Russian-Backed Steel Plant Restart Sparks Environmental and Health Fears in Myanmar’s Shan State

The Myanmar military junta's push to restart a controversial, Russian-backed steel plant in Shan State is discharging toxic wastewater into local waterways, causing health issues and crop damage for surrounding farming communities. In the low-lying Ponginn region near the Shan State capital of Taunggyi—an area of roughly 30 villages often called the "second Inle" due to its wetland ecosystem—wastewater from the 5,000-acre No. 2 Steel Plant (Pinpet) has mixed with seasonal floodwaters.