Local residents in Binh Chanh District in HCM City have are concerned about the consequences of the fire at Tan Hung Thai Company Ltd storage site in Le Minh Xuan Industrial Zone.

The fire occurred in mid-April, but only on June 5 did the HCM City Department of Natural Resources and the Environment meet to discuss the solutions to settle the problem.

Local authorities issued orders to set up embankments with a total length of 600 meters to prevent the chemicals from pouring into Canal No 6.

However, the danger still exists: the embankments may collapse if it rains heavily.

According to Cao Tung Son, deputy head of the district’s environment sub-department, the water samples taken lately showed that pollution of the Canal No 6 has lessened.

Son believes the problem can be settled by pumping water into the waste water treatment station in Le Minh Xuan Industrial Zone for treatment.

In case the proposed solution is not approved by the industrial zone’s board of management, the city’s environment department will consider using services by other companies.

As for the sediment mud, which contains heavy metals, it would require a special treatment solution. The solution will be decided by a council of scientists to be set up by the environment department.

All the costs for the treatment will be paid by Tan Hung Thai.

Nguyen Lien Truong, acting director of Le Minh Xuan Industrial Zone, said he wants to help Tan Hung Thai treat the polluted water. However, Truong said appropriate agencies need to examine the water quality of the Canal No 6 to find out if it can be treated by the zone’s water treatment system.

Truong said that the industrial zone would agree only if the treatment solution is approved by appropriate agencies.

The waste water treatment system of Le Minh Xuan Industrial Zone has a capacity of 6,000 cubic meters per day.

However, the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said Le Minh Xuan should not help treat the water.

Nguyen Minh Ly from the department pointed out that Le Minh Xuan Industrial Zone has not been licensed to discharge waste water to water sources, and that it would be problematic if they put contaminated water into the zone’s waste water and then discharge it into the environment.

Meanwhile, the representative of Tan Hung Thai, who was present at the meeting, said the company was now experiencing difficulty.

“The incident has led to production stagnation, therefore, we have big financial problems,” said Do Van Phuoc, deputy director of Tan Hung Thai. “We need support from the State”.

HCM City authorities have released an ultimatum that if Tan Hung Tai does not pay fees for the pollution treatment, the city will advance money from the city’s budget, but will also take legal proceedings against Tan Hung Thai.