VietNamNet Bridge - The Vinh Tan 2 thermal power plant is located in an area with the strongest wind in the country, scientists say, causing serious pollution to a large area.

Hundreds of people in Binh Thuan province intercepted vehicles on Highway No 1 some months ago to demonstrate their protest against environmental pollution caused by coal residues from the Vinh Tan thermopower plant.

The investor of the plant then covered the coal residue ground with canvas and watered regularly to prevent the fly ash from disseminating.

Scientists have warned that relevant agencies have to find a sustainable solution, or the problem could turn even more serious, saying that fly ash is just the beginning of a greater disaster – the grey mud threat.

Tran Dinh Long from the Vietnam Power Association noted that Vinh Tan 2 said the investor should have thought of solutions to fix the problem of strong winds.

“The coal storehouse of the plant caused pollution in the past. As the problem was not settled, the dust continues,” he noted.

Long said the spraying of water to create humidity to prevent dust from flying everywhere was possibly not done properly.

The Ninh Binh and Pha Lai thermal power plants have also caused pollution in the same way in the past. Later, the problem was fixed by installing a dust filtration system.

A thermal power expert who asked to be anonymous said the investor did not pay enough attention to how to deal with the coal residue the plant would produce.

In general, there is a ground at thermal power plant for keeping ashes and coal residues which will be later treated.

However, the problem is that Vinh Tan 2 is located in Tuy Hoa and Ca Na, the two districts with the strongest wind in the country. 

“If this had been anticipated, the designer should have thought of solutions to the problem,” he commented, adding that in such natural conditions, a wet solution would be useful.

The expert also said the low Chinese technology was also a reason behind the poor performance of the plant.

He declined to give detailed comments about the technology utilized at Vinh Tan 2. 

However, he related a story about a coal thermal power plant in Hebei province in China. At first, the plant used a US-made coal grinder with grinding axle with the life span of 25,000 hours.

Later, the unit was replaced with one made by Chinese in accordance with US technology. But the unit could run for only 5,000 hours.

Dat Viet