warehouse in Lop Buri province.
The fire, which broke out on Dec 10, also destroyed 40 houses in the
town municipality of Lop Buri.
It was feared that water used in dousing the blaze might wash off
pesticides kept in the warehouse into the Lop Buri river some 10 metres
away.
Officials said a large number of fish in the river died after the
warehouse fire, possibly from toxic contamination.
Wijarn Simachaya, a specialist at the Pollution Control Department, said
water samples from the Lop Buri, Pa Sak, and Chao Phraya rivers were
already sent to a private laboratory for tests.
Mr Wijarn was particularly worried about endosulfan, which is listed in
a group of chemicals used to kill cherry snails and other pests.
He said endosulfan could last in water longer than other chemicals
released into waterways.
``Now we just know that the water (in the Lop Buri river) has endosulfan
and we are waiting for lab results to find out if its quantity is beyond
the acceptable standard,'' said Mr Wijarn, who is also head of the
Inland Water Quality Sub-Division.
Health officials in Lop Buri and Ayutthaya provinces said the situation
was getting better as there appeared to be far fewer dead fish now
compared to the first week after the warehouse fire.
Mr Wijarn believed the contaminated volume of water in the Lop Buri
river had already flowed out to the sea. |
