The Government has approved a national plan on air quality control until 2020 with a vision towards 2025, which will force 70% of steel plants to install automatic emissions monitoring systems.

The plan requires 80% of steel mills and chemical and chemical fertilizer facilities to efficiently handle dust and carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions in accordance with environmental protection regulations.

Nguyen Van Sua, vice chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), said the country has about 70 large-scale steel mills with a capacity from 100,000 tons a year or above and many small-scale steel facilities scattered in residential areas.

All steel plants must have waste treatment systems and dust filtration equipment. In fact, most of the major steel mills have such systems in place but few plants have automatic emissions monitoring systems.

Steel mills mostly emit CO2 and dust. Steel makers in developed countries apply CO2 recovery technology for reducing CO2 emissions, but this technology is not yet popular in Vietnam.

Pham Chi Cuong, president of the Vietnam Foundry and Metallurgy Science & Technology Association , said emissions monitoring at smelting facilities needs to be strengthened.

Only a few big plants have automatic emissions monitoring systems since they consume much electricity, so Cuong said they are often in off mode.

They would be switched on when inspectors come, he noted.