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Actions are being taken to improve
and protect the environment |
Projects costing trillions of dong that are to provide a measure of
environmental protection are now underway and measures are underway
to move the most polluting companies from the densely populated Ho
Chi Minh City urban center to the city's suburbs.
Serious pollution
The biggest economic center of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City has a
population of seven million and accounts for a full one-third of
Vietnam's GDP (gross domestic product). With industrial production
facilities having sprung up willy-nilly all over the city, air,
liquid and solid waste pollution is obvious in the city. Data
gathered at air monitoring stations at Hang Xanh, Phu Lam and the
Dinh Tien Hoang-Dien Bien Phu crossroads show air-born particulate
matter to be three to seven times the permissible level. From 2005
to 2006, particulate matter at Phu Lam increased 24 percent every
month. In addition, carcinogens such as benzene have also been found
to be at dangerous levels in the city.
The city's environment protection division has found that
concentrations of toxic substances in the air climbed 40 to 140
percent in just one year (from 2005 to 2006). Specifically, the
concentration of air-born particulate matter containing lead rose 40
to 140 percent, benzene 10 to 100 percent, and the toluene up to 60
percent. Data from six monitoring stations in the city show that
particulate matter was 50 to 200 percent higher than the maximum
level allowed (considered safe). The worst areas were near Quang
Trung Software City and the An Suong crossroad.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment
reported that of the 1,000,000cu.m of wastewater that the city
discharges every day into various canals, streams and rivers, some
600,000 cubic meters get some sort of preliminarily treatment. That
leaves 400,000cu.m of totally untreated water flowing into the
streams. The amount is increasing daily and these same canals,
streams and rivers have been taking this wastewater for years, the
department said. Factories were dumping about 5,000 cubic meters of
wastewater into the Saigon River every day, part of this being
untreated. A number of factories that do have a wastewater treatment
plant don't use it until the inspectors call to say that they're
coming the next day. This saves them money. There's actually a
regulation that says that the inspectors must notify a business
before they go out to do an inspection. As all the neighbors know,
the treatment ceases as soon as the inspectors have done their duty
and gone.
The authorities come to the rescue
Ho Chi Minh City authorities say that they are determined to reduce
pollution levels and things are being built at the cost of trillions
of dong to improve the situation in some respects. Wastewater
treatment systems are being built at the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe
channel and the Tham Luong - Ben Cat - Rach Nuoc Len canal, there is
to be a wastewater treatment plant as part of the East West
Boulevard project and garbage treatment facilities are also to be
built. Every industrial and export-processing zone in the city has a
solid waste and wastewater treatment system. The cost to build it is
passed on in the form of higher land lease rates. The city has
established funds that are to provide loans to build waste treatment
systems in the companies' new suburban location.
To reduce industrial pollution, the use of science is required as is
'new style' management. The city's environment protection division
has six air pollution monitoring stations so it is known how bad the
air pollution is in the city.
The national program to provide cleaner water and a more hygienic
rural environmental in Ho Chi Minh City and its environs has been
effective. More clean water has been made available and hygienic
conditions have improved in rural and suburban Ho Chi Minh City. At
this time people in most of the city's communes and wards have
access to clean water and the city's rural people's standard of
living has improved. From 2001-2006, the Rural Environmental Hygiene
and Water Center drilled 744 wells and installed 399 water filters
and 200 water tanks while also providing a source of water for
470,000 suburban residents through 80 central water supply projects.
For the 2007 National Safe Water and Environmental Hygiene Week and
World Environment Day (June 5, 2007), activities like street and
canals cleaning and waste collections were carried out in the city.
By making use of capital from different sources, Ho Chi Minh City is
doing its best to minimize pollution in the area and raise
residents' awareness of the need for environmental protection.
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