Smoke and garbage surround residential areas
According to people's reflection, spontaneous garbage burning activities often take place in the late afternoon or at night, when the air is difficult to diffuse, making people most susceptible to exposure. In the context of high air pollution in the whole city, these smoke and garbage clouds have become a "double burden" for the living environment.
According to Lao Dong reporters in the area of Road 70, opposite Dream Town apartment building (Xuan Phuong ward, Hanoi), garbage burning occurs continuously. Especially during rush hour, when people gather to travel through the road to return home.
According to local people, this spontaneous landfill has been burning silently for many weeks. A large amount of garbage is piled up after each night. While Hanoi is immersed in air pollution, the strong smoke makes the surrounding space even more stuffy.
In addition, right in front of the gate of Ban Mai Kindergarten (Ha Dong ward, Hanoi), spontaneous garbage dumping and incineration occurs almost every day, especially in the late afternoon, when a lot of household waste is gathered.
The piles of garbage including plastic bags, foam boxes, and organic waste quickly caught fire, creating a thick layer of gray smoke with a burning smell and strong odor spreading straight into the school grounds. Many times, smoke and garbage cover the school gate area, causing parents to rush to cover their children's noses and hold their breath, children cough and spit, and their eyes are spicy.
Many parents expressed concern when smoke, dust and toxic gas generated from burning garbage rose right next to the classroom area and playground, where preschool children often spend outdoors. "Every day when I pick up my child, I smell the smell of garbage and burning nylon that is extremely unpleasant. Burning garbage like that is too toxic. Especially for the health of children, our family is very concerned" - Ms. Nguyen Bich Lien (Ha Dong, Hanoi) shared.
"Every time I pick up my children from school, I witness thieves dumping plastic, construction materials, electric wires, scraps of fabric... The place where plastic waste is often dumped and burned is the shortcut from lane 521 to the Nhue River road, near Phuong Dong Hospital, in Co Nhue 2 ward before, now Dong Ngac ward. Although garbage piles up here and the burning of plastic waste takes place every day, the government cannot handle it" - Mr. Nguyen Van Tuyen (Dong Ngac ward - Hanoi) was upset.
In the context of high air pollution in the whole city, people, especially children, having to deal directly with garbage smoke and the burning smell of garbage every day not only causes immediate discomfort but also poses a potential risk of serious, long-term effects on the respiratory system and health.
The implementation still has many shortcomings
According to the annual climate law, from October to March, the North will enter the most serious period of air pollution due to the phenomenon of radiation-free heat. In winter, the cold ground causes the air mass to be closer to the surface than the air mass above. This temperature reversal creates a ceiling of warm air, preventing cold air and pollutants from rising above.
This unfavorable weather conditions causes dust and emissions to be retained close to the ground - where people live and breathe every day. However, environmental experts affirm that temperature difference is not the root cause, but is only a factor that reveals the level of pollution that already exists.
Although the legal framework for handling environmental pollution is relatively complete, the implementation in practice still has many shortcomings. Decree 45/2022/ND-CP stipulates a fine of 2.5 to 3 million VND for burning agricultural waste and by-products that are not in accordance with regulations; the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 also clearly states the responsibility of the head of local government if there is prolonged pollution in the area. However, the number of cases actually punished is too small compared to the number of spontaneous garbage burning points recorded by people and satellite systems each day.
Environmental experts say that to completely solve the problem of spontaneous garbage burning, Hanoi City needs to invest more strongly in infrastructure for garbage collection and treatment in rural areas, completely eliminating temporary garbage collection points and spontaneous landfills.
In addition, the application of modern surveillance technology such as satellite data, camera systems, and hot spot maps needs to be deployed synchronously to detect garbage burning behavior early and determine specific responsibilities for the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune and ward.
Mr. Le Hoai Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Environment (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) said that according to current monitoring data, air pollution in Vietnam mainly comes from PM2.5 fine dust. In Hanoi and some provinces in the Red River Delta, fine dust levels are at a high level and are quite complicated.
Regarding the cause, Mr. Nam said that pollution comes from many sources of emissions, in which transportation accounts for about 12-15% of fine dust, while dust generated from the streets contributes an additional 20-30%. In addition, agricultural activities, especially the ineffective burning and treatment of agricultural by-products, are also one of the factors that cause fine dust to accumulate in the air.
