The story of dozens of people suddenly showing signs of poisoning in an apartment building in Vinh City (Nghe An) is causing a stir in public opinion here. According to information from a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper in Nghe An, since noon on September 25, many people in the Golden City 3 apartment building, in Nghi Phu commune, Vinh City, have shown symptoms of abdominal pain, vomiting, and low blood pressure. Mild cases are being monitored at home, 4 severe cases have been transferred to medical facilities for treatment, and are currently in stable health and have been discharged from the hospital.
Golden City 3 Apartment has 105 apartments with nearly 400 people. In addition to using tap water for daily use, some families also use bottled water. Tap water here is pumped through 3 underground settling tanks and then brought to tanks on the top floor before being supplied to each household. A few days ago, Vinh City had heavy rain, but the water tank in the building was not flooded.
According to the leader of the Nghe An Food Safety and Hygiene Department, after receiving information about the incident, the initial suspicion was related to the shared water source in the apartment building. Households using bottled water did not show any symptoms similar to those using shared water in the apartment building. The unit is sending specialized staff to coordinate in monitoring and handling the incident.
Notably, according to the reporter's reflection, the underground tank lid was exposed, right on the sidewalk, with no one watching. Although the authorities are investigating, it cannot be ruled out that someone put dirty substances into the underground tank.
A few years ago, in Hanoi, there was also a story in an apartment building in Xuan Dinh, Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi: Residents discovered that the domestic water was terribly dirty due to seeping from the septic tank after nearly 10 years of living there. The incident came to light when the building's management board and representatives of some households went to check the building's drinking and domestic water tank system. At this time, it was discovered that the underground water tank (under the floor of room B102) was seeping from the septic tank under the floor of room 101 and the building's domestic wastewater system was overflowing.
Living in an apartment building is completely dependent on the common water source. Most families also have water filters, but they basically only filter solids and some common substances, so the risk of contamination and poisoning still exists.
It is time for underground apartment tanks to be made safer, cleaned regularly, have someone in charge, cover and lock the tank lid carefully... This is also a solution to limit the dangers that people may encounter.
