Thread: Lead mine operator ordered to compensate villagers, clean Klity creek

The Poisoned Village
JANUARY, 2006 - VOLUME 14 NO.1

The sad story starts more than 20 years ago, when a mining company, Lead Concentrate Thailand, set up operations near Klity. The company released waste from its lead separation plant directly into Klity Creek, which supplies the community with water. Soon, villagers were complaining of severe headaches, swellings and pains in their joints. Hundreds of cattle died, wiping out the villagers’ savings.

.... The Department of Mineral Resources fined Lead Concentrate Thailand 2,000 baht (US $50) and ordered the company to suspend its operations until it had cleaned up the stream and could show it had improved waste management procedures.

... After our arrival in Lower Klity village, lawyers from the Lawyers Council of Thailand set up shop on the floor of the local temple, interviewing lead poison victims. I sat next to Ma Ong Seng, blinded by nerve damage. Her two young sons, both mentally handicapped, had led her by the hands up the temple steps, carefully removing her shoes, and sat watching me protectively as I spoke to their mother. Next to us, little Tukada, whom I’d read about in the papers as a one-year-old who could not lift her head, sat staring blankly. Now five years old, she weighs only 11 kg, her head large for her tiny body.

The Poisoned Village


From 2008-

The Appeals Court yesterday ruled in favour of eight residents of Lower Klity village whose health was harmed by lead in their water supply, dramatically raising the compensation a mining company was required to pay them. The Appeal Court yesterday upheld the verdict of Kanchanaburi Civil Court that lead contamination of Klity creek caused by the industrial activities of Lead Concentrates (Thailand) Co harmed the health and livelihood of the villagers.

The court also raised the amount of compensation which the lower court had ordered Lead Concentrates to pay to the eight residents, from 4.26 million baht plus 7.5% annual interest to 29.55 million baht plus 7.5% annual interest. The eight plaintiffs are four adults and four children who have developed chronic diseases associated with lead poisoning. They were represented by two solicitors from the Lawyers Council of Thailand.

In a related case, the Pollution Control Department was ordered by the Central Administrative Court to pay compensation worth 743,000 baht to 22 Karen villagers affected by lead contamination in Klity creek. The department is appealing against the case.

Mines and Communities: Villagers win lengthy battle against Thai lead miner


I wonder if the Villagers will see a single satang of compensation during their lifetime?
I would have thought the costs associated with the Pollution Control Department appealing the decision would safely exceed the measly 743,000 judgement anyway- sheer bloody mindedness. TIT.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...tion-claim-but

Klity villagers win compensation claim, but...

• Published: 21/12/2010 at 01:05 PM
• Online news: Opinion

The Kanchanaburi provincial court’s verdict on Monday ordering a lead mining company to pay nearly 36 million baht in compensation to 150 Karen in the remote village of Lower Klity is, indeed, welcome, but their fight for justice is nowhere near at an end.

It has destroyed the lives of some 500 Lower Klity villagers in Thong Pha Phum and Si Sawat districts, and remains unrepentant and unapologetic.

The case may drag on for many more years as the company is likely to take the case to the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court.

This means that the villagers suffering from years of consuming water contaminated with lead and other hazardous chemicals discharged by the company’s lead extraction plant will not receive any compensation until the case is final.

Surapong Kongchantuk, director of the Karen Studies and Development Centre, has been instrumental in defending the rights of the Lower Klity villagers and in exposing the lead poisoning problem to the public. He cautiously welcomed the court verdict.

He believes that the defendant in this case, Lead Concentrates, will appeal the verdict as in another similar case brought before the Kanchanaburi provincial court by eight Karen villagers. The court ordered the company to pay the eight plaintiffs 4.2 million baht each, and this was upheld by the Appeal Court. The case is now pending with the Supreme Court - and the villagers remain unpaid.

Since the first court case was brought against the company in 2003, none of the villagers have received any compensation at all from the company. Nor have they received any help from the government, despite a ruling by the Administrative Court in 2008 ordering the Pollution Control Department to pay some 742,000 baht in compensation to 22 affected villagers.

The department was also ordered to rehabilitate the affected village but, alas, the department has nothing at all yet.

The plight of the Lower Klity villagers seems to have been forgotten by the public, the media in general and the government -- simply because it no longer makes front-page news or prime-time television news. Not even the human rights advocacy groups are interested in following up their court cases. They are keener in chasing headline-grabbing incidents, such as the recent extrajudicial killing of an alleged drive-by shooter and drug trafficker.

Besides the roughly 36 million baht in compensation awarded to the villagers by the court, the court also made a significant ruling on three issues, Mr Surapong said:

- Normally, the statue of limitations of a case involving a wrongful act, as in this case, is one year. This means the plaintiff must lodge the case with the court in one year after he or she was aware of the wrongful act.

This was not applied to this case because the plaintiff also accused the defendant, Lead Concentrates, of violating Article 96 of the Environment Promotion and Protection Act B.E. 2539, under which the statue of limitations of the case is ten years. In this case, the court, in essence, ruled that the statue of limitations clock did not started ticking until the company started the environmental cleanup in the Lower Klity area.

- The board of the company must be held accountable for the actions of the management.

- If the company fails to take any action to clean up the pollutants in the area, the villagers can do the job in accordance with the standards set by the Pollution Control Department and to claim expenses from the company afterward.

The court’s verdict yesterday represents just a small victory for the Lower Klity villagers and their loyal supporters, among them the Law Council of Thailand and Mr Surapong.

But many more years they will they have to suffer until the authorities concerned that these Karen villagers are human beings and deserve to be protected under the same laws that we Thais cling to.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...of-klity-creek

EDITORIAL

The saga of Klity Creek

• Published: 22/12/2010 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

One of the saddest and most damaging pollution cases ever recorded has come to a somewhat messy resolution. The order by the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court that Lead Concentrates Co must pay villagers for years of suffering may be the best that justice can provide. But lengthy delays, skimpy laws, red tape and bureaucrats without compassion drew out the tragic case of Klity Creek's contamination far beyond what is acceptable. The company ignored regulations, abused local residents and disregarded community standards to put profits before decency and concern for human rights.



The real shame of the sad tale of Klity Creek lies with a long string of governments and the regulators they failed to hold accountable. Various lawsuits in the case date back to 1998. (The suit in the court was filed "only" three years ago.) Long before the first legal moves, the pollution, destruction and human harm was well known.

This newspaper alone has documented the plight of the small Karen community as it suffered the mind-boggling arrogance of a company so fixated on profits. Government offices let down the community. They let down the country as well by allowing such flagrant pollution with a substance as dangerous as lead. Naturally, throughout the years of this terrible event, there were suspicions and even allegations of corruption of various sorts. These charges are unlikely to be pursued, if only because the company has gone out of business.

Klity Creek was an abuse of nature and humanity that never should have occurred. The company was set up several decades ago to mine lead from the region along the stream's banks. It could have installed proper equipment but chose to operate with the bare minimum of technology, and with little or no attention to any kind of safety. The waste from the mining was dumped directly into the creek, without so much as a show of concern. The government reported occasional fines for violations of safety standards, but Lead Concentrates apparently felt it was simpler and cheaper to pay the risibly low fines than to make improvements that would bring it into compliance with the law.

Meanwhile, as the stream turned from fresh to dangerous, lead-tainted water, the real victims were the ethnic Karen in the remote village of Lower Klity in Thong Pha Phum and Si Sawat districts of Kanchanaburi province. They had neither the means nor the influence to go up against the polluting company. They received no support from district, provincial or national officials charged with combatting polluting industries. Only the media was able to take up the case of the 150-odd villagers who had fallen sick and were suffering chronic illnesses. One man, Jisa Nasuansuwan, died of cancer. Other villagers died, as did their animals. Tests by reliable third parties showed dangerously high levels of lead in their bodies.

The most rational action in the Klity Creek saga was taken by the Administrative Court. It ruled in 2008 that the Pollution Control Department had not done its job, and should pay compensation of 743,000 baht to harmed villagers. Meanwhile, another suit filed in 2006 still lingers in the Supreme Court. Some of the judgements and most of the payments are moot, because Lead Concentrate has stopped all operations at the still polluted site.

The saga of Klity Creek is one of the worst known abuses of the environment and peaceful villages in recent history. One must hope that never again will a company be allowed to ride roughshod over a community in this manner. Agencies charged with enforcing pollution and environmental laws must learn from this sad story.

KLITY CREEK

Villagers want poisonous ore removed
5/02/2011

KANCHANABURI : Klity villagers want ore tailings left over from an abandoned mine moved to a landfill site remote from waterways.

They have asked the Pollution Control Department to find a new place to bury the lead-contaminated tailings to prevent further poisoning of natural waterways and farmland.

Local mining company Lead Concentrate Co buried almost 3,000 tonnes of ore tailings from its mining venture, which closed in 1999. Tests of the water supply showed that the ore had contaminated Klity Creek, making many of the residents fall ill.

The company buried the tailings at sites about 10 metres away from the creek, the main water source of the village's Karen ethnic residents.
Many villagers developed lead poisoning symptoms.

Tests found the ore tailings contain 51,984 to 170,697 milligrammes of lead per kilogramme, which is considered hazardous waste under the Industry Ministry's definition.

The villagers met department staff yesterday to discuss how to deal with the vast amount of tailings at the site.

The department proposed four options: asking a mining company to extract lead from the tailings for industrial use; hiring a waste management firm to take the tailings away; removing the tailings to a site in the village more remote from the creek; and improving the landfill to prevent leaks of toxic substances.

The villagers said they preferred the third option of removing the ore tailings to another site in the village.

"Removing the lead-contaminated deposits out of the village will only cause problems to people in other places. So we have decided to keep it here, but we need to find a new site that is far from waterways and farmland," said Nitipon Tantiwanich, head of Klity village in Thong Pha Phum district.

Anuphan Ittharatana, director of the department's water quality management office, said staff would submit the villagers' demand to a subcommittee.

If approved, staff expect to move the tailings before the rainy season arrives in June, he said. The cost of moving the tailings would reach 14-30 million baht.

Mr Anuphan, however, said the department would not remove lead-contaminated sediment from Klity Creek as the mining company is obliged to handle that task.

bangkokpost.com

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...e-klity-horror

EDITORIAL

No end to the Klity horror

• Published: 29/07/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Klity is only a small creek. The lead mine that poisoned it with toxic waste water is a relatively small mine. The village of the indigenous Karen forest dwellers who have been suffering from lead poisoning is also a small village of only about 80 families. Here is a straight-forward and relatively limited case of industrial pollution, and the Kanchanaburi Court has already ordered the company to pay compensation to sick villagers and to clean up the creek.

Yet nothing has happened.

Thirteen years after the Klity lead poisoning problem became public, and after eight years of legal battles, the 19km-long creek in the forest adjacent to Thung Yai-Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary is still contaminated with 10,000 tonnes of toxic residue. Despite the court order, both the lead mining company and the pollution control authorities have refused to clean up the creek, which is the village's main source of drinking water and fishing. Consequently, the villagers and their children continue to fall sick. Rubbing salt in the wound, health authorities have refused to treat the Klity folk for lead poisoning, saying it is useless while the environment remains toxic.

Meanwhile, not a single victim has received any financial compensation because the defendants continue to buy time by taking the matter to the Supreme Court.

The implication is clear. Any industrialisation plans proposed by the incoming government or the private sector _ including nuclear power plants _ must be under serious public scrutiny. If the government cannot even handle limited industrial pollution such as this, what can it possibly do with bigger pollution disasters that involve more powerful industries?

The Klity predicament is actually a microcosm of the country's structural inadequacy to effect justice for the weak and the marginalised. To start with, the authorities' reluctance to punish the polluters reveals the dubious relationship between state regulators and businessmen. The lead mine has released toxic waste water into the creek for decades. Nothing was done. When the crime was exposed, the mine was fined only 2,000 baht. The problem is not with weak laws, but the authorities' use of the weakest law to help the polluters.

To salvage their community, the Klity folk must go through an extremely lengthy and costly court procedure that has drained their scarce resources. But at least they have received legal assistance from human rights groups. Most victims of pollution hazards elsewhere are not as fortunate. Unable to afford the long and expensive legal fight _ which in itself is systemic injustice _ they have no choice but to endure the abuse.

The Klity case also echoes the country's larger health problems caused by contamination of the environment with toxic chemicals. Yet, the health authorities refuse to tackle the sources of so many illnesses. In the case of Klity, doctors refuse to diagnose the symptoms as lead poisoning because they do not want to waste their time in court. They also fear defamation lawsuits from angry investors. Without testimony from medical experts, the victims have no chance fighting polluters who destroy their lives.

The Klity predicament also reflects ethnic discrimination. This denial of help goes unquestioned because they are viewed as "the other". Worse, they also face relocation threats due to prejudice against them as forest encroachers. Without moral outrage from the public to pressure authorities into action, the toxic residues will gradually move into the larger waterways, finally reaching Bangkok. By then it will be too late.

Bangkok Post : Lower Klity clean-up stalls

Lower Klity clean-up stalls

• Published: 9/01/2012 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

A big part of the clean-up operation at Lower Klity village in Kanchanaburi, where water pollution caused by a mining operation poisoned residents, has stalled while authorities conduct more tests.

The Department of Pollution Control says it is conducting tests of the metal tailings left over from a mining operation near Klity Creek, and is not prepared to incur the cost of moving the material until the results are known.

Last year, the department's pollution control committee agreed to remove all 28,000 tonnes of ore tailings buried in Kanchanaburi province. However, there has been no progress since then.

Worasart Apaipong, the department's deputy director-general, said the cost of moving all the lead tailing would be high, so the department wanted to be sure the material dumped by the creek was in fact tailings, not just metal.

''We will not move it out until we know exactly what it is. If it is lead tailings, we have no problem removing it. But if not, it will be left there,'' said Mr Worasart.

Local mining company Lead Concentrate Co buried the ore tailings from its mining venture, which closed in 1999. Tests of the water supply showed the ore contaminated Klity Creek, causing many residents to fall ill.

The company buried the tailings at sites about 10 metres away from the creek, the main water source of the village's residents. Many villagers developed symptoms of lead poisoning.

Mr Worasart said efforts to rehabilitate Klity Creek are under way, including making check dams in the creek to collect the sediment.

The Department of Water Resources has been in charge of constructing the two check dams with a budget of 5.5 million baht. The project is expected to complete by the end of the dry season.

Surapol Kongchanthuek, director of the Karen Studies and Development Centre who was also a member of the department's committee to solve pollution problems in the creek, said he was disappointed by the delay in rehabilitation projects.

''We still have problems there, even after 10 years. Small projects are under way to rehabilitate the area, but they have yet to show results,'' he said.

Greenpeace demands the Klity creek be cleaned of lead
May 10, 2012

Greenpeace and its allies called on the Pollution Control Department (PCD) Thursday to urgently rehabilitate the Klity creek in Kanchanaburi province after recent studies showed that the area had high levels of lead contamination.

"The contamination caused by waste from a lead mine took place 14 years ago, but the creek is still highly contaminated," Ply Pirom, campaign manager for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said. "The local people need urgent help to clean up the river so they can have clean water and fish for consumption."

He was speaking at a press conference to reveal a recent study on the contamination of the Klity creek.

Greenpeace and its ally Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for the Wants (EnLAW) conducted the study in February.

nationmultimedia.com

PCD denies it is to blame for Klity creek - The Nation

PCD denies it is to blame for Klity creek

PONGPHON SARNSAMAK
THE NATION June 28, 2012 1:00 am


The Pollution Control Department (PCD) insisted yesterday that it was not responsible for the lead contamination in Kanchanaburi province's Lower Klity village, which has affected residents for 14 years.

"At that time, PCD did not have the authority to grant permission to Lead Concentrate, which owned the mine and hence contaminated the Klity creek. We are not behind the problem, we just fixed it," PCD's director-general Wichien Jungrungruang said.

He was speaking at a press conference held at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to explain PCD job of rehabilitating Klity creek.

His announcement followed Judge Commissioner of Justice Panuphan Chairat's statement on Tuesday before the Administrative Court's panel of judges hearing the case issued a final verdict.

Panuphan recommended that the judges have PCD pay Bt3,872,000 or Bt176,000 to each of the 22 victims, because he believes that PCD had neglected its responsibility in controlling contamination of Klity creek or cleaning it up.

Wichien said PCD has tried continually on clean the creek over the past 14 years and has used natural recovery methods to rehabilitate the waterway as recommended by the National Environmental Board.

"We visited the Klity creek four times a year to collect samples to study the contamination," he said.

Moreover, PCD will install a groyne to gather the sediment in the creek. Previously, PCD had removed 3,000 tonnes of sediment and buried it outside the village. It is awaiting laboratory tests to study the composition to see whether or not it is lead contaminated. The testing will provide key data on finding correct methods to recover the sediment and PCD expects the measure to put in place within two months.

"We hope the court will have some sympathy for us," he said, adding that PCD would obey the court's final verdict regardless.


-----
Dept downplays compo call | Bangkok Post: news

Dept downplays compo call

• Published: 28/06/2012 at 01:38 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Victims seeking compensation for lead poisoning at Klity Creek could be confused into thinking their claims had been successful after remarks by Judge-Commissioner of Justice Phanuphan Chairat, the Pollution Control Department says.

The department said a recommendation by Mr Phanuphan that the Supreme Administrative Court award victims of lead poisoning at the creek full compensation could lead people to believe a decision had already been handed down.

Department director-general Wichien Jungrungruang said yesterday the announcement that Mr Phanuphan is favouring the victims in Kanchanaburi province would not be legally biding on the court's verdict.

"The matter is now before the court," Mr Wichien said. "The Judge-Commissioner of Justice's statement will have nothing to do with the court.

"It is only the first time that the court had to hold a hearing in the case and the Judge-Commissioner of Justice is required by the court to make his statement."

On Tuesday Mr Phanuphan told the court _ which is considering the case of 22 victims affected by lead-contaminated Klity Creek _ that it should order the department to pay each victim 176,000 baht, or 3.87 million baht in total, as they had requested.

The 22 victims earlier made their appeals to the Supreme Administrative Court and told the court that the department had been too slow to deal with pollution problems at Klity Creek after the Central Administrative Court ordered the department to pay compensation to the victims of 33,783 baht each.

Mr Wichien said the department had done its best to deal with the problem. "We have never ignored the problem," he said. "We have the water quality checked four times a year and found the situation is improving."

Final ruling out in Klitty Creek case | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

Final ruling out in Klitty Creek case

• Published: 10/01/2013 at 12:12 PM
• Online news:

The Supreme Administrative Court on Thursday ordered the Industry Ministry's Pollution Control Department to pay a total of 3.8 million baht to 22 Karen villagers over lead contamination at Klitty Creek in tambon Chalae of Thong Pha Phum district of Kanchanaburi province.

The verdict ended a nine-year legal battle between the department and the 22 Karen people who filed the lawsuit in 2004.

In the lawsuit, the Karens said the Pollution Control Department was too slow to clean up Klitty Creek after Lead Concentrate Co illegally discharged water highly contaminated with lead into it, causing them to suffer from health hazard posed by the substance.

The company was forced to shut down in 1998.

The Administrative Court in May 2008 found the department guilty of negligence for being slow to clean up the creek heavily contaminated with lead.

The court ordered the department to pay compensation of 33,783 baht to each Karen, or a total of 743,226 baht.

Both the Karens and the department appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court.

The Supreme Administrative Court today ruled that the department was too slow to restore the environment of the Klitty Creek, thus depriving the 22 Karens of water for use and consumption.

It ordered the department to pay 177,159.50 baht to each of the Karen, a total of 3,897,509 baht, in 90 days of the final ruling.

The court also ordered the Pollution Control Department to draw up a plan to restore Klitty Creek and regularly test the water quality for a one year to make sure the lead content is lowered to a required level.

Surapong Kongchanthuek, director of the Centre for Study and Development of Karens, said he was satisfied with the court's verdict.

However, he said the court should lay down measures for the department to follow in order to restore the environmental conditions of the creek in stead of ordering it to draw up its own restoration plan.

Are they aware of reality?

PCD begins Klity lead clean-up
30 Mar 2013

Budget shortfall set to delay sediment removal

KANCHANABURI: The Pollution Control Department (PCD) began removing lead-contaminated sediment from Klity village yesterday, but says it only has the budget to complete half the task.

It follows a Supreme Administrative Court decision early this year ordering the agency to clean up the village.

The sediment, which came from a lead processing plant located upstream from Klity Creek, has been stored in eight pits in the Thong Pha Phum district village for several years amid debate over who was responsible for its removal.

After initially saying they would leave the creek to recover through "natural rehabilitation" following the court order in January, the PCD began an active clean-up operation yesterday.

PCD chief Wichien Jungrungruang said there were about 1,355 cubic metres of lead-contaminated sediment being kept in eight pits at the village.

Less than half of that, or about 570 cu m, will be removed from four pits due to budget restraints.

He said the department had hired waste management firm Better World Green for 7 million baht to remove the sediment, which will be transported to a hazardous waste treatment plant in Saraburi province.

Mr Wichien said the department had to wait for more funding before it could proceed with the removal of sediment in the remaining four pits.

But the most challenging task is the clean-up of Klity Creek itself, he said.

A PCD source said there are about 10,000 tonnes of lead-contaminated sediment in the creek and officials are still designing measures to remove the sediment without spreading it further.

The entire clean-up operation would take up to three years, Mr Wichien said.

Nitipon Tantiwanich, Klity village head, said there were also several piles of lead tailings that had been left in the jungle.

The tailings were dumped in the open and villagers were afraid that the toxic waste could contaminate the soil and water, he said. He wanted authorities to inspect the piles and remove them.

"We understand that the department does not have the budget, but at least tell us what they are planning to do with the lead tailings," Mr Nitipon said.

Mr Wichien said his department had already inspected the area and found five piles of lead tailings - about 900 cu m - in the forest. He promised to remove them from the area.

Klity villagers, who have suffered serious health impacts from the lead contamination, filed administrative charges against the PCD in 2004 asking the court to order the agency to clean up the environment.

The court reached a final verdict in January, ordering the PCD to clean up the contaminated water, soil and sediment in the village.

It also ordered the PCD to pay 3.9 million baht compensation to each of the 22 plaintiffs in the case.

Pracha Arunsrisuwa, a 47-year-old Karen who was one of the 22 plaintiffs, said the villagers agreed to use the compensation to set up a village fund, which would be used for medical treatment, tap water systems, and low-interest loans for villagers in need.

Surachai Trong-ngam, a lawyer from EnLaw which provides legal assistance to Klity villagers in the case, lauded the PCD for its prompt response. He supported the PCD's target to complete the clean-up within three years.

bangkokpost.com

has the river ever been tested further down such as in kanchanaburi town

Supreme Court awards Klitty victims with 20 million baht in compensation

After 13 years of marathon court battle through three courts, Karen residents of the lower Klitty village in Kanchanaburi have their real taste of victory when the Supreme Court finally handed down a verdict ordering Lead Concentrates (Thailand) company and its managing director to pay 20 million baht in compensation and medical fees for the future to eight victims of lead contamination.

Karen Studies and Development Centre director Surapong Kongjantuek who has been defending for the right to safe environment of the Karen villagers in lower Klitty village from lead contamination from the beginning told the media that the Supreme Court found the lead mining company and its top executive, Mr Kongsak Kleepbua, of deliberately discharging wastes from the mine into the Klitty creek which has been, for generations, the lifeline of the Karens.

He said that the court ordered the company and Mr Kongsak to pay compensation to the victims and to rehabilitate the creek. But since the company has gone bankrupt and Mr Kongsak was already dead, he added that the next step to be done is to secure the assets of the company for payments to the victims.

One of the victims, Mr Kamthorn Srisuwanmala, said he was very glad with the high court’s verdict and thanked the court for giving them justice. He noted that several of the victims had been living in suffering for the past several years with some of them having fallen dead.

Supreme Court awards Klitty victims with 20 million baht in compensation - Thai PBS English News

Originally Posted by misskit

Lead Concentrates (Thailand)

Owned by former Democrat MP Kongsak Kleeb-bua...

8 Klitty Karen villagers receive 20.2 million baht in compensation from lead extracting company



Eight Karen people who have won a marathon court case spanning three courts in 13 years on Tuesday received compensation totaling 20.2 million baht from Lead Concentrates (Thailand) Company.

The Supreme Court, on July 14, ordered the company to pay the eight defendants, villagers of Lower Klitty in Kanchanaburi province, 20.2 million baht in compensation for bodily harms caused to them from lead poisoning released into their water sources by the company’s lead extracting plant.

The cash was handed over to the eight victims by the company’s two lawyers at the branch office of the Government Savings Bank in Muang district of Kanchanaburi. The money was split up among the eight and later deposited in the bank accounts.

Mr Surapong Kongchantoek, director of Karen Study and Development Centre, said that although the legal battle lasted 13 years, the Karen villagers were happy to receive the compensation which would be used for their treatment and to be contributed to a fund to help the other affected villagers and for the development of their communities.

Besides the compensation to the eight victims, he said the court also ordered the company to clean up the Klitty creek which is yet to be undertaken.

Another similar case is still pending with the court. 151 Karen villagers sued the company and its four executives demanding about one billion baht in compensation. The Court of First Instance and the Appeals Court ordered the company to pay the 151 Karens 30 million baht in compensation.

8 Klitty Karen villagers receive 20.2 million baht in compensation from lead extracting company - Thai PBS English News

They don't look very impressed with their "victory".