Fish died en masse in Hanoi’s Truc Bach Lake from March 20-23 because of seriously polluted water, announced Hanoi Environment Protection Bureau Chief Nguyen Van Luong on March 31.

According to testing results, the contents of dissolved oxygen in the water is lower than permitted level from 12.5-25 times while the content of ammonium (NH4) exceeds the threshold from 7.8 to over 32 times, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) content from 48.5 to 113 times and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) from 2.8 to nearly 10 times over the acceptable level.

Luong explained that Truc Bach Lake is polluted by waste water discharged from restaurants along the lake.

Environmental management agencies have checked and fined violators, but the situation is unresolved because the sanctions are gentle. The Government recently issued Decree 117/ND to increase fines on polluting activities to 500 million dong, but this decree awaits an instruction circular before its implementation.

Luong cautioned that it is a must to treat restaurant waste water before it is discharged, as well as measure regularly the water’s quality and dissolved oxygen content.

PV