Aluminium plant accused of polluting Gia Lam environment

HA NOI — Local officials have rapped Ha Noi-based Nexans Viet Nam Power Cable Company for polluting the environment in Gia Lam District’s Yen Vien Town. Authorities and officials from the district’s Environment and Resources bureau inspected the company, vice chairman of the Yen Vien People’s Committee Nguyen Khac Nguyen told Tin Tuc newspaper. The NVC was fined late last year VND16 million (US$900) by the Ha Noi Natural Resources and Environment Department for violating environmental rules, according to the department. One of NVC’s violations included not registering that it produced harmful industrial waste. A report by the district said the pollutant concentration of the company’s aluminium factory exceeded the standard level. No resolution yet The company is a joint-venture between Nexans Korea Co Ltd (NVC) (now belonging to Nexans France) and Electricity of Viet Nam’s Ha Noi Power Company, which was established in 1997. "We see black smoke and hear a horrible noise every time the company operates," said Pham Thi Huan, a resident of Kim Quan Village in Yen Vien. "Since the company’s inauguration in 1998 in this area, we have been inhaling the unpleasant black air from the factory," said Huan, who complained that she constantly felt tired since the factory opened. "We have sent many petitions to the company asking them to treat their waste smoke but never got any feedback," Huan added. Another local resident said children attending a high school just 100 metres from the factory had begun to develop coughs. "This is a small school, with around 200 kids, located near the company’s chimney," said Le. After receiving complaints from local residents, the company raised the height of the factory’s chimney. But Xuan, a teacher at the school, said the pollution had not lessened. "Since the company began operating, everything nearby began to shake and no computer in the school worked," Xuan said. "The smoke mostly comes from the aluminium foundry," Nguyen Van Chien, from NVC, told Viet Nam News. "Parents who send their children to the school have many times asked us to send their complaints to the company," Xuan said. Despite the public’s complaints, the school’s vice director said children attending his school had not been adversely affected. "We often organise health check-ups for the children and none of them have had any diseases related to the polluted air," said Pham Thi Thi. "But we have asked the town’s authorities to give us vacant land to move to for the sake of the children." There are more than 500 enterprises in Gia Lam but only around 30 have signed up to the Environment Protection Law, which was introduced in 2006, according to Gia Lam Natural Resources and Environment bureau. Nexans was founded before the law was passed. "We have not applied ISO standards for environment yet because we are not economically strong enough," Chien said. "But we are already planning our strategy to treat the disposed air." — VNS