About 90 per cent of Karen villagers in
Tambon Mae Chan of Tak's Umphang district in north Thailand have high levels of
lead in their blood, Umphang Hospital director Dr Worawit Tantithanasap
reported yesterday.
The
hospital is running random blood tests on local pregnant women in a bid to
prevent lead poisoning in foetuses.
Worawit
said the latest random check at Mae Chan revealed lead contamination in 90 per
cent of the 200 Karen locals, while tests on Thai residents in Tambon Um Phang
have shown no such contamination.
Dangerous amounts
Twelve
Mae Chan villagers had dangerously high levels of lead in their blood: eight
had 45 microgram per decilitre and four had 40 mcg/dl, exceeding the Disease
Control Department's "danger" rating of 10 mcg/dl for children and 25
for adults. X-ray tests on the 12 villagers found that eight also had lead in
their bones, suggesting they had been exposed to the poison since being in the
womb.
Officials
believe the source of the lead poisoning is either low quality cooking pots
known as mor khaek, solar cells or lead leaking from batteries.
Cheap pots may be to blame
Worawit
said the cheap mor khaek, produced in a neighbouring country, were popular
among locals. A lab test found that prolonged use of the low-cost pots could
result |in lead contamination, which |could pass from mothers to unborn babies.
While
warning people about the dangers of using mor khaek, the hospital would ask
related agencies to provide villagers with safe pots while also randomly
checking domestically made cooking containers for lead, he added.
In related
news, Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri yesterday reported that cancer
killed some 50,000 Thais each year.
Presiding
over the opening ceremony of the National Cancer Institute's 11th National
Cancer Conference at Rama Gardens Hotel, Witthaya said the World Health
Organisation (WHO) reports that cancer causes 7.6 million deaths per year
worldwide.
The WHO
regards lead as "probably a carcinogen to humans". Forecasts suggest
that by the year 2030, global cancer deaths will rise to 17 million per year,
added Witthaya.
Cancer top killer
In
Thailand, cancer has been the No 1 cause of death since 2000, he said, and in
2010 alone, 269,204 Thais were hospitalised with cancer while 58,076 died of
the disease.
The
majority succumbed to cancers of the liver and bile duct, followed by throat,
lung, breast and cervical cancer.
The
number of Thai cancer patients was expected to grow to 133,767 by 2015, said
Witthaya, with cancer deaths set to hit 84,662.
Prapaporn
Kreungew
The
Nation
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