Environmental pollution in Vietnam has caused damages equal to 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) annually, experts said at a campaign to mitigate environment pollution in Hanoi on Sept 24 under the support of Australian embassy in Hanoi. In additional, the Southeast Asian country suffers a loss worth $780 million for health issues caused by environmental pollution per year, the experts said. Environmental pollution-caused consequences are seen in different fields, including agriculture and health sectors in which people suffer damage from leaving office due to bad health, and paying medical fees. A report showed that 80% of diarrhea and dysentery patients suffered the disease caused by water sources. Medical checkup and treatment for cholera, typhoid, and dysentery cost the country roughly VND400 billion per year. Vietnam is facing serious environmental pollution caused by industrial parks (IP) as more than 30% of over 1,000 industrial parks and industrial clusters in the country are operating without waste treatment systems. Up to 40% of 623,000 cubic meters of wastewater discharged in the industrial parks and clusters per day are unprocessed, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said. (Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam – Vietnam Economic Times Sept 25 p3)
