NA committee supervises environmental protection in Ha Tinh

At a working session with officials of the central province of Ha Tinh, Chairman of the committee PhanXuan Dung said Formosa’s Son Duong steel and deep-water port complex in the province is a big project. The environmental incident it triggered has caused major consequences on the local economy and society. 

He spoke highly of provincial agencies’ timely efforts to help affected fishermen and asked for solutions to waste released by the project. 

Last April, the construction and testing operations at the Formosa complex caused severe marine pollution, resulting in mass fish deaths along the coast of the central provinces of Ha Tinh, QuangBinh, Quang Tri and ThuaThien-Hue. 

The incident directly influenced about 13,000 fishermen, 4,050 people working in aquaculture, and over 2,600 others working both directly and indirectly in tourism. 

In the wake of the pollution, Ha Tinh’s administration ordered the prompt installment of an automatic monitoring station and requested Formosa monitor more parameters to ensure its treated waste will meet standards. This firm was also asked to set up a fume monitoring equipment that will send data to the provincial Department of Science and Technology. 

The provincial People’s Committee also installed an independent monitoring station in the VungAng Economic Zone, where Formosa’s complex is located, to examine the company’s wastewater, coastal sea water, and air quality. 

Chairman of the People’s Committee Dang QuocKhanh said local authorities have moved to assist the affected residents such as giving financial aid for health and fishing boat insurance purchase, helping low-income people switch to other jobs, and buying salt from the impacted salt farmers. 

During its trip, the parliamentary committee’s delegation examined the site of Formosa’s project and demanded the firm seriously fulfill its commitments to settling the environmental consequences and conduct environmental monitoring. 

Landfills of Formosa’s waste in Ky Anh town of Ha Tinh were also checked by the National Assembly’s officials.