The Ha Noi Department of Natural Resources and Environment has sent three inspection teams out to monitor firms suspected of dumping toxic waste into the Nhue River. Head of the Environment Protection Division Nguyen Van Luong said the authority had decided to act swiftly after nearly 10 tonnes of dead fish were removed from a 2km stretch of the river running through the Ha Dong City early last month.
As many as 40 enterprises, mostly in Phu Dien and Minh Khai communes in Tu Liem District, and two more in Ha Dong City were to be closely monitored, Luong said, adding that inspectors would check to see if the companies were adhering to environmental protection laws, which stipulate that toxic waste must be properly treated before it is discharged into the city’s waterways.
"The teams will take samples of waste water from enterprises in industrial areas and craft villages for further testing if necessary," he said.
Inspections, which began on Monday, will last until next Tuesday.
"The checks will identify the major polluters dumping untreated waste water into the river. All violators will have to suspended operations. They will also be fined or prosecuted depending on the violations," said Luong. However, he said the punishments were not stringent enough to deter firms from polluting the environment. "The cost of industrial waste water treatment systems can be billions of dong while the punishments are just tens of millions," Luong said, adding that the law was due to be amended to make the punishments more severe.
Last year, the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment inspected 112 enterprises around the city. As many as 87 enterprises were found to be breaking environmental protection laws and 18 were fined a total of VND 307 million (US$17,200).