Lower Klity Creek villagers: Living with lead poisoning
Over the past five decades, a lead-processing mine and factory in Kanchanaburi province has released toxic waste including lead into the rivers and creeks of the Lower Klity creek, home to about 400 ethnic Karen people. The factory operation began in the mid-1960s and, though it was shut down in 1998, the lives of local people have never been the same since. The Lower Klity village, located in Chalae sub-district, Thongpakphum district of Kanchanaburi, is situated about 200 km away from town deep in the forest where the community has settled down for over a hundred years. Villagers rely heavily on nature and the Klity creek water source for farming and livelihoods. After the lead factory was established about 12 km from their village, the factory emissions contaminated the village water sources and farming areas. Lead is a poisonous metal that poses serious health hazards as it affects the nervous systems and kidneys. In 1972, the full impacts of the lead factory became evident when the creek water turned into a thick, muddy-red color and the area was filled with a terrible stench. Soon huge numbers of dead fish floated up to the surface. The villagers noticed that many of them were falling sick with dizziness, stomachache, headache, numb and swollen limbs as well as babies both with birth defects: blind or with mutated hands and fingers. Miscarriages and infant mortality were increasingly reported in the community.
