The local authorities scrutinised 290 companies and named 100 companies that had been fined and have to take measures to solve environmental pollution issues. Taking the lead are battery, steel manufacturing, cooking, brewery, wood processing, and animal husbandry companies.

The chief of the Dong Nai provincial Environmental Protection Agency, Hoang Van Thong, said the enterprises on the blacklist are those that were warned several times but continued violating the rules. Many of them don’t have waste treatment systems.

Of the 100 polluters, 76 are said to have been seriously polluting the environment. Local authorities have imposed fines of over VND1 billion on 96 companies. However, as the fines are small, companies would rather pay fines than invest in waste treatment systems.

After the inspection, Dong Nai asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment to punish 20 companies that caused extremely serious pollution and to temporarily close four companies.

The Dong Nai provincial People’s Committee said that the province would extend the deadline for polluters to deal with theirs problems, otherwise they will be temporarily closed. The province will examine these enterprises twice a year.

The southern province of Binh Duong has temporarily closed seven companies for causing serious environmental pollution: Darby- CJ Genetics Co, Ltd.; Truc Dien, pig breeding companies; Dong Tien Paper and Packing Co.; Long Hoa Rubber Company; Dai Viet Agricultural Processing Co; Hai An Co., Ltd., a seafood processing firm; and Thread Vietnam, which makes screws.

VietNamNet/NLD