Testing to continue on Yangon’s polluted groundwater

The Green Motherland Development Association plans to continue its research on chemical and saltwater contamination in Yangon’s groundwater, representatives said at a press conference late last month.

The group’s initial research took place between December 2013 and November 2015, when it found low levels of oxygen and high levels of organic compounds in Yangon groundwater, which pose a threat to local ecosystems.

The association also found high levels of salt, toxic metals and chemicals in the Pan Hlaing and Hlaing rivers.

However, more tests are still needed, and the shortage of labs in Myanmar makes that process slow, said association member Dr Kyaw Nyein Aye to Eleven this week.

Yangon’s groundwater has been exposed in recent years to pollution from industrial zones that dispose of waste improperly.

Pollution is also produced by the overuse of private tube wells dug by people and businesses that do not receive enough water from YCDC. The depletion of groundwater through tube wells causes saltwater to rise from deeper within the earth, and it can also cause Yangon’s ground to sink if it reaches critical levels.

Japanese researchers from the Quantum Beam Science Center of Japan’s Atomic Energy Agency have found harmful levels of mercury in Yangon’s Ngamoeyeik Creek, which they conclude must have come from small-scale gold mining operations as far away as Kachin State.

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