Tisco builds dumping ground for hazardous waste

Thai Nguyen has wrapped up an inspection over the outdoor mountain of hazardous waste. Tisco’s waste was mostly from its two subsidiaries – Luu Xa steel mill and the pig iron mill.

The former makes ingot steel with the capacity of 450,000 tons per annum, using pig iron, scrap steel and supporting materials. The production discharges a big volume of furnace dust which is collected through two dust filter bag systems.

The mill reported that since 2010, the volume of dust generated had reached 38,159.642 kilograms, one fourth of which had been transferred to treatment companies. The remaining dust has been kept in three areas.

The No 1 dumping ground had 5,880 tons of hazardous waste. There are 20,670 tons on No 2 and 1,316 tons at the old warehouse.

As for the pig iron mill, its production capacity is 180,000 tons per annum, which mostly serves ingot steel manufacturing. The major material used by the mill is iron ore, and the fuel includes coke coal for blast furnace and coal dust for the sintered production line – a process that generates big volumes of furnace dust.

Since September 2011, the process has generated 4.8 million tons of furnace dust a year. The periodic reports of the mill showed that since 2013, 39 of 959 tons of furnace dust were generated and reused.

In February 2021, the mill stopped reusing furnace dust, registered the adjustment, and received permission to store hazardous waste, which means that 225 tons of furnace dust of the mill can be stored temporarily while waiting for transfer for treatment.

The inspectors found that the operation of these two mills generated furnace dust and that they had violated the law on environmental protection.

Tisco has been found storing hazardous waste at the dumping ground that does not meet technical standards. It did not report to state management agencies about the hazardous waste storage for more than six months after the waste was generated. The furnace dust stored at the dumping ground affected the environment, causing pollution.

For these violations, the inspectors decided to impose a fine of VND565 million on Tisco and force the company to take measures to settle the environmental pollution.

“Tisco has to assess the situation, localize the waste, and build solutions to settle pollution at the No 1 and No 2 dumping grounds and report to the local environment department,” the report said. 

Doan Bong

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