Tuesday June 16, 2026
France 24 —
Thai fisherman Somdet Singthong steered his metal skiff across the brown waters of the Mekong river, resigned to the pollution that has put his health and lifelong source of livelihood at risk.
Doctors have found elevated levels of toxic arsenic in his fingernails and urine, with the heavy metal also detected in the river which millions of people in Southeast Asia depend on.
Testing suggests the contamination, which experts and campaigners trace back to illegal mining in Myanmar, is now spreading downstream.
Locals used to buy their fish directly from Somdet on a pier near Chiang Saen in northern Thailand, on the border with Myanmar and Laos.
But since authorities detected arsenic and other heavy metals in several Mekong tributaries last year, his clientele has shrunk, leaving his carp and catfish rotting.
“The impact has been huge,” the 69-year-old fisherman told AFP.
“I’ve never been afraid, but other villagers are worried. They don’t eat fish; some won’t touch it at all.”