Viet Tiep pub on Tran Quang Khai Street in Ha Noi was found discharging untreated water during a recent inspection conducted by the municipal officials.

The move will be made in response to recent violations found in many restaurants across Ha Noi, according to the head of the pollution control office of the department’s environment protection bureau, Do Ngoc Hai.

He says that in 2008, the department worked with authorised agencies to check a number of hotels in the capital, and found that they lacked wastewater treatment facilities, and often discharged waste straight into rivers.

During the inspection, environmental police and the department discovered that the Viet Tiep pub on Tran Quang Khai Street had discharged untreated waste, while several hotels and restaurants in Tay Ho District were found discharging waste water into West Lake.

In late 2008, environmental police in Ha Noi inspected Gio Moi Restaurant in Hai Ba Trung District and found that it had released waste water into Bay Mau Lake without treatment, at an estimated volume of hundreds of cubic metres per month.

As a result, many rivers and lakes in the capital city have been seriously polluted, Hai says.

“If any organisations or individuals discharge waste water into lakes and rivers in the city, it will worsen the pollution of these bodies of water and negatively affect people’s health,” he adds.

It is estimated that around 260,000cu.m of household waste water and 250 tonnes of rubbish are discharged into rivers and lakes in Ha Noi each day.

“Dirty water can breed many diseases, including dysentery, diarrhoea, digestive disorders and skin-related ailments. In some cases, seriously polluted water may even cause cancer,” says doctor Kieu Quoc Khanh, from the Ha Noi-based Transport and Communication Hospital.

According to health experts, diseases caused by water pollution kill more than 5 million people each year, and 60 per cent of children’s diseases are related to water pollution.

Individuals and businesses who cause environmental pollution will be fined and have the operational licences suspended until they take essential measures to reduce pollution, Hai says.

Businesses who have seriously violated environmental protection regulations will be banned from operations or urged to move out of residential areas, he adds.

Apart from checking hotels and restaurants in the capital city, inspectors will also look at industrial zones, office buildings and production sectors such as cooking and paper producers to make sure they are abiding by environmental protection regulations, Hai says.

VietNamNet/VNS