VietNamNet Bridge – People of Phu Hoa Town in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum are eager for a solution to the air and water pollution caused by a local rubber processing factory.

Located near Chu Pah Rubber Processing Factory, Phu Hoa Town Secondary School and Chu Pah Boarding School suffer from the unpleasant smell from the factory.

A teacher from the secondary school, Nguyen Thi Trang, said that on sunny days the problem interrupted lessons and forced them to close doors and windows to avoid the smell.

School principal Dinh Van Lieu said that students, teachers and local residents had complained on numerous occasions about the pollution that was affecting both their health and their work.

The two schools had about 700 students who were exposed to the stink daily, he said, adding that the situation had got progressively worse over the course of a decade.

A teacher from the boarding school, Nguyen Thi Thuy, said that she had seen no action taken by local authorities or the factory to mitigate the impacts or solve the problem.

She said she worried about her own health as well as other people's, especially those who suffered from asthma, one of whom was hospitalised after being exposed to the pollution.

According to inspection results of the province's Natural Resources and Environment Department, the pollution was caused by an inadequate waste water treatment system.

In August, the provincial People's Committee instructed the factory to fix the system and halt operations until a proper waste water treatment system was installed.

However, the factory's deputy director Trinh Thi Van said that they knew about the local residents' complaints but the "stink" was a typical characteristic of rubber gum processing.

She said that since April 15, the company had been in the process of building a sedimentation tank, but it was still incomplete.

A Vietnam News Agency reporter recently observed the factory's six available tanks were left uncovered, allowing the smell to drift on the breeze. The factory is also operating as normal while neighbouring residents continue to suffer.

* Hai Phong authorities reject polluting projects

The People's Committee in the northern port city of Hai Phong has rejected two investment projects for failing to meet environmental protection regulations.

The first proposal was for a US$60 million factory which would produce 200,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate per year in Dinh Vu Industrial Park. If built, the factory ran a high risk of exploding, said the city's Environmental Protection Division.

The second proposal was for a 40-ha factory which would produce 600,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser annually. This type of production could cause noise and dust, and require 5ha of waste storage area, said the division.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News