(Baonghean.vn) - The sludge dam of a tin factory broke in Quy Hop district, Nghe An, spilling black sludge and yellow wastewater down the stream, slowly entering the residential area.
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| The mining and production center of Suoi Bac Tin Factory is located on Lan Toong Mountain, at an altitude of over 700m. This area is covered in clouds all year round. |
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| On the morning of March 9, people in Chau Thanh, Chau Cuong, Chau Quang communes of Quy Hop commune were surprised to discover that Bac stream and Nam Huong stream - the main source system of Dinh river (Quy Hop) - had a lot of thick black mud and yellow wastewater flowing down. Following the stream, people and local authorities discovered that the waste tank of Suoi Bac Tin Enterprise belonging to Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metal Joint Stock Company had broken. |
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| The waste tank, which is "hanging" on the hillside, has a capacity of more than 10,000m3 and is built with soft soil. So the tank's collapse was foreseeable. |
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| According to the report of Suoi Bac Tin Enterprise, the broken tank section is 12m long, but in reality, about 60m of the dike has broken and collapsed. |
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| After the main tank broke, there were hundreds of meters3Mud and waste overflowed into rivers and streams downstream. |
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| Mr. Lo Van Thanh, an environmental officer of Chau Thanh commune (Quy Hop) was one of the first witnesses present at 9:00 a.m. on March 9 when the incident occurred. Mr. Thanh said that when he heard that Bac stream was carrying black mud flowing into the residential area, he and others followed the stream for many hours and discovered that the main waste tank of Suoi Bac Tin Factory had broken. |
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| Currently, all the wastewater in the tank has flowed out, leaving only a thick layer of mud on the surface, the rest has dried and gives off a very unpleasant sulfur smell. |
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| At the scene when Nghe An Newspaper reporters were present, there was only one excavator pushing away the mud to create a dam to prevent water from flowing into the broken tank. This repair was not very meaningful when the waste storage system was still made very temporarily and manually. |
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| For many years now, the tin mining of Suoi Bac Tin Enterprise has been reported by local people to be polluting water sources, severely affecting farming and aquaculture areas. |
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| Currently, many mines of Suoi Bac Tin Factory are still operating under simple, manual conditions. |
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| Current status of mining tunnels. |
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| At the time we were there, the Suoi Bac Tin Factory had stopped working. It is known that after the incident, the Quy Hop district government requested the unit to stop mining. |
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| The entrance to mining furnace No. 5 is over 200m long and has many vertical and horizontal passages dug deep into the mountain. |
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| The tunnel is braced and reinforced with wooden pillars. |
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| Nghe An Newspaper reporters working in reactor number 5. |
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| Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company has been operating for decades in Quy Hop district. This company "inherited" the tin mine and production system of a company belonging to the former Soviet Union. |
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| Trolleys and some tools used for tin mining. |
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| A makeshift auxiliary structure in the middle of the forest of Suoi Bac Tin Factory. |
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| At the tin mining center of Lan Toong mountain, there are also many "hanging" waste tanks on the mountainside. |
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| In addition to the broken tank, Nghe An Newspaper reporters also discovered a number of points discharging waste directly into the environment, causing harm to people in Chau Thanh, Chau Quang, and Chau Cuong communes. |
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| A waste pit of Suoi Bac Tin Factory. |
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| From above, it can be seen that the sludge from the tank flows into the Bac stream, causing consequences for the environment and people's lives. |
PV Group
