Some 1,000 tons of harvested sugarcane in Ninh Hoa Town in Khanh Hoa Province remains unused on the field after an environmental incident at Khanh Hoa sugar refinery two weeks ago, Nguoi Lao Dong reports.

Fish died after the environmental incident in Khanh Hoa.

Technical glitches at the sugar facility earlier this month led wastewater to spill over into water sources, killing fish and forcing the factory to suspend operations for repair.

Cao Thai Thuy, a sugarcane farmer in Ninh Tan Ward in Ninh Hoa, has 20 tons of sugarcane that has not been transported to Khanh Hoa sugar factory.

“I have asked the factory many times but they only replied that I had to wait for the problem to be solved. The factory must have a solution for me as the output and quality of sugarcane would certainly be affected,” Thuy said.

The same situation is also seen in other sugarcane areas in Dien Khanh and Cam Lam districts. The authorities of Ninh Hoa Town have sent a report to the provincial government of Khanh Hoa to ask for solutions.

While the sugarcane growers suffered severe damage, seafood raised in Thuy Trieu lagoon near the sugar refinery continued to die. 

Nguyen Van Phuc, a farmer in Cam Thanh Bac Ward, said all his four tons of Babylonia areolata, also known as sweet snail, and 320,000 white-legged  shrimps cultured in Thuy Trieu lagoon have died, causing total damage of over VND1 billion.

Cam Lam District authorities have asked farmers to submit requests for compensation.

Previously, a sugar batch of Khanh Hoa sugar factory got burned, damaging the waste treatment system. The untreated wastewater then flowed into Thuy Trieu lagoon, causing mass deaths of seafood raised by local agriculture farmers.

Do Thanh Liem, general director of Khanh Hoa Sugar Company, said the firm is coordinating with authorities to examine the water samples to determine the cause and map out a compensation plan.

Liem said the company had informed farmers to stop harvesting sugarcane to leave time for the factory to take cleaning activities. 

Currently, the factory has 7,000 tons of sugarcane that cannot be processed because of the incident.

According to Bui Minh Son, deputy director of Khanh Hoa Province’s Department of Environment Protection, the incident has caused damage for the sugar factory, sugarcane farmers, aquaculture farmers and the environment. 

The factory has to suspend its operation until the consequences are completely solved.

SGT