For decades, residents of Nong Phawa village in Rayong has depended on fish and vegatables in the Nong Phawa pond for food and income, but in 2013, an industrial waste recycling factory opened near the community. Its malpractice polluted the pond and damage rubber tree plantations. Meanwhile, villagers began to develop chronic kidney disease. But Nong Phawa is not the only community facing such a suffering. Data gathered by Ecological Alert and Recovery - Thailand (EARTH), a foundation that has long been monitoring environmental crime, found similar problems across the country, where the unchecked rise of waste treatment factories causes harm as they operate without accountability.

With PM2.5 pollution under increased public scrutiny, sugarcane farmers, often blamed as major polluters, have been under growing pressure to stop burning cane fields. Many growers have complied with new government measures, contributing to a marked reduction in open-field burning.  In the process, however, they have had to deal with higher costs, increased operational risks, labour shortages, and limited governmental support.

Sugarcane farmers, often targeted as a major source of PM2.5 pollution, have significantly reduced field burning practices to comply with government regulatory measures. Despite the consequences they have suffered - higher costs, labour shortages, increased operational risks, and volatile cane prices - governmental support measures have been underwhelming.

Chiang Mai residents have declared their province an air pollution zone after the government failed to exercise its legal powers to announce an air pollution crisis to address the problem in the northern region. Meanwhile, a significant increase in respiratory diseases is reported in the region.

In Khon Kaen's Nam Phong district, a natural marsh covering 600 rai of land which once served as a fishing area and water source for agriculture became a holding pond for factory wastewater discharge. It became so polluted between 1992 - 1998 that fish stocks began dying. Factories in the area have been repeatedly ordered to close, but they later reopened and the marsh remains polluted.

<p>Waste in the Mekong is largely due to poor waste management by riverine communities. Although it includes plastic materials from China, this material may well have been discarded locally. There are also an abundance of discarded containers from Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar. Moreover, microplastic contamination can now be found along the entire length of the river.</p>

<p>Workers at construction sites within a 5-kilometre radius of the Ming Dih Chemical polysterene factory fire were prohibited from evacuating by military personnel following a government order to close construction sites as part of the current Covid-19 lockdown measures.</p>

<p>Southeast Asian parliamentarians warned of the potential health risks&nbsp;following the&nbsp;the Ming Dih Chemical factory explosion in Samut Prakan and urged the Thai government to&nbsp;take immediate and long-term action to tackle the impacts.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Two myths created by the media caused misunderstandings. One is that Chiang Mai faced the most severe problem, and the second is that this problem is likely to increase in severity every year. Statistics over the past 24 years indicate otherwise.</p>

<p><em>Citizens Demand PCD, DIW Stop Using Human Bodies as Pollution Monitoring Device</em><br /><br />January 9, 2013 (Bangkok) – Researchers found mercury accumulation in fish and people high above safety levels in Prachinburi’s largest industrial area in eastern Thailand. More than 60 residents travelled to the capital to submit pleas for the Pollution Control Department and Department of Industrial Works to fix pollution problem before it is too late.<br /></p>

<p>Burma&rsquo;s largest coal mine and coal-fired power plant, located thirteen miles from Burma&rsquo;s famous Inle Lake in Shan State, are polluting waterways, threatening the health of local populations, and displacing villages, according to a report released on 20 Jan.</p>