Cambodia News, (Kampong Chhnang Province): At 6 pm on November 25, 2020 in Chi Prang village, Chiep commune, Teuk Phos district, Kampong Chhnang province, two women died after being rushed to the provincial referral center, and 11 others were in critical condition, after the victims drank toxic water from a well in the fields during a lunch break.

On November 25, 2020, 13 villagers and a farmer, including a girl, went to harvest rice south of Chi Prang village. At the top of the field, there is a watermelon field where the owner uses well water from the field to mix with pesticides for the watermelons.
The workers harvesting the rice used the well water to drink after eating their lunch. Then at 4 pm on November 25, all the victims began to feel very nauseous and poisoned, so they were sent to Teuk Phos District Health Center. Due to the severity of the symptoms some of the victims were rushed to a provincial hospital at 9pm, but unfortunately two women died during treatment at the hospital.

Mr. Phuong Jim said that above the rice field, there is a watermelon field which was sprayed with pesticides, and the residue has entered the drinking water causing those who drink from the well to be poisoned to death.
So far, the other 11 patients are still being treated at the Kampong Chhnang Provincial Referral Hospital and doctors are monitoring the condition of the victims. Regarding this case, the competent authorities, especially the provincial health department, are working to find the real cause of the poisoning.

That's tragic.

When I was a kid, an older kid died because he smoked a cigarette while mixing roundup into his spray pack and got some poison on the cig.

Horrible way to go.

Anyway, pesticides are dangerous. Be safe

UPDATE

Cambodia News, (Kampong Chhnang): Police have arrested a watermelon plantation owner who is suspected of poisoning the well water with toxic chemicals, killing two women and 13 other people were sent to Kampong Chhnang Provincial Referral Hospital for treatment.

The arrest took place on the afternoon of November 28.The suspect, Chea Vit, 46 years old, lives in Top Talat village, Chiep commune, Teuk Phos district .

The case of deadly water poisoning occurred in Chi Prang village, Chiep commune, Teuk Phos district, Kampong Chhnang province on November 25, 2020. Police say that the suspect had been cleaning out his pesticide equipment in the well that the rice harvesters used for drinking.

How safe is it to eat his watermelons? What level of pesticides are on his watermelons or any fruit/vegetables in Cambodia? There was a thread on CEO previously but sorry I cannot find it. I attended a conference years back by the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF). They were trying to find solutions to many of the import bans placed on Cambodian produce because of high pesticide levels not allowed in other countries. One of the main reasons for obscene levels of pesticides in Cambodian produce was because the pesticides were made in Thailand/Vietnam/China and the Cambodian farmers, if the could read at all, could not understand the dose calculations on the packages written in another language. One case presentation was a farmer who when he noticed the frogs and fish dying in the water surrounding his field knew he had the concentration calculation strong enough to protect his produce (in that case it was cassava).

cambo swa wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 11:40 pm How safe is it to eat his watermelons? What level of pesticides are on his watermelons or any fruit/vegetables in Cambodia? There was a thread on CEO previously but sorry I cannot find it. I attended a conference years back by the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF). They were trying to find solutions to many of the import bans placed on Cambodian produce because of high pesticide levels not allowed in other countries. One of the main reasons for obscene levels of pesticides in Cambodian produce was because the pesticides were made in Thailand/Vietnam/China and the Cambodian farmers, if the could read at all, could not understand the dose calculations on the packages written in another language. One case presentation was a farmer who when he noticed the frogs and fish dying in the water surrounding his field knew he had the concentration calculation strong enough to protect his produce (in that case it was cassava).

These threads might interest you:
newsworthy/cambodia-dangerous-pesticides-t31658.html
newsworthy/six-cows-die-suspected-poiso ... 24723.html
newsworthy/cambodian-bans-imported-herb ... 20403.html
newsworthy/tons-illegally-imported-pest ... 20067.html

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 12:01 am

cambo swa wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 11:40 pm How safe is it to eat his watermelons? What level of pesticides are on his watermelons or any fruit/vegetables in Cambodia? There was a thread on CEO previously but sorry I cannot find it. I attended a conference years back by the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF). They were trying to find solutions to many of the import bans placed on Cambodian produce because of high pesticide levels not allowed in other countries. One of the main reasons for obscene levels of pesticides in Cambodian produce was because the pesticides were made in Thailand/Vietnam/China and the Cambodian farmers, if the could read at all, could not understand the dose calculations on the packages written in another language. One case presentation was a farmer who when he noticed the frogs and fish dying in the water surrounding his field knew he had the concentration calculation strong enough to protect his produce (in that case it was cassava).

These threads might interest you:
newsworthy/cambodia-dangerous-pesticides-t31658.html
newsworthy/six-cows-die-suspected-poiso ... 24723.html
newsworthy/cambodian-bans-imported-herb ... 20403.html
newsworthy/tons-illegally-imported-pest ... 20067.html

Thank you. A good attempt at being clever but those were not the threads I was referencing. I will find the right one and let you now.

The same chemicals that are poisonous to insects are poisonous to people. What level is safe? Ideally it should be zero, but this stuff is very toxic and measured in parts per trillion or picograms. To make it more practical and understandable, these chemicals are even more dangerous than white powders sold to you as cocaine by your friendly local tuk tuk driver. This "cocaine" turns out to be the very dangerous chemical fenatanyl.

Doc67 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 10:11 am wash your fruit and veg very carefully and , where possible or optional, peel what can be peeled, such as apples.

I wasn't sure where you were going with "washing your fruit and veg", but it all became clear. Phew

Read Rachal Carson ,Silent spring .
A classic factual study of the downside of pesticides ,1960s .