The operator of an under-construction oil refinery in northern Vietnam has received permission to dump wastewater from the facility into the ocean.
According to Tuoi Tre, Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical LLC (NSRP) has been licensed to release over 240,000 cubic meters of wastewater into the sea off the coast of Thanh Hoa province over the next six months.
NSRP operates the Nghi Son refinery in the province's Nghi Son Economic Zone. The US$9.3 billion plant is nearly complete and will become Vietnam's second refinery once it opens.
The local administration has given approval for the company to discharge an average of 2,250 cubic meters of wastewater per day, the news source reports. It also notes that the waste will come from the refinery's hydraulic testing and pipe rinsing processes, which reportedly don't require the use of chemicals.
Provincial officials have assured the public that the wastewater will satisfy safety requirements before being discharged. Tuoi Tre quotes the official decision, which reads: "Before discharging, samples of the wastewater must be taken for analysis and testing to ensure they meet the national quality standards set forth for industrial wastewater."
NSRP must also commit to following wastewater treatment regulations while continually monitoring the discharges.
Unsurprisingly, the plan has not impressed everyone. Professor Tran Hieu Nhue, head of the Institute of Water Engineering and Environmental Technology, told Tuoi Tre: "The quality of the wastewater must be properly monitored, with data automatically transferred to the environment department to oversee and take timely action in case of an incident."
However, such an automatic data transfer system does not exist. Luu Trong Quang, deputy director of Thanh Hoa's environmental department, admitted just as much to the news source, but was adamant that all wastewater would be tested before discharge. However, Quang further explained that most of this supervision will be carried out by NSRP itself.
Thanh Hoa's decision comes at a sensitive time regarding environmental pollution by industrial companies in Vietnam. Swathes of the central coast are still recovering from a devastating chemical spill in April, while in October fishermen blocked the main highway leading to Vung Tau after their farmed fish died due to chemical runoff from seafood processing factories.
[Photo for illustrative purposes via Flickr user Marc Aberdeen]
