The feelings of people near the quarry
In mid-December 2024, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters received feedback from households in Dong Cao village, Thong Nhat commune about environmental pollution and house cracks due to stone mining activities.
On the road from the quarry to Dong Cao village, the reporter noticed that the trees on both sides of the road were covered with white dust, and many houses had their doors closed to avoid the dust.
Mr. Diep Van Bau (83 years old) said: The family's solid house was built in 2006 with walls more than 20cm thick, two rows of red bricks. In 2018 - 2019, the province built a highway more than 200m away from the house, the roller ran day and night but the house was fine. However, in the past 2 years, the quarry exploded, cracks appeared on the house walls.
"Not only the house, the family's garden was also severely affected. The 1.5-hectare garden growing fruit trees such as lychee, longan, mango, jackfruit... almost did not yield any harvest. The lychee tree alone has had a complete crop failure for the past 3 years. The 0.7-hectare fish pond, after 2 years of raising fish, is only as big as a hand," Mr. Bau said sadly.
Similarly, Mr. Dang Tien Long (75 years old) shared: "My house is cleaned three times a day but the dust still covers it. The rice yield has gone from 2 quintals/sao to only 1.2 quintals/sao. In addition, this year we have not received any dust support money from the quarries."
According to Mr. Dinh Van Dieu - Head of Dong Cao village, since 2018, people have repeatedly submitted petitions about dust and vibration caused by mine explosions. The quarries have agreed to support people with health insurance and environmental pollution. However, the level of support has gradually decreased over time, depending on the quarrying activities of the enterprises.
Confirmation from local authorities
Thong Nhat Commune People's Committee also confirmed that it had received many complaints from the people and had organized meetings to resolve them. Most recently, in November 2024, the commune requested the quarries to clean up the environment, sprinkle water to reduce dust, and check the condition of the works that people reported had cracked walls due to blasting.
From December 19 to 20, in response to complaints from local residents, the People's Committee of Ha Long City established a surprise inspection team at three quarries in Dong Cao village. At the time of the inspection, two quarries were operating: Dung Huy Trading Joint Stock Company and Hoanh Bo Construction Stone Exploitation Company Limited (Hong Cam quarry), while one quarry had been temporarily closed for maintenance.
The inspection team pointed out many violations and required businesses to make corrections, such as stopping high-altitude blasting, increasing water spraying, and installing dust reduction equipment at the crushing and screening lines.
Currently, there are 8 quarries operating in Ha Long city, of which 3 are licensed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and 5 are licensed by the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province. Although the work of ensuring occupational safety and environmental hygiene in stone mining has been carried out by enterprises, in some places and at some times it is not done regularly and continuously, which is a potential cause of occupational accidents and environmental pollution.
To protect the environment and natural landscape, Quang Ninh province has decided to stop mining and close all quarries for common construction materials in the area by 2025. Particularly in Dong Cao village, people hope that the conclusions from the authorities will soon be implemented, helping them stabilize their lives and production.
