Pollution concerns emerge over sludge discharge
By Van Nam - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – Some 4,000 tons of sludge discharged from Binh Hung wastewater treatment plant in HCMC’s Binh Chanh District has not been treated, causing environmental pollution in residential areas around the facility.
Some 35 tons of sludge is added to the current amount of sludge every day. This mounting volume of sludge has put a negative environmental impact on nearby residential areas.
Thousands of households have sent their petitions over pollution caused by the facility since May. One month later, Binh Chanh District authorities urged the plant to fix the problem but everything remained unchanged.
In particular, over 100 households late last week flocked to Binh Hung wastewater treatment plant to voice their opposition to the current situation, demanding a proper handling of sludge so as to not impact their health.
In the year’s first half, the facility treated 127,000 cubic meters of sewage each day and discharged 35 tons of sludge, up 84% from a year earlier.
The wastewater treatment plant operators in a report on Wednesday committed to timely settle the issue of pollution with residents by late next month.
The company plans to transport the sludge to Da Phuoc or Hiep Phuoc waste treatment complex but the expenditure on treatment is high, said Le Thanh Son, director of HCMC Urban Drainage Co., operator of the sewage treatment plant.
With total investment capital of VND1.4 trillion, Binh Hung wastewater treatment plant has a daily capacity of 141,000 cubic meters. It handles sewage discharged from residential areas in districts 1,3, 5 and 10.