A polluted river (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Many serious environmentalpollution cases were uncovered and strictly handled in 2016, the VietnamEnvironment Administration (VEA) said on December 29.
The biggest scandal is the spill of hazardouswaste to the sea by Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation – a Taiwanesefirm based in central Ha Tinh province, VEA Deputy General Director Nguyen TheDong said at a meeting to review the administration’s performance in 2016 andset tasks for 2017.
This toxic spill caused mass fish deaths alongthe coast of the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and ThuaThien-Hue.
More than 50 big pollution cases were alsobrought to light, stirring public concern. Most of them polluted river and seawater by intentionally releasing waste that contains toxic substances. Somewere caused by the lax management of production activities or the use of below-standardequipment, Dong said.
The VEA sent four delegations to inspect andexamine environmental protection activities at 825 establishments in 32provinces and cities nationwide in 2016. They are asking competent agencies topunish violators with a total fine of about 132 billion VND (5.8 million USD).
The handling of big polluters has been promotedsubstantially, the VEA reported, noting that 171 of the 435 serious pollutershave basically finished dealing with their pollution.
To fulfill the tasks for next year, DeputyMinister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan asked the VEA toconsolidate the State management of environmental protection from the centralto grass-roots levels, improve its capacity of responding to emergencies, andplay a better role in coordinating environmental protection activities.-VNA
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