LookAtVietnam – Hundreds of polluting brick kilns in the northern province of Bac Ninh have been shut down and will be demolished by the end of September.

Hundreds of polluting brick kilns have been shut down in Bac Ninh province.

Nguyen Thanh Bac, head of the Water and Natural Resources Division at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said: “Most of the brick kilns are not equipped with proper fume-processing systems. The amount of sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide in the smoke belching from these kilns is much higher than permitted levels.

“Hot fumes have ruined paddy fields and damaged crops. Many local residents have suffered from eye and throat problems due to breathing polluted air.”

Last month, chairmen in seven communes of Gia Binh and Thuan Thanh districts were dismissed because they had allowed illegal kilns to operate in their areas.

To deter the practice, brick kiln owners breaching regulations were fined VND30 million (US$1,680) for each kiln, a three-fold increase compared to last year.

Since mid-June, there are no longer any working kilns, Le Ba Thanh, an official from Thuan Thanh District People’s Committee, said.

One brick kiln owner in Gia Binh district, Nguyen Ba Trang, said: “The last time we fired our brick kiln was on June 17, 2009, although we knew it was forbidden. However, we’d rather pay a fine than let the kiln and the materials be swept away in the upcoming flood season.”

Like hundreds of other kiln owners, Trang bought coal and clay to make bricks for when his kiln is fired up in November. The kiln must be fired to harden the structure ahead of the rains, he said.

Losing everything

Each kiln is worth hundreds of million of dong, with some costing as much as 1 billion dong to make.

Nguyen Ba Trang, a policeman in Thuan Thanh district, said the loss to owners of closing their kilns was significant.

“I must say the loss from giving up their brick kilns is not small but they have made a profit for a long time,” he said.

“This is only a real problem for those who newly invested in this business, who I estimate to account for 10 per cent of the whole. Some of them even put their houses up as collateral to get a bank loan. They are at risk of a losing everything,” Trang added.

There is a general consensus among brick kiln owners that the authorities should expand the deadline so that they can fire the kilns for one last time because they have already invested a great deal of money.

However, local resident Nguyen Van Khanh, said he applauded the action of the authorities.

To offset the environmental pollution caused by making bricks, the provincial authorities published detailed guidelines for kiln owners in 2006. However, many substandard brick kilns have been granted operating licences by lower-level authorities.

Thousands of farmers who make extra money by making bricks also face financial hardship. After harvest time, they earn VND100,000-200,000 ($5.6-11.2) a day from carrying bricks.

Tran Thi Ngat, a farmer in Cao Duc commune, said: “My family’s income mainly comes from carrying bricks. If the kilns are cleared away, I don’t know what I am going to do. If we depend only on farming like we used to, we won’t be able to send our children to school.”

Meanwhile, the Bac Ninh People’s Committee has ordered local officials to speed up the construction of eco-friendly tunnel kilns under a pilot project run by the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Industry and Trade.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News