Many potential risks from abandoned brick kilns

(Baonghean.vn) - Manual brick and tile kilns have been banned from operation but have only been half-dismantled and abandoned in rural areas, posing many potential risks of accidents.

Implementing the direction of Decision No. 567/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister dated April 28, 2010 and Directive No. 04/CT-UBND of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee dated February 1, 2013 on eliminating manual brick and tile kilns has been implemented relatively well by localities.

Since 2010, hundreds of handmade brick and tile kilns in the province have been dismantled and stopped operating. Photo: Xuan Hoa

Traditional manual brick kilns, improved manual kilns, and continuous vertical kilns were often built on agricultural land. The raw material source was local clay, produced on simple, outdated production lines, using manual firing technology, resulting in low-quality bricks, consuming a lot of fuel, especially polluting the environment, affecting public health, reducing crop yields, and destroying arable land.

However, because these handmade brick and tile kilns were previously located near residential areas and had large areas, after being abandoned for a period of time, the kilns became grazing grounds for cattle.

Kilns that have stopped operating but have not been completely dismantled but only partially dismantled have become a concern with potential risks of accidents. Especially when brick kilns are partially dismantled, the remaining parts are very loosely put together.

Meanwhile, in the grazing areas, the buffalo and cows are mainly herded by children who often hang around the handmade brick kilns to play. This is even a place for children to take shelter from the rain and sun when herding buffalo and cows.

The abandoned brick kilns have become playgrounds for children herding buffalo, fraught with potential dangers. Photo: Xuan Hoa.

In addition, the vast and deep lakes that were once used to make bricks have become real traps for children. In recent years, drowning accidents have occurred almost every year in abandoned brick kiln lakes.

For example, in 2013, Nguyen Thi L. (born in 1996, residing in Hamlet 7, Nghi Lien Commune, Vinh City) was discovered dead by local people in an abandoned brick kiln lake in Nghi Lien Commune, Vinh City.

In October 2015, a number of children, while playing together at an abandoned brick kiln lake in Nghi Hoa commune (Nghi Loc), slipped and fell into the deep lake, causing Nguyen Thi N. (born 2003, 6th grade student, Quan Hanh Secondary School, Nghi Loc) to drown.

In 2016, two boys, Pham Van Th. (born 2004) and Nguyen Van H. (born 2006), residing in My Hau hamlet, Hung Dong commune, Vinh city, went down to the lake next to the old brick kiln in Hung Dong commune to catch clams, but they fell into deep water and died.

The abandoned shell of the furnace has been abandoned for a long time, so the structure is also loose and can collapse at any time. Photo: Xuan Hoa

These are small numbers compared to the many drowning accidents involving abandoned brick kiln lakes. This is even more dangerous as summer vacation is approaching and students often go to these lakes to swim.

Not only that, abandoned brick kilns are also turned into drug injection sites by addicts. The needles that addicts throw away after using them can be stepped on for just a moment and can spread dangerous diseases.

Lakes formed from land that was used to make bricks pose a potential risk of drowning. Photo: Xuan Hoa.

Present at some abandoned brick kilns in Nghi Lien commune, Vinh city, Nghe An, we saw many children playing under many partially demolished brick kilns.

Above the children's playground, the remaining bricks and concrete from the half-destroyed chimneys hang, threatening to fall at any moment. At some kilns, the half-destroyed shells of the old kilns are still there, tilting dangerously.

These abandoned brick kilns pose numerous potential hazards to children playing below. Photo: Xuan Hoa

Mr. Thai Doan Sy - Chairman of Nghi Van Commune People's Committee (Nghi Loc) said: "The incomplete demolition of these brick kilns is a risk of causing accidents for children. In 2016, at the abandoned brick kiln area behind Hamlet 4, the commune police force discovered and arrested a number of subjects using drugs there. But our difficulty is that most of the abandoned brick kilns are located adjacent to the administrative management boundary of Vinh City. Hopefully, the higher authorities will soon have a plan to completely demolish these abandoned manual brick kilns to avoid unfortunate accidents./.

Xuan Hoa