LookAtVietnam – Thousands of residents in the Red River delta province of Ha Nam have complained that dust from a limestone quarry is threatening their health.

Dense dust over Dong Van - Ha Nam highway. Many residents of Ha Nam suffer from dust clouds caused by the quarrying of limestone to make cement.

Duong Minh Thang, representative of the township’s People’s Committee said dust levels had intensified over the past five years as exploitation activities become more frequent. According to Thang, exploitation takes place “only 100m away from residential areas”.

“The concrete factories need a huge amount of limestone,” he said. “The problem will surely get worse if no measures are conducted to prevent it.”

There are two operating cement factories, But Son and Kien Khe and more than 12 private enterprises. Two more factories, Tan Tao and Hoa Phat, are also set to open soon.

Of these, only a few are equipped with water spraying machines to reduce dust levels, and fewer actually use it during operations.

The factories create part-time jobs for hundreds of people in the township and surrounding areas, especially after each harvest, Thang said, “But dust with strong density is unbearable.”

Nguyen Thi Oanh, resident in Kien Khe township said hundreds of trucks carrying limestone pass through her street every day, covering her house with a thick layer of dust, even though she closes the windows and the door.

“The floor is barely clean even though I sweep it six times a day,” Oanh said.

The local school was also suffering, a teacher at Kien Khe B Primary school, Nguyen Van Du, said.

“Nearly 500 teachers and students have to clean the classrooms everyday before lessons. We grew a fence of trees around the school to alleviate the problem but the dust is as bad as ever.”

Health threat

The dust isn’t just messy, it also affects people health, head of the Kien Khe township’s Medical Clinic, Tran Thi Chung, said.

“Thirty per cent out of the township’s population (10,000 people) regularly suffer respiratory illnesses and red-eye disease, especially the elderly and children living near the exploitation areas.”

A recent health check conducted by the district health clinic in Kien Khe B Primary school revealed 70 out of the school’s 404 students were suffering trachoma and other eye diseases, according to doctor Phan Thi Nga.

“The dust must be the main cause of the issue because the school is very near the limestone quarries. Everything at the school is covered with dust, even the water in the school’s cistern,” Nga said.

Water contamination was a serious cause for concern, said Le Manh Nghia, vice chairman of the township’s People Committee. “The situation is critical because most residents use rainwater and the cisterns are also full of limestone dust.”

Township official Thang said the committee had hired people to clean the roads, but had failed to keep it up because of a lack of funds.

“We have asked the provincial authorities to move these factories to Dong Muong area, which is far away from residential areas, for the best interests of both businesses and residents,” he said.

Thang said the committee would start the move soon after getting a final decision from relevant authorities.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News