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| The 20,000 tons of nix grains, carried by Atlantic Star from South Korea, were unloaded at the HVS Port on December 29 |
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The 20,000 tons of nix grains, carried by Atlantic Star from South Korea, were unloaded at the HVS Port on December 29, according to the Khanh Hoa Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
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More than one year ago, HVS suspended imports of the grains, which had been sprayed under high pressure to remove materials, such as rust and paint.
Vu Minh Phu, HVS Deputy General Director, confirmed the import of nix grains, saying it would be used for ship repair.
Phu explained that, due to the economic crisis that made the numbers of HVS clients drop, this volume of nix grains would be enough for at least two years. In the last year, over 1000 out of HVS’ 3600 workers, have been laid off due to lack of business.
He also claimed that, in the last two years, HVS has used steel balls as alternatives to the nix grains and that it has taken other strict measures to prevent the spread of nix grains into the environment under the close watch of environmental agencies.
Local residents furious, fearful
VietNamNet reporters arrived at Ninh Yen village in Ninh Phuoc commune, where the local people have suffered from pollution caused by the HVS’ nix grains for a decade.
“We protest HVS’ import of nix grains. We are not scientists and we don’t know the contents, but we know by our experience that it causes pollution and it is dangerous,” argued Le Minh Den, Secretary of the local Party cell.
“This year, Ninh Yen had two people and My Giang had three others who died from cancer, including liver cancer,” he revealed. “We didn’t have many cancer deaths in the past.”
According to Den, since HVS began using copper slag, up to 70 percent of villagers have suffered bronchitis and sinusitis.
Den explained that three hamlets will be moved, but he pointed out that this job is not finished and yet HVS is importing nix grains again.
Nguyen Duong Son, Secretary of the Party Cell of Ninh Yen, exclaimed: “The provincial authorities (Khanh Hoa) banned the import of nix grains. Now they plan to move local residents, but when the relocation is not complete, why allow HVS to import nix grains again? Each time HVS sprays nix grains, we suffer heavily. We were very happy since the plant halted the use of nix grains. Now, HVS is using nix grains at night to avoid inspection.”
“We are willing to contribute money to accommodate an official with good meals for one month to stay here to breathe nix dust to understand the situation,” posited Son.
Officials comment
Nguyen Chien Thang, Khanh Hoa Vice-Chairperson, observed that, under current regulations on environmental protection, nix is not included on the list of materials banned from import into Vietnam.
Thang added that any nix import by HVS must be approved by Khanh Hoa People’s Committee after an analysis of its environmental impact. Thang commented that it would be necessary to supervise the use of nix grains and how it is treated.
According to Thang, HVS didn’t have solutions to treat the nix grains that it discharged in the last ten years so in early 2009 local authorities asked HVS to build, not repair, ships until it could treat nix grains.
HVS obeyed the order and recently signed a contract to treat nix grains at the Ninh Thuy treatment plant. HVS has gradually shifted to building ships and has used many solutions to curb environmental pollution when it used nix grains.
“I think it is normal that HVS imports nix grains,” Thang stated in a Tuoi Tre interview. “20,000 tonnes is not much. They imported hundreds of thousands of tonnes in the past.”
Le Mong Diep, Director of the Khanh Hoa Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said HVS had not submitted any report on the impact of nix grains on the environment, a necessary step if the nix grains were to be allowed for use in ship repair again.
In July 2008, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) asked Khanh Hoa authorities to take stronger measures to prevent environmental problems that could be caused by the operation of Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard Co.
The company was asked to stop using nix grains pending solutions on the used nix.
In August 2008, the company began to invest in new technology for shipbuilding and reduced its ship repair operations.
Under a contract signed between Hyundai-Vina-shin and the Hanoi Minerals and Metallurgy Joint-stock Company, the waste treatment company broke ground for construction of a plant to treat 330,000 tonnes of nix waste per year on December 14, 2009.
Located in Ninh Thuy Commune next door to a storage facility with more than 1 million tonnes of nix waste, construction of the plant is scheduled to be completed in May 2011.
Bui Cach Tuyen, head of the MNRE’s Environment General Department, offered that the ministry would not approve nix imports if the used nix grains were not treated.
Located in Ninh Hoa District’s Ninh Phuoc Commune, HVS is the Southeast Asias largest ship repair facility, a joint venture between South Koreas Hyundai Group and the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) capable of handling vessels displacing up to 100,000 DWT. The Hyundai-Vinashin Shipyard was established in 1996 and it is about 20km south of the proposed STX shipyard in Van Phong Bay.
At the beginning, HVS used sand to clean ship covers. In 1999, at HVS’ request, the Ministry of Science-Technology & Environment permitted the company to use nix grains, accompanied with measures to prevent environmental pollution.
From 1999-2007, HVS imported 809,000 tonnes of copper slag and used around 800,000 tonnes. Around over 1 million tones of waste is dumped near the plant.
As of July 2007, HVS had stopped importing nix grains.
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