Minister Tran Hong Ha answers about 3 Chinese nuclear power plants
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said that the three nuclear power plants in southern China are all located near the Vietnamese border, the nearest plant is only 50km from Mong Cai, Quang Ninh, and less than 500km from Hanoi. Although experts advise against panic, it is necessary to carefully prepare a plan to prevent incidents.
Delegate Pham Tat Thang asked about 3 Chinese nuclear power plants near the border with Vietnam.
At the question-and-answer session with Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha on the afternoon of June 4, delegate Pham Tat Thang (Vinh Long) mentioned China's construction of three nuclear power plants quite close to the Vietnamese border, from 50 km to 200 km. Accordingly, assuming these plants have problems in operation, the risk of radioactive contamination to Vietnam is very high. What solutions does the Ministry of Natural Resources have to deal with that risk?
Responding to questions, Minister Tran Hong Ha affirmed that the issue related to China's nuclear power plants has been "very well understood" by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The Government assigned the Ministry of Science and Technology to build regularly operating observation stations; work with international nuclear agencies to have inspection teams to control safety in this area.
The Minister added that not only the Ministry of Science and Technology, but also Hanoi city recently included this issue in the project to create necessary scenarios.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Hong Ha answers questions
In 2016, three nuclear power plants in southern China entered commercial operation, including the 1,000 MW Fangcheng (Guangxi), the 600 MW Changjiang (Guangdong) and the 650 MW unit of Shuangjiang (Hainan Island). These plants are all located near the northern border of Vietnam, the closest being Fangcheng, only 50 km from Mong Cai, Quang Ninh, and less than 500 km from Hanoi.
At the time the above plants came into operation, some experts said that people should not panic because with nuclear power plants, safety standards are always the top priority, but it is also necessary to carefully prepare plans to prevent incidents.
According to the Minister, at the end of May 2018, Hanoi approved the project "Managing and minimizing risks that could become disasters for Hanoi". Accordingly, the city predicted that 1 in 10 risks that could become disasters is radioactive leakage if there is an incident from 3 nuclear power plants in the Southeast region of China.
The city assigned the Department of Science and Technology to take the lead in developing detailed scenarios for prevention in case of radioactive leakage disasters and nuclear incidents; and to advise the city on tasks related to solutions for applying science and technology in disaster prevention, mitigation and mitigation.
Delegate Van Minh (Quang Ninh) asked the Minister to clarify the responsibility for handling polluting facilities. The Minister further clarified the Ministry's responsibility and solutions for handling environmental pollution.
Minister Tran Hong Ha agreed with the opinions raised by delegates. Facilities for processing solid waste, pesticides, and residual pollutants (such as dioxin). Need to be done promptly and thoroughly to reduce impacts on people's health. But the most difficult thing is to arrange financial resources. Because the contribution mechanism between the local and central levels is 50-50, it is very difficult to implement because many localities are still facing difficulties.
"I propose to review the responsibility of investors of projects that cause pollution" - the Minister affirmed.
Delegate Bui Thanh Tung (Hai Phong) said that in reality, water resources and the water environment are managed by many agencies, which are very overlapping and scattered. What solutions does the Minister have to fundamentally resolve this situation?
Talking about lessons learned from the Formosa incident, the Minister said that the environmental impact assessment stage needs to be done in a substantial manner to determine environmentally friendly, safe and more efficient production technology.
Delegate Tung argued that the treatment of wastewater after the environmental incident at Formosa has brought positive results. However, the lesson from the Formosa incident is very expensive and should not be forgotten. The company is now operating the second blast furnace. So is it guaranteed that Formosa’s operations and activities will be safe?
The Minister's response is reserved for the continuing questioning session tomorrow morning, June 5.