Local residents are protesting Chu Lai Soda Processing Joint Stock Company’s relapse into discharging untreated wastewater into the river, in spite of the local authorities’ ban.

The anger flared when the central province of Quang Nam residents threatened to block the company’s wastewater pipes.

On June 14, when households accused the company of discharging wastewater into the local river, the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone Management Board asked the company to stop its discharge, which the company ignored.

VIR’s reporter has contacted the management board, for numerous times to enquire how they would deal with the incident as well as the company’s track record of previous violations. However, it refused to comment.

In February, the local authorities directed the company to suspend its operations in wait for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s conclusions on its environmental violations.

According to the board’s inspection record, Chu Lai Soda discharged coal and black carbon, both substances banned by regulations, into the environment.

Along with violations of the discharging process guidelines, the company did not build appropriate wastewater and solid waste treatment facilities.

Hundreds of households complained that their daily lives as well as their cultivation areas were affected by environmental pollution caused by the company.

The wastewater is not only dumped into the river, causing the mass dying of fish, but also into residents' fishery ponds and fields located at the back of the factory, killing all flora and fauna.