People left empty-handed, losing their livelihoods
Looking at nearly 8,000 square meters of cultivated land, crops in bloom, waiting to be harvested, being damaged by lead-zinc sludge after the sludge dam of Bac Kan Non-ferrous Metal Company Limited (Bac Kan Non-ferrous Metal Company) broke, Ms. Nong Thi Huyen, Ban Nhuong village, Ban Thi commune (Cho Don) could not help but feel heartbroken.
Ms. Huyen said that after the dam broke, waste followed the stream water into people's fields and ponds. The waste gave off a foul, strong smell of metal and chemicals, covering the fields and along both sides of the stream stretching from Cho Don district to Chiem Hoa district (Tuyen Quang).
With red eyes, Ms. Huyen choked: "All the family's capital is in several fields (1 field is 1,000m2), now the toxic sludge has flooded in, so we can't plant or harvest anymore, now we have nothing.
The spilled sludge also contains chemicals used to select ore. I don't know what they are, but they are definitely very toxic. The biggest concern is that these toxic substances will seep into the ground and pollute the water source in the long term. Now, even if we grow plants or raise livestock, we don't dare use them."
The dam failure also killed more than 20 tons of catfish belonging to Ms. Nong Thi An's family in Binh Phu commune, Chiem Hoa district (Tuyen Quang).
Ms. An shared: "My family has more than 10 cages of catfish, raised for nearly 3 years, weighing 3-4kg/fish, people have come to see and ask to buy. Before we could sell them, waste flooded in and killed them all, causing a loss of more than 1.5 billion VND.
My whole family lives on cage fish farming, now we have lost everything, I don't know what to do. I hope the authorities will step in to clarify the responsibility of the unit that caused the mudslide."
According to local people, in addition to economic damage, the spilled toxic sludge will seep into the soil and groundwater, causing serious impacts on the environment in the future, and is very dangerous for aquaculture and cultivation.
"Stream water is the main source for farming and daily life, but now no one dares to come into contact with it. I am very worried that the land and crops will be contaminated with lead in the future, affecting the health of the residents," Mr. Nong Khanh Duong (Binh Phu commune) worried.
Need to clarify responsibilities
On September 20, speaking with reporters, Mr. Khong Thanh Tiem - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ban Thi commune said that after the dam break, Bac Kan Non-ferrous Metal Company only informed the locality that the type of sludge discharged into the environment was stone powder and so far there has been no further information.
Initial statistics show that the sludge dam collapse in the area caused damage to 29 households' houses, damage to more than 10 hectares of agricultural, forestry and fishery areas, and damage to domestic water facilities in the area.
The People's Committee of Ban Thi commune has continuously advised people not to have direct contact and requested the evacuation of households in the affected area to ensure safety.
"In my opinion, the primary responsibility for the sludge dam collapse in the commune lies with Bac Kan Non-ferrous Metal Company. As for state management, the Cho Don District People's Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment have previously inspected it," said Mr. Khong Thanh Tiem.
Inspecting the scene, Mr. Ha Sy Thang - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Bac Kan province, assessed that this was a relatively serious environmental incident. Meanwhile, the progress in overcoming the consequences of the dam break of Bac Kan Non-ferrous Metal Company has not been effective.
"By the end of September, Bac Kan Non-ferrous Metal Company must complete the repair, design and construct a solid sludge dam," Mr. Thang informed.
