Prosecution initiated in case of illegal dumping of 123 tons of slag into the environment.
While illegally dumping 123 tons of slag waste generated from the aluminum smelting furnace onto land behind the furnace, the business was caught red-handed and prosecuted by authorities.
On March 31st, the Bac Ninh Provincial Police announced that the Economic, Corruption, and Environmental Crime Investigation Department of the Bac Ninh Provincial Police had issued a decision.initiate legal proceedings."Environmental pollution" in Quan Nghe area, Trai hamlet, Dai Bai village, Dai Bai commune, Gia Binh district.
Earlier, at around 5 PM on March 14th, the Economic, Corruption and Environmental Crime Investigation Department of the Bac Ninh Provincial Police discovered and apprehended a worker hired to smelt aluminum for a furnace owned by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thinh (born in 1969, residing in Quan Nghe area, Trai hamlet, Dai Bai village, Dai Bai commune, Gia Binh district) while he was illegally dumping waste slag generated from the furnace onto the land behind the furnace.
At the time of inspection, Ms. Thinh's aluminum smelting furnace was in operation, with 3 workers present.
Through investigation, the Department of Criminal Investigation of Economic, Corruption and Environmental Crimes determined that the land where Ms. Nguyen Thi Thinh's family lives and conducts manual aluminum smelting is agricultural land, intended for aquaculture, and is not permitted for residential use or industrial production, nor is it permitted for burying, disposing of, or dumping waste.
The Economic, Corruption and Environmental Crime Investigation Department of the Bac Ninh Provincial Police, in coordination with the Provincial Police's Criminal Technical Department, the Provincial People's Procuracy, the Gia Binh District People's Procuracy, the Dai Bai Commune People's Committee, the Dai Bai Commune Police, and the Dai Bai village authorities, conducted a scene investigation; and in coordination with the Vehicle Load Inspection Department - Bac Ninh Transportation Monitoring and Control Center, the Provincial Department of Construction, and other relevant units, weighed nearly 123 tons of illegally dumped aluminum slag waste.
The Dai Bai bronze casting village has a long history, producing artistic paintings, bronze religious artifacts, and various household items such as trays, bowls, chopsticks, basins, teapots, and cups.
In recent months, many new aluminum smelting facilities have appeared in Dai Bai commune. According to local residents, these facilities moved from Van Mon commune, Yen Phong district, because the Bac Ninh provincial government decided to issue a ban on aluminum smelting activities in Van Mon, requiring businesses to change their business lines or relocate to concentrated industrial zones with standard waste treatment systems.
However, instead of complying with regulations, some businesses have circumvented the law by relocating their production to Dai Bai area, Gia Binh district, Bac Ninh province, continuing to cause environmental pollution. According to residents, smoke and dust from aluminum smelting furnaces in Dai Bai cause breathing difficulties and affect daily life and agricultural production.
