Central Vietnam Sea Returns to Normal After Formosa Incident
After 2 years of the marine environmental incident caused by Formosa Ha Tinh, the sea areas of 4 central provinces have now recovered, seafood is safe; ministries and sectors have increased close supervision of Formosa.
On the morning of May 17, in Dong Ha City (Quang Tri), the Government held a conference to summarize the direction work to stabilize the lives and production and business of people in 4 central provinces affected by the marine environmental incident caused by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation (Formosa) since 2016.
The conference was chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh and Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.
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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Ministers Truong Hoa Binh and Trinh Dinh Dung chaired the conference. |
According to the assessment of the Steering Committee for Handling Marine Environmental Incidents, after 2 years of occurrence, aquatic resources have recovered, many types of pelagic fish have reappeared, fishermen are actively staying at sea. The number of fishing vessels and seafood output in these 4 localities have increased; seafood prices have increased and stabilized, marine tourism has recovered, attracting visitors.
The Ministry of Health also confirmed that since the end of 2017, food safety indicators for seafood in all coastal areas of the four central provinces have been equivalent to the control samples and ensured safety.
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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc inspected the situation of fishermen in Quang Tri province on the evening of May 16. |
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has established a Supervisory Council and a Direct Supervisory Team in Ha Tinh on overcoming the consequences of the marine environmental incident and Formosa's commitment, and has been operating since July 20, 2016. To date, Formosa has corrected 52/53 violations and committed to not letting the environmental incident recur.
Formosa is currently converting the coal cooling method from wet to dry, has completed the technical assessment and selected dry coke cooling technology, reaching over 31.6% of the work. It is expected that by June 2019, Formosa will complete the commitment to convert this technology.
The analysis results of 10 surface water samples and 10 marine sediment samples around Formosa's discharge area in early April showed that most of the parameter values were within the allowable limits of Vietnamese Standards. Only 1 seawater sample in the area near Son Duong Island (Ha Tinh) had the Ammonium parameter value exceeding 1.2 times and the F parameter exceeding 1.1 times the allowable limits of Vietnamese Standard No. 10-MT: 2015/BTNMT, respectively 1.2 and 1.1 times.
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Fishermen in Quang Tri province have a good season of anchovies - a type of pelagic fish. |
As of May 10, the total budget approved by the provinces to pay support and compensation for damages was 6,516 billion VND (of which, Ha Tinh: 1,748.1 billion VND; Quang Binh: 2,784.8 billion VND; Quang Tri: 1,017.1 billion VND; Thua Thien Hue: 966 billion VND). The result of paying compensation and support to the damaged subjects was 6,428.9 billion VND, equivalent to 98.7% of the approved amount; 237,781 health insurance cards were issued; vocational training and job support were implemented synchronously.
The marine environmental incident that occurred from April 2016 in the provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue was very serious; it caused damage to the environment, marine ecosystem and seafood resources, greatly affecting the production and business of about 510,000 people in 130,000 households in 730 villages and hamlets in 146 communes/wards/towns of 22 coastal districts of 4 central provinces.
