Broken tailing pond leads to mass fish deaths in north-central Vietnam
Mass fish deaths have been reported in north-central Vietnam after a local tin mining company’s tailing pond gave way on March 9, causing the toxic refuse to flow into a nearby stream.
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Close to 100 cubic meters of mud and leach residue flowed into the nearby stream of Nam Huong following the incident.
The stream water was still murky two days after the leakage, and black residues could still be seen building up along the banks of Nam Huong Stream on March 11.
Fish began floating lifelessly on the stream’s surface on Friday morning, and on Saturday they started to die en masse, according to Sam Thi Thuy, a local in Quy Hop.
Two hundred kilograms of fish in Thuy’s pond has been killed since the incident.
The muddy water also affected over 300 hectares of paddy field on either side of Nam Huong Stream across 22 of Chau Quang’s villages.
Locals have been advised to abstain from eating fish and rice tainted by the leakage, while local authorities have put together an inspection team to evaluate the damage caused by the incident.
“Authorities have collected water samples to assess the scale of the environmental impact and determine the responsibility of relevant parties,” said Vi Thanh Tuong, deputy chairman of the Quy Hop People’s Committee.
Suoi Bac is a tin mining enterprise owned by Chau Thanh-based Nghe Tinh Ferrous Metal Company, which has been in operation for the past five years, producing between seven and eight metric tons of processed tin every month.
