The forestry plantation where the illegal landfill was discovered. (Photo thanh nien.vn)
HaTinh (VNA) - Two companies involved in an illegal case ofhazardous waste landfill in central Ha Tinh province have been fined a total 1billion VND or 44,000 USD.
Theprovincial People’s Committee on December 16 fined Taiwanese Hung NghiepFormosa Steel Plant and a local contractor involved in the waste treatment ofthe plant.
Thecommittee said Formosa was fined 560 million VND for transferring the treatmentof its hazardous waste to an unqualified company. Meanwhile, Ky Anh district’surban environment company was fined 450 million VND for polluting theenvironment by undertaking landfill of untreated industrial hazardous waste.
InJuly last year, local residents discovered waste from Formosa being transportedto a forestry plantation of the district environment company’s director forlandfill. Following checks at the site, authorities found many packs of muddywaste taken from Formosa’s waste reservoir in holes at the plantation.
Inrelated news, authorities in Ha Tinh and neighboring Quang Binh province destroyed435 tonnes of frozen seafood that was contaminated with toxins from the Formosatoxic spill in April last year into the ocean near Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, QuangTri and Thua Thien- Hue.
Itcomprised 362 tonnes of seafood stored in Ha Tinh’s Loc Ha district and 73tonnes kept in 11 warehouses around Quang Binh. The seafood was harvested inthe ocean areas affected by Formosa toxins.
Lastmonth, the government agreed to expand compensation to traders and fishermenwho had contaminated seafood stored but the quantity has not been transferredto related agencies to be destroyed.
Thousandsof tonnes of seafood harvested in the affected ocean areas after the Formosatoxic spill were collected for landfill earlier this year in the fourprovinces, ensuring the contaminated seafood could not be consumed in themarket.-VNA
Compensation for residents affected by last year’s marine environmental incident in the four central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue has been mostly completed.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has asked four central provinces to maintain strict supervision on waste discharges from the Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has inspected the waste treatment area and production line of Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company (FHS) in Ha Tinh province, asking the firm must consider the environmental matter to be a vital factor to the implementation of its large-scale steel project.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held a working session with authorities of Ha Tinh on July 24 to discuss ways to build the central province into one of the major industrial hubs in the country.
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In 2019, Quang Ninh became one of the first localities in Vietnam to launch a province-wide campaign against plastic waste, mobilising the participation of the political system, the business sector, and the general public. Other localities—such as Hai Phong, Da Nang, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City—have also effectively implemented waste-sorting initiatives at source, along with models for plastic-free markets and urban areas.
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The forestry plantation where the illegal landfill was discovered. (Photo thanh nien.vn) 
