Need solutions to overcome pollution from old pesticide warehouses

(Baonghean)For many years, in hamlet 15, Dien Yen commune, Dien Chau district, there has existed an old warehouse of unused pesticides, affecting the lives and causing panic for hundreds of households.

Most of the 250 households in Hamlet 15, Dien Yen Commune, are located within 1km of the pesticide warehouse in a field. However, according to some households, a few years ago, whenever the wind blew, people could still smell the strong smell of pesticides in the air. Mr. Nguyen Van Canh, a resident of Hamlet 15, showed us the warehouse consisting of 8 rooms that had been abandoned for many years. Walking along the corridor of this warehouse, the smell of pesticides was still very strong, causing a very unpleasant feeling. Each room was left empty and had no doors. Mr. Canh said that in the past, whenever it rained, the water carried the residual pesticides down to the fields, causing the rice to burn and not grow. And when the weather changed from hot to rainy, the air was immediately filled with the smell of pesticides.



The pesticide warehouse with 8 rooms still exists and has a strong smell of pesticides.

Ms. Phan Thi Chi, 60 years old, and her family have lived near the pesticide warehouse for over 30 years, telling us about failed crops due to pesticide residues mixed with rainwater flowing into the fields. Even the land surrounding the warehouse was given to her family to plant eucalyptus trees, but the trees planted there all grew and developed very slowly.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Canh, this pesticide warehouse dates back to the 1970s of the last century, initially stored in houses made of oil paper and bamboo, and later stored in solidly built warehouses. At that time, pesticides were packaged very roughly, so it was inevitable that the water and soil around them would be exposed to pesticides. What is worrying is that although the pesticide warehouse has long been discontinued, there is still no treatment, while serious diseases are still a concern for the people.

Mr. Le Quang Hao, the village chief of village 15, said that the village had submitted reports to all levels and sectors many times but had not seen any action. In the village, there were many cases of adults contracting strange diseases and dying, and some children were born with congenital disabilities. Seeing the disease spreading, the people were quite worried. To limit it, every household used rainwater for cooking, and well water was only used for bathing and washing.

Talking with Mr. Nguyen Duc Chau - Vice Chairman of Dien Yen Commune People's Committee. Mr. Chau said: The commune can only handle the problem by digging ditches to lead water from the warehouse to the drainage system to avoid rainwater contaminated with pesticides flowing into people's fields. If we want to handle it thoroughly, we need the involvement of specialized agencies and the commune has submitted a report to higher authorities on this issue.

According to Mr. Chau, Dien Yen commune has 2 polluted locations due to old pesticide warehouses located in hamlets 6 and 15. In hamlet 6, the first phase of treatment has been completed, which is to dig up all the surrounding land, and the second phase will treat the warehouse to eliminate the source of pollution. Not only in Dien Yen but also in the whole Nghe An province, old pesticide warehouses are the cause of environmental pollution in many localities. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly treat these polluted locations left by history, although it is known that treating pollution requires time, specific procedures and large costs.

Thanh Duy