Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

The investigation is now concentrating on gold mines located upstream from the Kratie poisonings, in particular those belonging to a Chinese gold mining company, Rong Chheng.

Gold mine tested for cyanide
22 May 2018
A villager sickened by contaminated water in Kratie province receives treatment. The water has been blamed for at least14 deaths, while nearly 300 others have been hospitalised since early May. fresh news

Officials from the ministries of Environment, and Mines and Energy visited Mondulkiri province to inspect Chinese gold mining company Rong Chheng, which is suspected of releasing cyanide waste into a water canal, which may have resulted in the death of at least 14 Kratie villagers earlier this month.

The company is located in Pou Tung village, Chung Phlas commune, in Keo Seima district.

Keo Seima district’s police chief, Sun Bun Thoeun, said the officials collected samples of water and sand from the company’s shafts, and other places for analysis.

“I am unsure how many mines are legal or illegal. Also, we have yet to identify the actual chemical substance they used as it is pending analysis,” he said.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Mine and Energy, Yos Monirath, said the inspection at the mines has not been completed due to heavy rains yesterday.
“Many mining shafts located in different areas are suspected of using cyanide, and we hope to complete the inspections soon,” he said.

Some 300 villagers in Kratie province were hospitalised early this month, leaving at least 14 dead. They were said to have drunk water contaminated with cynide, which is used to flush mine shafts.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... ed-cyanide
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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

Post by Barang chgout »

How good is this place? Gotta love Cambodia!

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

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There is a difference of opinion among ministry officials as to who or what is to blame for the Kratie poisonings, where a number of villagers died. Even the number of contaminations is uncertain, reports vary between 13 and 18 dead, and 200-300 people taken ill.

There are two main camps among the officials - those who blame an outside source for the poisoning, ie. cyanide runoff in the river from gold-mining upstream, and those who say the villagers poisoned themselves with runoff from pesticides and from drinking methanol rice wine.

The idea that the contamination has been caused by upstream gold-mining, previously announced by the Industry Minister, is now being disputed by the Mines Minister, who once again blames pesticides and rice wine for the outbreak of poisonings.

The Mines Minister also says plainly that none of the gold mines licensed by the Mines Ministry have started operations, so they cannot be held responsible for any pollution. However, it's possible that some illegal goldminers will be made to take the blame if cyanide poisoning is finally confirmed as the source of the contamination.
The investigations continue.

23 May 2018
Villagers not poisoned by cyanide: Mines Minister
Mr Prasidh[Industry Minsister] said that his expert officials confirmed the poisoning was caused by a cyanide substance used for cleaning gold in Mondolkiri province that floated downstream to Kratie province.

“They used it without a protection system and when it rained, the pool that stored the cyanide substance overflowed into the stream and caused poisoning,” Mr Prasidh said.

On Monday evening, Mr Sem [Mines Minister]contradicted Mr Prasidh’s comments, noting that the Environment Ministry sent a sample of blood from the dead to Singapore and that tests found no cyanide.

“Related to poisoning in Kratie province, the Environment Ministry has sent the blood taken from the dead to be tested in Singapore, but it contained no cyanide in the blood,” he said.

“The people died from other substances; like the Ministry of Health said, it was caused by herbicide and pesticide use near the river,” Mr Sem added. “My ministry also visited the area and took photos of herbicide and pesticide containers abandoned near the river and stream. It was also caused by rice wine which the Health Ministry also found.”

Mr Sem said that there are legal mining operators in Mondolkiri and Kratie provinces, but they have not yet done any mining.
He said that the companies began building roads and factories and they did not use cyanide because the operations had yet to start.

“The companies that have licenses, they have not done mining operations yet, so they do not affect the environment,” Mr Sem said.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50492555/v ... -minister/
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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

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22 May 2018 - Cyanide found
Deaths from cynide contamination of the water had alarmed the authorities, and last week, Industry and Handcrafts Minister Cham Prasidh said his officials found traces of cyanide in the mine shafts.

However, he declined to name the company involved, even though he confirmed that the chemical was found in legal and illegal mining sites in Mondulkiri.

An environment official who declined to be named said that cyanide was also found at Rong Chheng’s premises.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... ed-cyanide
23 May 2018 - No cyanide found
Sem said the Ministry of Environment sent blood from some of the victims to be tested in Singapore and no cyanide was found, but other poisonous substances were, which the Ministry of Health has said were nitric acid and chromium.

A Chinese gold mine near the area has been checked for the use of cyanide.

“A [Ministry of Mines] team took photos of hundreds of herbicide and insecticide cans next to the streams and that [likely] contributed to some extent.”

Sem did not name the forensic department in Singapore where the Ministry of Environment sent the samples for testing.

Sao Sopheap, spokesman for the Environment Ministry, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Um Sotha, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry, told The Post on Tuesday that water samples the ministry brought from the Prek Te and Korki streams for testing contained “cyanide”, but conceded that his ministry had not taken blood for testing.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... ing-deaths
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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

The official statement, issued by the Ministries concerned, rules that some of the mass deaths in Kratie province were caused by methanol rice wine, and others were due to chemical runoff from pesticides and herbicides. Case closed ?

TOP NEWS: Three Ministers Released a Joint Communique on the Death of Poor People in Kratie Province.
8 hours ago 8:28 May 25, 2018

(Phnom Penh): The Minister of Health, HE Mam Bun Heng, Senior Minister Cham Prasidh, Minister of Industry and Handicrafts, and the Minister of Mining and Energy, Suy Sem, yesterday released a joint press release to clarify the cause of the recent deaths of Kratie people. According to a press release obtained by Fresh News in the morning of May 25.

"The poisoning of Sraan and Al Chau village, Kandal commune, Chey Borei district, Kratie Province, originated from liquor with high levels of methanol, and at Prek Lo and Ouk Kim, the poisoning came from high concentrations of chemicals caused by herbicides and pesticides," the statement said. "

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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

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Despite recent official denials on May 24, suspicions of cyanide contamination are still being investigated, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

Cyanide ‘found in samples’
25 May 2018
A senior official at the Ministry of Environment said on Thursday analysis of blood samples from victims of Kratie province’s contaminated water incident earlier this month have confirmed the presence of cyanide, albeit at very low levels.

Tin Ponlok, the Ministry of Environment’s secretary-general at the General Secretariat of the National Council for Sustainable Development, told reporters that while he dared not comment about the case as yet, early results showed the level of cyanide “is not at a high level in the samples”.

Ponlok said: “I do not know how much cyanide it takes to harm or kill someone, so now we are waiting for the experts to examine the results.”

He said experts from the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Mines and Energy are working together on a detailed report based on the analysis of the victims’ blood samples in order to submit it to the government for evaluation.

However, despite the low levels, the discovery by the Singapore laboratory of cyanide in the blood samples is in line with a statement made by Minister of Industry and Handicrafts Cham Prasidh last Thursday.

He had said that besides chromium and nitrite, cyanide was found in a water sample taken from the Prek Te and Korki rivers in Kratie’s Chet Borey district. The cyanide, he said, is used in gold mining and poses a serious threat to people’s health and the environment.

Its discovery in the water prompted investigation teams to look into mine shafts located in neighbouring Mondulkiri province, where a Chinese company, Rong Cheng Industrial (Cambodia) Co Ltd, is constructing a gold mine shaft. It is suspected of secretly dumping the waste containing cyanide into the stream.

Speaking via his interpreter, Yin Sok Meng, the deputy director of Rong Cheng, Le Man Gun, denied that his company had anything to do with the contamination. He said it had not yet begun operating the gold mine shaft, and did not import any cyanide.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... nd-samples
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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

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Ministers berated about toxic water
Speaking in the cabinet meeting on Friday, May 25, Prime Minister HE admonished ministers for accusing each other of being responsible for the toxic water that has caused illness and death among villagers in Kratie and Mondukiri provinces. He said that this is his last warning, and if the ministers do not act responsibly he will dismiss them.

The targets of his ultimatum were Minister of Industry and Handicrafts Cham Prasidh, and Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem.

Approximately 300 Chetr Borei (Kratie) district villagers fell ill earlier this month and 13 died. Most get their drinking water from the Prek Ter stream. About 80 Mondolkiri villagers were hospitalised. They too drink water from a stream.

Villagers suspected cyanide run-off from gold mines in Kratie and Mondolkiri as the source.

This was confirmed by Minister Cham Prasidh but denied by Minister Suy Sem, which led HE to distrust their reports. He will accept only results from the Health Ministry.

And as to reporting to the media, he said: “Why did they [Mr Sem and Mr Suy] publicly comment on this or that issue, causing strife between ministers, while the head of the government knew about it.” They reported to the media before informing him, and the premier finds such behaviour causes him unwarranted headaches.

“… I will not give up on this issue, so I might decide to fire ministers,” he said, because of the gravity of the issue in respect to the affected villagers and the nation as a whole.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50493774/m ... xic-water/

A joint official statement was subsequently issued by the ministers concerned.
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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

Post by Gardiguy »

Cows this time....and bacteria instead of rice wine.

"Villagers in Mondulkiri province’s Sre Chhouk commune, in Keo Seima district, have expressed concern over dying cattle, pointing the blame at water contamination caused by the illegal gold-mining groups in a nearby commune.

Local authorities, however, said the recent rash of deaths and illnesses of their cattle is the result of bacterial infections."

https://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/dy ... -villagers
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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

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Gardiguy wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 8:17 pm Cows this time....and bacteria instead of rice wine.

"Villagers in Mondulkiri province’s Sre Chhouk commune, in Keo Seima district, have expressed concern over dying cattle, pointing the blame at water contamination caused by the illegal gold-mining groups in a nearby commune.

Local authorities, however, said the recent rash of deaths and illnesses of their cattle is the result of bacterial infections."

https://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/dy ... -villagers
Either this area is being hit with repeated random poisoning and sickness outbreaks, or there is something else going on.
Is it credible that shortly after a mass poisoning of the population, large numbers of animals are also dying from poisoning/illness, and this is not related ? These poisonings are occurring in the same commune, in the same district.
Prap Chuob, a Phnorng resident of Chak Char village, in Keo Seima district’s Sre Chhouk commune, told RFA’s Khmer Service that at least 80 people in his and three other villages recently became sick last week after consuming water from a stream passing through the area that had long been used for drinking. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambod ... 64115.html
Villagers in Mondulkiri province’s Sre Chhouk commune, in Keo Seima district, have expressed concern over dying cattle...https://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/dy ... -villagers
I posted earlier that IMO if the river water was responsible for the poisoning of the local population, then logically their animals should also be affected. Now the animals are dying and I don't believe this is a coincidence.
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Re: Contaminated water killing Kratie villagers

Post by Gardiguy »

Anchor Moy wrote:
Gardiguy wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 8:17 pm Cows this time....and bacteria instead of rice wine.

"Villagers in Mondulkiri province’s Sre Chhouk commune, in Keo Seima district, have expressed concern over dying cattle, pointing the blame at water contamination caused by the illegal gold-mining groups in a nearby commune.

Local authorities, however, said the recent rash of deaths and illnesses of their cattle is the result of bacterial infections."

https://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/dy ... -villagers
Either this area is being hit with repeated random poisoning and sickness outbreaks, or there is something else going on.
Is it credible that shortly after a mass poisoning of the population, large numbers of animals are also dying from poisoning/illness, and this is not related ? These poisonings are occurring in the same commune, in the same district.
Prap Chuob, a Phnorng resident of Chak Char village, in Keo Seima district’s Sre Chhouk commune, told RFA’s Khmer Service that at least 80 people in his and three other villages recently became sick last week after consuming water from a stream passing through the area that had long been used for drinking. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambod ... 64115.html
Villagers in Mondulkiri province’s Sre Chhouk commune, in Keo Seima district, have expressed concern over dying cattle...https://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/dy ... -villagers
I posted earlier that IMO if the river water was responsible for the poisoning of the local population, then logically their animals should also be affected. Now the animals are dying and I don't believe this is a coincidence.
Looking on the map, the river runs through the Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary just before the village....
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