Fined 60 million VND, fishmeal processing factory still causes pollution

Haunted by the stench

The fishmeal processing factory of Bac Mien Trung Seafood Company Limited was built on the southern bank of theLach Quen port, located in Duc Long hamlet, Quynh Thuan commune. Although it is introduced as processing fishmeal with modern technology, every time this factory operates, the people here are haunted by the strong stench. Especially during the Northeast monsoon, or the East wind blowing in the afternoon, or even late at night, when there are raw materials and this factory is in production, the whole hamlet is almost suffocated.

Duc Long Hamlet has 260 households, but about 60 households living near this factory are living in a state of frustration and worry about their health day and night. According to the people's reflection, in addition to the foul smell when this factory is in operation, the situation of water leakage from the factory also flows into Lach Quen, causingenvironmental pollution, not to mention recently the coal powder from the factory has caused the houses of many surrounding households to be covered with dust.

The fishmeal processing factory of the North Central Seafood Company Limited is located in Duc Long hamlet, Quynh Thuan commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Quang An

Mr. Pham Minh Tuan - Head of Duc Long Hamlet said: The fishmeal processing factory of Bac Mien Trung Seafood Company Limited operates without any fixed hours, when fish are imported, they start production, day and night. Mr. Tuan said, 2 nights ago, when the monsoon came, they processed at midnight, the stench of the monsoon blew into the village, making the people very upset.

Raw fish piled up on the floor of the processing facility of Bac Mien Trung Seafood Company Limited (photo taken on March 21, 2022). Photo: Tien Dong

Faced with the serious environmental pollution, to ensure their own health, the residents of Duc Long hamlet have repeatedly petitioned local authorities at all levels, but the situation has not been resolved. Recently, the residents of Duc Long hamlet also attended the People's Committee of Quynh Thuan commune to conduct a dialogue with the Bac Mien Trung Seafood Company Limited and the local authorities. Although the residents have petitioned the company to thoroughly handle the pollution, the production unit has only promised to fix it.

Wastewater from behind the fishmeal processing plant flows into Lach Quen (photo taken on March 21, 2022). Photo: Tien Dong

According to our investigation, the incident of the fishmeal processing factory of Bac Mien Trung Seafood Company Limited causing environmental pollution is not a recent incident. Previously, on December 11, 2021, the Environmental Police Department of Nghe An Provincial Police organized an inspection and made a record of administrative sanctions in the field of environmental protection against this company. On January 10, 2022, Nghe An Provincial Police issued a decision to fine Bac Mien Trung Seafood Company Limited VND 60 million. In which, the content of the violation is the discharge of exhaust gas and wastewater containing normal parameters exceeding the waste standards into the environment.

Pollution has not been completely treated

Despite being fined, because the environmental pollution situation has not been completely resolved, people continue to protest. On January 12, 2022, the People's Committee of Quynh Thuan commune also had to set up a team to inspect. Here, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoan (owner of the production facility) also stated the reason for the environmental pollution was because "the cyclone system had an electrical problem, poor odor suppression ability, during the production process, the fish grinding stage caused an unpleasant odor, affecting the people".

Water leaking from behind the fishmeal processing plant is black and has a strong odor (photo taken on March 21, 2022). Photo: Quang An

After the meeting, the local government representative also requested the company to fulfill its environmental protection commitments and the local government will monitor and inspect the implementation process; not to discharge waste directly into the river; the exhaust and odor suppression systems must operate properly during the production process; the company must review the machinery system, and if damaged, repair it immediately. The local government also requested the unit to use fresh raw materials during the production process, and not to save electricity by storing raw materials from one day to another...

The Lach Quen area behind the fishmeal processing factory, where the water pipes discharge, gives off a foul smell. Photo: Tien Dong

Immediately afterwards, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoan, the owner of this production facility, also made a commitment to protect the environment. In particular, she committed to fully implementing the requirements to ensure environmental hygiene in seafood business and processing activities according to local regulations and laws.

Specifically, building a wastewater and waste collection and treatment system including a settling tank and manhole ensuring technical requirements in accordance with the approved environmental protection commitment. Wastewater must be treated before being discharged into the environment, and absolutely must not discharge untreated wastewater into the environment. Regularly clean the business and processing areas and tools used for business and processing every day.

Use specialized vehicles with closed containers during the process of transporting fish to the factory, ensuring that no foul water flows onto the road. Commit to using fresh ingredients, and during the production process, strengthen measures to reduce odor and emissions to ensure environmental hygiene.

Environmental protection commitment of Bac Mien Trung Seafood Company Limited. Photo: Quang An

However, on March 23, 2022, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quynh Luu district inspected the implementation of measures to overcome the consequences of environmental pollution of Bac Mien Trung Seafood Company Limited. However, at the time of inspection, the environmental sanitation work at the factory premises was not clean and there was still an odor. The system of ditches to collect overflowing rainwater and production wastewater was not guaranteed.

Mr. Nguyen Van Linh - Vice Chairman of Quynh Thuan Commune People's Committee said that the locality's viewpoint is to create conditions for enterprises to develop production activities but must ensure security, order and environmental sanitation. Although the commune has worked with this company many times, the commune's authority only requires signing a commitment and supervising the implementation of the unit's commitment.

“After the Environmental Police Department of Nghe An Province Police organized an inspection and drew up a record of administrative violations, the unit was assigned responsibility to fix the pollution within 3 months. However, recently, this company also requested an extension, but there was no written document, only verbal communication,” Mr. Linh added.