Asia Times: Vietnam chokes on development


	November 24, 2001	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Vietnam chokes on development
By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

HO CHI MINH CITY - The mushrooming of industrial plants across Vietnam may be seen as a sign of progress, but the price for such development comes at people's health.

Even officials now acknowledge that the country's rapid industrialization is leading to worrisome levels of pollution. Science, Technology and Environment Minister Chu Tan Nha told the National Assembly recently: "Industrial pollution is starting to impact greatly on the social and economic development of Vietnam." He said that factories use outdated equipment and backward procedures, which choke the air with fumes laden with hazardous substances.

A Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE) survey last year found that 4,295 entities were causing severe pollution nationwide, and were discharging a combination of smoke, dust and toxic gases. Although the number included handicraft workshops, hospitals, dumps, pesticide stockpiles and chemical storage sites (remnants of the Vietnam War), the majority of these were factories.

In the past several years, Vietnam has been generating an annual average of more than 7.75 million tonnes of industrial waste, 7.97 million tonnes of routine waste, 156,670 tonnes of hospital waste and more than 1.1 billion cubic meters of wastewater. A large amount of toxic chemicals is discharged from industrial bases, including carbon monoxide, sodium dioxide, nitrogen monoxide and polychlorinated biphenyls. All these highly toxic industrial chemicals exceed permissible levels in many cities.

What has compounded the problem, due to rapid urbanization, is the increasing emergence inside residential zones of many factories that were once located some distance from populated areas. Of the 100 state-owned factories in the capital Hanoi, for instance, there are 68 factories located in the inner city, covering an area of 40 square kilometers.

Some observers are convinced that such as situation contributed to the tragedy that befell the family of Tran Van Tuan, of Hanoi's Hai Ba Trinh district, this year. In August, Tran Van Tuan, his wife Tran Thi Ngoc and two of their daughters were hospitalized, having suffered from a gamut of aches and illnesses ranging from headaches and muscular pain, to alopecia, to even dementia and heart problems. Only Tuan survived. Specialists at the Bach Mai Hospital blamed thallium poisoning for the death of Ngoc and her daughters. Thallium salts are odorless and colorless, but are highly toxic. They have a wide variety of industrial uses, and are used in insecticides and rat poison. But nearly 1,000 tonnes of thallium are released each year into the environment, mainly from mineral smelters, coal-burning power plants and cement plants.

Officials admit that there are more than 300 large and small factories and about 1,200 other production units that contribute to Hanoi's deteriorating air quality. This includes the "floating dust" emanating from textile, fertilizer and metallurgy factories. The industrial sprawl has affected even the more remote areas - and with dangerous results.

In the northern Dong Mai Commune, Hung Yen province, lead found in the water surface was 7.7 to 15.5 times higher than normal, reports Professor Le Duc of Hanoi University's Environment Faculty. Apparently, several households there engage in melting battery lead. Experts say 10 tonnes of battery lead discharge around 180-200 kilograms of lead dust. "We discovered 42 inhabitants with cerebral palsy, paralysis, myasthenia and blindness, while most residents there showed signs of lead poisoning to some degree," said Duc.

The national government has tried to address the problem, beginning with state-owned enterprises in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Since 1998, state companies whose activities are known to cause pollution have been ordered out of the residential areas in these cities. In Ho Chi Minh City, some 100 factories have been told to relocate. But only a few firms have so far heeded that call. A Hanoi People's Committee official said that "the implementation pace is still too slow due to hindrances in terms of lack of capital and land settlement".

To prod the state-run factories to relocate, the government has given them permission to sell their facilities to fund the move. But factory bosses seem to be overpricing the facilities, making it hard to sell them. Trying another tactic, Ho Chi Minh City put up several small-scale industrial parks for companies willing to relocate. To date, the parks still have many vacancies.

Recently, Hanoi announced that pollution-causing firms could choose one of the following methods - comprehensive relocation, partial relocation, technology renovation and investment in pollution treatment systems. The companies could also combine any or all of these methods.

The good news is that some big producers are finally relenting and investing millions of US dollars to waste treatment facilities. But the majority remain recalcitrant, arguing that environmental protection measures could affect their businesses. One company official notes that a system to treat discharged water costs at least US$3 million, an expense that will only result in hiked production prices. He says this could force weaker enterprises to go bankrupt.

Another alternative, proposed the Ministry of Industry (MoI), is for companies to vie for an ISO-14,000, a recognized international standard that deals with environmental protection technology and management systems.

"SMEs play an important role in the national economy, providing 34 percent of export value," says Pham Thi Chiu of the MoI. "However, they care little about cleaner production and are not well aware enough of environmental regulations and standards. This poses a great problem in entering the international market, especially with Vietnam applying to join the WTO [World Trade Organization]."

Some big Vietnamese companies, such as PetroVietnam, Petrolimex and Vinatext, are now said to be interested in being recognized as ISO-14,000 firms. But for many smaller companies, the focus right now is sheer survival.

Experts would rather that businessmen and officials realize on their own that development need not mean the destruction of the environment and the endangerment of people's health. Science, Technology and Environment Minister Chu Than Nha said: "Historic experience shows that we have to live in harmony with nature to ensure a healthy environment. We, therefore, need to protect and take care of nature for our survival."

(Inter Press Service)