Lesson 3: Under the guise of "advanced technology"

(Baonghean) -While small production facilities pollute with outdated technology, large facilities, despite investing in modern environmental treatment equipment, still discharge large amounts of untreated wastewater into the environment...

At Sabeco packaging factory

After two years of losing everything because of polluted rice fields from the wastewater of Sabeco Packaging Factory, people in 4 hamlets, especially My Hau hamlet (Hung Dong-Vinh City) can no longer cultivate rice. Ms. Tran Thi Hien, My Hau hamlet, has 2 sao of rice fields there. Before the pollution, her family harvested 1 sao of rice fields, 300 kg, two crops a year, almost 1 ton of rice. This year, there is nothing left there. Ms. Phung Thi Ly (My Hau) also has 2 sao of rice fields, but now she cannot cultivate them, has no job, is old, and finding any job is difficult. Ms. Danh's situation is even more difficult, she has no husband, she and her children have 3 sao of rice fields, now the fields are polluted so they cannot grow rice, they can only work for others, a day of working for others, but when the planting season is over, there is no work. She does not even have tap water because she does not have 3 million VND to install it.

That is a rough sketch of the lives of many households directly affected by the wastewater discharged by the Sabeco Packaging Factory into Bau Dong field. People asked the company for compensation. "The factory did not compensate, we asked to fill the ditch, not allowing it to flow into the field." They said: "When the factory comes back, it will not recruit workers in the village, on the contrary, it will destroy our "rice pot". And nowhere is it like this commune, looking to one side is the city's huge garbage dump, on the other side are polluted rice fields."

Bau Dong field is now only inhabited by water hyacinth. A few households still diligently plant rice above the wastewater stream, but the rice plants are stunted, with black roots and yellow leaves.

Bau Dong field is now full of water hyacinth.

Sabeco Song Lam Packaging Joint Stock Company (Bac Vinh Industrial Park) has been in operation since 2009 with two production lines of 2-piece aluminum cans with a capacity of 420 million cans/year and Carton boxes with a capacity of 40 million boxes/year. It must be affirmed that this is a bright spot in attracting investment in Nghe An. The company's budget contribution results in recent years have also been very large; in 2010, the company contributed over 50 billion VND in taxes. The company also creates many jobs for local workers.

However, in 2010, the company was fined VND47,250,000 by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for violating environmental laws. The reason was that it discharged wastewater exceeding the standards and technical regulations on waste by 10 times or more, violating Point b, Clause 5, Article 10 of Decree 117/2009/ND-CP dated December 21, 2009 of the Government on handling violations in the environmental field. The Environmental Inspectorate also requested Sabeco Song Lam Packaging Joint Stock Company to immediately stop discharging wastewater containing hazardous substances exceeding the technical standards allowed by regulations.

However, in May 2011, due to having to endure too much pollution from the factory's wastewater, the people of Trung My hamlet angrily filled the company's drainage ditch with a 2m high earthen dam. Many meetings were held between the commune People's Committee and the city, with the factory... but it seems the problem is beyond the city's authority? The factory not only remained silent in the face of people's demands for compensation for economic losses but also did not cooperate with the authorities. Mr. Ho Sy Dung - Deputy Head of the Environmental Protection Department - Department of Natural Resources and Environment of the province said: "They did not sign the document when the authorities finished working". Therefore, the inspection of environmental law enforcement at this factory must rely on public opinion and the coordination of many authorities.

Continuously in May 2011, Nghe An newspaper and many other newspapers published about the pollution situation at this factory as well as the uncooperative attitude of the factory's leaders. The Provincial People's Committee issued Official Letter No. 2733 dated May 24, 2011 directing the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to inspect and report. The latest report on the environmental pollution situation of this factory dated July 13, 2011 by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shows that: Currently, the company has built and put into operation a centralized wastewater treatment system, combining physical-chemical and biological measures for treatment. However, the company has not declared wastewater fees since the company started operating until now according to Conclusion No. 3183/KLTTr - BTNMT dated August 20, 2010 of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. (The fine for not declaring wastewater fees as calculated by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is over 500 million VND).

The results of wastewater quality analysis conducted by the Environmental Monitoring Center under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment showed that the company discharged wastewater exceeding the permitted standards into the environment. Pollution parameters conducted by the Environmental Monitoring Center: COD exceeded 2.42 times, BOD5 exceeded 2.4 times, color exceeded 2.64 times, total N exceeded 4.88 times.

Obviously when the authorities are silent, people have to protect themselves.

And other factories and facilities...

At Hai An Refrigeration Factory (Nam Cam Industrial Park) - when we entered, the first thing we noticed was the foul smell coming from the freezer. An anonymous person said: Because the company is storing pig fish (for animal feed), that's why there's that smell. And the company's deputy director blamed the factory next door? The company's leader said: Many factories have dumped wastewater in front of the factory, so the smell is unpleasant, but this factory's wastewater is also dumped there, black.

Testing the quality of wastewater at factories in 2011 also showed that: There were 5 production and processing facilities with wastewater quality assessment results that exceeded the permitted standards, such as: Son Long General Service Joint Stock Cooperative, Song Lam Sugarcane Joint Stock Company, Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company, Intimex Cassava Starch Processing Factory (Thanh Chuong), Yen Thanh Cassava Starch Export Processing Factory...

Investing in factories and advanced technology in production is an inevitable trend and also the desire of leaders and people. But behind the glitter of advanced technology is the "cover-up" of information on waste discharge, waste quality, and waste treatment processes. It is very difficult to enter factories and facilities to learn about environmental issues, especially in factories in industrial parks. Even investing in modern equipment for environmental treatment is the same, billions of dong, but if it is not operated regularly, operated incorrectly, or to "evade" waste discharge fees, the result is "drawing legs for snakes, drawing hair for lions"...
(To be continued)

PV Group