84 days of heavy tension for Minister Tran Hong Ha

"I took responsibility as soon as I inspected the mass fish deaths in Ha Tinh, but it would be an empty claim if the culprit is not identified," said Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha.

Three hours before receiving and accepting the apology to the Vietnamese people from Mr. Tran Nguyen Thanh, Chairman of Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, Minister Tran Hong Ha gave an interview to the press.

- The incident happened, although the Prime Minister assigned him as the minister with the main responsibility for determining the cause of the fish deaths and finding solutions, he remained silent to the public for a long time. Why is that?

- I'm not here because I need to focus on identifying the root cause, the solutions to solve this problem as a whole.

But really, the past three months have been the most stressful 84 days of my life. I have always felt a heavy responsibility towards the legitimate demands of the people: What is the cause of this incident?

This was the first serious incident that happened to me and the Government. On April 25, I returned from New York (USA), and the next afternoon I received the decision of the Central Organizing Committee to assign me to be Secretary of the Party Committee and the Prime Minister's decision to become Minister. That was also when the incident happened.

I went to Ha Tinh on the afternoon of the 26th to inspect the area where the fish died en masse. The problem was very complicated, serious, and the pressure was great, especially the demands of the people. As the Minister of the Environment, I thought I had to take responsibility even though at that time I did not know what mechanism caused this disaster.

Once you take on this responsibility, the burden becomes even greater. If you don't find the cause and find a solution, you're just taking on the responsibility and your ability is questionable.

At that time I had only been in the job of Minister for less than 2 weeks.

Minister Tran Hong Ha speaks before Formosa's leadership apologizes. Photo: Vo Thanh.

- The Prime Minister directed that the determination of the cause of the unusual fish deaths must be urgent but cautious and based on scientific evidence. How did you carry out this request?

- I determined to inspect and review all industrial establishments in the area with the thought that without inspection and without a full legal basis, it would not be allowed to "convict anyone". At that time, three establishments emerged: Formosa Ha Tinh, Vung Ang Thermal Power Plant and Ha Tinh Industrial Park.

I understand that this is a very complicated issue, but no matter how difficult it is, the resolution process must be done in a way that people trust. We have established an interdisciplinary inspection team with up to 70 members, including many leading experts in the fields of environment, metallurgy, coking, and waste treatment.

This environmental incident had occurred before the inspection team arrived, so we had to reconstruct the origin and development of the incident, understand the technological operation diagram, use relevant laboratories to model the incident... We also used methods such as waste audits, energy audits. The Ministry of Science and Technology gathered 100 scientists to join in finding the cause.

To support the investigation of the cause and to gain the people’s trust, we invited scientists from Germany, France, the US, Japan, and Israel. International scientists have confirmed that Formosa’s factory has been invested in synchronously and is in the low-capacity trial phase, so it is unlikely to cause an environmental incident in normal conditions. It is highly likely that there have been incidents.

- In the process of collecting evidence, what is the key to confirming that Formosa is the direct cause of fish deaths?

- Firstly, the test results of scientists showed that more than 50% of the dead fish samples collected contained phenol and cyanide. Secondly, in the area, only Formosa Ha Tinh's coking plant discharged phenol and cyanide.

Formosa Ha Tinh cannot deny because we have pointed out 53 violations, from design, construction, construction to operation errors. But it can be said that the key is the discovery: From April 1 to April 5, the amount of electricity consumed decreased abnormally, only 15% compared to the average day. That made us focus on the suspicion of problems during the trial operation of Formosa Ha Tinh.

After many days of collecting evidence and struggling, Formosa finally admitted that there was an electrical short circuit related to the operation of the microbial activation process in the wastewater treatment area. This is the decisive step in whether or not phenol can be treated. This system was paralyzed, leading to wastewater being dumped into the sea without being treated.

- In principle, if there was only an electrical short circuit that paralyzed the wastewater treatment system for 5 days, how could the amount of toxic substances dumped into the sea be enough to cause pollution and mass fish deaths in other sea areas outside of Ha Tinh?

- Yes. From a scientific perspective, in a normal state, all the waste from this factory discharged into the sea in a few days at most will affect the entire Ha Tinh sea area. We ourselves have a headache with the question: what mechanism carries this source of pollution along the ocean currents, affecting 4 provinces like that? After many surveys and assessments, scientists have determined that Formosa Ha Tinh's waste has mixed together to form a complex compound. This compound is heavier than seawater, sinks to the bottom and absorbs toxic substances such as phenol and cyanide into it. We can simply imagine it as a giant blanket containing poison that drifts underground along the ocean currents, causing chemical reactions wherever it goes and causing mass fish deaths at the bottom. This discovery is the key to the problem.

- So why did the initial information released by the Ministry include assumptions about red tide, causing public outrage and suspicion of cover-up and misdirection?

- The two groups of causes, the impact of chemical toxins released from human activities on land and at sea and the red tide phenomenon, are from research by scientists, not the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

At that time (the end of April), if we immediately concluded that the cause was human and Formosa Ha Tinh, while there was no basis to confirm, we would have to anticipate a counter-lawsuit from Formosa and have to compensate for the consequences. Up to now, after 3 months, scientists have just determined which is the main cause, which is the individual, random cause.

Accordingly, the cause of red tide is only an isolated incident. Phenol and cyanide are the main and direct causes of mass fish deaths. We have sufficient basis and objective evidence to confirm that phenol and cyanide are from Formosa Ha Tinh's coking plant.

So, the reasons given at the end of April are a recognition of a fact, this is a normal scientific thing, absolutely not intended to cover up. I affirm that the Government does not cover up, but follows a scientific procedure, in accordance with domestic and international laws.

Formosa Ha Tinh leaders bowed their heads in apology. Photo: Vo Thanh.

- Up to now, Formosa has admitted and committed to compensate 500 million USD, how do you evaluate this result?

- The Politburo, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers of many ministries and local authorities have directed the implementation very strongly. Scientists at home and abroad have worked hard day and night. This is a close, methodical coordination, in accordance with international law and practice. Formosa Ha Tinh has accepted responsibility, committed to compensate 500 million USD, support people to change their jobs, compensate for marine pollution treatment, restore the ecosystem, commit to overcome all existing problems of the waste treatment system as well as upgrade technology to ensure that similar incidents do not occur. Formosa also committed to working with the Vietnamese Government to install a marine environmental monitoring system for 4 central provinces, helping to publicize information to reassure people and ensure transparency. It can be said that with such contents, the parties have achieved the common goal.

A backup solution also mentioned is to make a bio-reservoir, so that if there is still an accident, the waste will not escape.

The most important thing here is to handle the environmental issue, ensure the legitimate and legal interests of the people, and give businesses the conditions to overcome the problem to develop. In addition, with such a handling, we do not affect the investment attraction environment, and receive widespread international support, including relevant authorities from Taipei.

- What is the basis for the compensation figure of 500 million USD, sir?

- We base on many factors such as direct damage to people, environmental damage, tourism... Regarding the ecosystem, seagrass and mangrove forests have no problem, however, corals are affected over 400 hectares.

That figure meets most of the purposes and requirements we set. Of course, the biggest issue is not compensation but how Vietnam’s marine environment will be secured in the future. In addition to this compensation, Formosa Ha Tinh will have to invest heavily to improve its production system and innovate technology.

- We are still in the incident handling phase, so what is the safety of the marine environment in the 4 central provinces at this time?

- Currently, the offshore and nearshore seawater and bathing beaches are regularly assessed by the environmental monitoring system, providing information to the people. Through comparing the monitoring results with the national standards on seawater quality, it shows that the seawater quality at the beaches in the 4 provinces (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue) are all within the permissible limits of the standards for bathing and water sports areas.

At the same time, the authorities are assessing whether the sediments on the seabed still contain toxic substances, and to what extent, and will soon announce when the investigation to assess the level of pollution and damage is completed. This issue needs further assessment, oceanographers have taken sediment samples of residual substances from the complex compound for analysis. It is expected that by July 15, we will finish the sampling survey phase, then analyze the collected samples and soon issue an announcement.

- What will Vietnam do to ensure similar incidents do not happen in the future?

- We must have criteria for selecting environmentally friendly industries and sectors and the technological level of those industries. At the same time, we must perfect the legal system from investment law to environmental law, so that environmental issues are always respected, always raised and effectively resolved.

Regarding environmental standards, in the past, for many reasons, some polluting industries were given priority. For example, in the metallurgical industry, with domestic facilities such as Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel, if the standards were set high, it would be difficult to implement, so the standards had to be lowered to normal standards for the industry to survive and develop. But that was before. Now the viewpoint must be reversed. Projects with high potential for pollution must be eliminated, they cannot be given priority.

We also have to invest in technical equipment to be able to automatically monitor, build a sea and river monitoring system in key areas, and monitor 24/7. This system has not existed for a long time.

- After this incident, if you receive a proposal to allow an industrial project with the scale and investment field like Formosa Ha Tinh, what will you do?

- I think it is time for our investment attraction policy to be selective. We cannot accept the steel industry or any industry that has the risk of pollution at the expense of the environment. That is the responsibility of the government, not only because the lives of the people are threatened but also for the long-term future of the whole country.

According to VNE