Damages caused by Vedan to be reassessed

Damages caused by Vedan to be reassessed

By Van Nam - The Saigon Times Daily

HCMC – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has directed the relevant authorities to reassess economic damages suffered by farmers by January 31 to request a fair settlement from environmental polluter Vedan Vietnam.

Bui Cach Tuyen, head of the Vietnam Environment Administration, said that at the request of the ministry, the authorities in HCMC, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau would have to launch an assessment of economic and environmental damages along the Thi Vai River.

An executive of Vedan Vietnam, a Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province-based monosodium glutamate producer which used a hidden pipe system to discharge untreated wastewater into the river, should be invited to participate in the assessment process.

According to the environment administration, scientists of the Vietnam Institute for Environment and Resources early this month announced Vedan was responsible for 89% to the total pollution in the 30-km river.

The scientists concluded the river water had badly affected agricultural production and aquaculture cultivation of thousands of farmers in four villages in Dong Nai’s Nhon Trach and Long Thanh districts, four villages in Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Tan Thanh District and a part of Thanh An Village in HCMC’s Can Gio District.

Vedan instantly denied the conclusion of the institute’s scientists, but admitted to polluting between ten and 11 kilometers of the river. Vedan also proposed continuing working with the scientists and related agencies to reassess the level of pollution caused by the company.

In mid-September last year, Vedan was found to discharging a large amount of untreated contaminants and chemicals through an underground drainage system into the Thi Vai River.

According to Tuyen, Vedan has paid VND127 billion for environment protection law violations.