Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi has been cautioned about its worsening environment pollution caused by solid and water waste as well as exhaust fumes, threatening local people’s health, environmentalists said. As many as 14 hospitals in the western part of the city had their downgraded waste treatment systems, and eight central hospitals temporarily treated waste with Cloramin B when their systems failed. Less than 200 of 3,000 local enterprises have built properly industrial waste treatment systems, and many only operate the systems in the presence of the police and inspectors. In the past two years, Hanoi authorities have expanded programs to collect solid waste, burying up to 70% of daily waste volume and treating water in local lakes. But their efforts have had a limited effect. One of the main causes of pollution is low awareness of local residents. Most people think that treating environmental pollution is the government’s work, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Van Khanh said, adding that if they continue to rely on the state like that, the problem cannot be solved
Over the past two years, the enterprises causing pollution have developed faster than waste treatment schemes, making it difficult to deal with the issue, he attributed.
Khanh also blamed lenient fines for their continuing violations, saying that companies would rather just pay the punishments than set up a treatment system because the latter is doubly expensive.
Hanoi is estimated to discharge nearly 1,250 tons of rubbish per day, including 100 tons from industrial zones and hospitals, showed statistics of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment. (www2.dtinews.vn Aug 6)
