VietNamNet Bridge - The government decided that all the craft brick kilns throughout the country must be eliminated, but in Dong Nai province, the kilns continue to operate, polluting the environment.

The areas which gather most brick kilns are Hamlet 1 & 3 in An Hoa Commune. A series of large kilns located in residential quarters continue producing smoke and dust every day. Some of them are just 5-10 meters far from houses.

There are 15 kilns, mostly privately run, in the small area between Hamlet 1 & 3 alone, and all are busy. Each of the kilns covers thousands of square meters, where one can see finished products, input materials and coal for fuel.

A man said the kilns have existed for many years and provide the major livelihood of local households. 

The owners of the kilns recently heard that the government had decided to remove all the brick kilns of this kind.

“The environment is seriously polluted. Brick kilns run all day and night. Trucks go in and out. Mud, dust and smoke pervade residential quarters,” a man in Hamlet 1 of An Hoa Commune said.

“We asked the local authorities to remove the illegal brick kilns. However, nothing has changed,” he complained.

An Hoa is not alone. Such brick kilns can also be found in Tam Phuoc Commune of Bien Hoa City and the areas in Vinh Cuu and Trang Bom districts.

Tang Van Giac, deputy chair of An Hoa Commune, said the 30 brick kilns in the locality had been informed about the government’s decision. 

“We usually take inspection tours to the kilns and impose fines if they violate the environmental regulations. However, eliminating brick kilns is still impossible. We should do this step by step,” he explained.

The Prime Minister’s Decision No 567/2010/QD-TTg on the development of unburned building materials stipulates that all manual brick kilns across the country must be removed by the end of 2010 and utilize tunnel technology.

However, Nguyen Dinh Manh, a senior official of Bien Hoa City, said agencies in Bien Hoa City are going to ask provincial authorities to ‘give more time’ to brick kilns to prepare for the removal.

“It is necessary to build up reasonable policies on developing suitable building materials and find out the solutions to help workers earn their living,” Manh said.

Brick kilns still exist in many other cities and provinces throughout the country. Owners of brick kilns willing to move, but need support from State.

Thien Nhien