Minister Tran Hong Ha: 53 violations discovered at Formosa

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said that Formosa arbitrarily changed the treatment technology related to waste emission.

Speaking at the 50th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the morning of July 11, Chairwoman of the Committee on Social Affairs Nguyen Thuy Anh requested the Government to provide information on issues discovered at Formosa Ha Tinh in addition to environmental pollution and the use of foreign workers in the Vung Ang Economic Zone.

Responding to the above question, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said that through inspection work, it was discovered that during the current testing phase of Formosa Ha Tinh - before the State agency inspected and permitted operations - there were 6 foreign contractors.

Regarding technology transfer, equipment installation and operation of wastewater treatment systems, most of these contractors are Chinese contractors.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha

The authorities discovered 53 administrative violations, including those related to design, operation, construction, execution, problems during the testing phase that showed signs of electrical incidents, and the implementation of treatment systems that did not comply with procedures, legal regulations, and regulations of management agencies.

“Among those 53 acts, one very important act is that Formosa arbitrarily changed the coke processing technology from dry processing to wet coke processing technology - a technology that processes a lot of waste. This technology was completely adjusted by them, this is clear legal evidence. However, this technology modification is not related to the environmental incident but it is related to their violation of our regulations,” said Mr. Tran Hong Ha.

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment also said that currently, the treatment issues are in the trial run phase. In fact, the capacity and the place with the most dangerous waste source is the coke oven, where the wastewater is treated at the biochemical station, which is only running at ¼ of its capacity.

“Such pollution can be confirmed to be due to an accident, but in reality, if fully operated, in accordance with regulations and strictly inspected, it is completely possible to meet the requirements of controlling and treating waste before discharging it into the environment,” the Minister affirmed.

Currently, after Formosa admitted responsibility and remedied the consequences, the Government has synchronously deployed work related to control, supervision and requested Formosa to remedy the existing problems.

Regarding the management of foreign workers in Formosa, Mr. Pham Minh Huan - Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said that he had organized many delegations to join the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province to inspect the licensing process.

“Currently, we know that 70% of Formosa workers are licensed, while the number of contractors fluctuates depending on each period. According to reported data, Ha Tinh currently manages the licensing of foreign workers, and this is done in accordance with regulations,” said Mr. Pham Minh Huan./.

According to VOV