A new coal-fired power plant in southern Mong Hsat, 19 kilometers from the Thai border adjoining Chiang Rai province, is set to worsen heavy metal contamination of the Kok River, says the Shan Human Rights Foundation.
The power plant, owned by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and built by Burmese workers, with Chinese technicians overseeing the construction, began operation in November 2025. It is about ten kilometers south of Mong Hsat town, across the Kok River from the headquarters of the southern UWSA. The plant powers the UWSA’s military base, training school, and factories producing weapons and rubber.
Toxic emissions from burning of coal, containing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter (including heavy metals), will directly affect local people’s respiratory health, as well as causing acid rain, threatening vegetation within a radius of 80 plus kilometers. And the runoff from piles of coal and fly ash containing heavy metal contaminants including mercury, lead and arsenic will flow into the Kok River.