Damages to the environment and public health are immeasurable following a big fire at Rang Dong light bulbs warehouse in Hanoi City late last month that released tens of kilos of mercury plus other poisonous chemicals into the soil, the air and water sources. Aside from decries over poor responses by local authorities, a question remains as to whether such a major environmental incident can repeat itself in the future. The answer is a big yes, as long as facilities of hazardous industrial production like Rang Dong are still allowed inside crowded residential quarters.
Clusters of factories producing rubber, cigarettes, light bulbs, and shoes still remain in Hanoi although the government had approved a plan to move polluting production facilities out of the city.
But things remained in limbo until a fire broke out at the Rang Dong light bulb warehouse in Thanh Xuan District late last month, releasing an estimated 27 kg of mercury into the surrounding area, forcing many people living in its vicinity to move out.
The policy to relocate industrial manufacturing facilities out of residential neighborhoods in major cities has been issued for long years, but little enforcement has been done to this effect. In Hanoi City in particular, local media has pointed out how the Prime Minister has since 2003 approved a scheme to deal with pollution-causing plants in the captal city, and in the same year, Hanoi City also issued a decision to relocate all such plants out of inner-city areas. Virtually none has been done.
Many factories, including a rubber plant and a tobacco factory in the district, have been included in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment’s list of worst polluting facilities that are affecting people’s lives.
Some companies themselves have had relocation plans for years but without implementing them, causing the public to repeatedly complain about pollution.
In Hanoi City, numerous factories in highly-hazardous industrial sectors like rubber, footwear, tobacco, beverages, and construction among others have stayed put 16 years since the city’s decision. A report by Hanoi’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment shows that as many as 186 factories have been enlisted to relocate manufacturing facilities out of residential quarters in the city but few have really made a move. The reasons, besides reluctance by such enterprises to relinquish their inner-city sites, also include the absence of specific compensation policies on the part of the city government as well as the poor coordination between the city and relevant ministries and agencies, as it is reported many enterprises have had their relocation plans approved over ten years ago.
For instance, a spokesperson for the wholly state-owned Thang Long Tobacco Company said the relocation of the firm’s Hanoi factory had been approved nine years ago but funds have yet to be allotted for it.
Similarly, a plan by Sao Vang Rubber JSC to move a factory approved over a decade ago has been discussed at every annual general meeting of the company but never implemented.
According to company executives, Sao Vang’s controlling shareholder, state-owned chemical company Vinachem, has approved the relocation but approval for the method of relocation is required from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which has so far remained silent about the matter.
In 2016, Hanoi endorsed a scheme to shut down 117 pollution-causing plants in the inner city by 2020, but as of last September, only four have been relocated, the news site Vnexpress reports.
Elsewhere in other major cities, the job of relocating pollution-causing factories out of residential areas is barely moving as well. Tuoi Tre says Danang City has 150 industrial plants to be relocated, while in HCMC, as many as 10,000 industrial facilities are still nestled inside residential neighborhoods.
As suggested early on, besides time-consuming procedures, the major hindrance behind the snail’s pace in relocating industrial manufacturers is the economic factor. However, following the case of Rang Dong inferno in Hanoi, the balance has now tilted to mandatory relocation of all similar industrial plants, otherwise the economic loss will be tremendous.
If the Rang Dong blaze can serve as a wake-up call, it is high time authorities of major cities across the country fast-track the relocation of industrial manufacturers to where they belong.
