Identified the culprit causing the stream in Binh Phuoc to turn a "strange color"

(NLDO) - The culprit causing the water in the stream to appear unusually red is a paper factory operating in Minh Hung III Industrial Park, Chon Thanh town.

On December 6, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (TN-MT) of Binh Phuoc province said it had sent a report to the Provincial People's Committee on the results of inspection and verification of the reflection of unusual red spring water in Minh Long ward, Chon Thanh town.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, after receiving feedback from the people, the Department coordinated with the Chon Thanh Town Police, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Chon Thanh Town, the People's Committees of Minh Long and Minh Hung wards to conduct a survey and inspection of the area from Bung Ruc stream in Minh Hung ward to Ba Va stream in Minh Long ward to determine the cause and take measures to handle the situation.

Clip of red stream appearing

Through a survey of the Bang Ruc stream area at the wastewater reception point after treatment of Minh Hung III Industrial Park (Minh Hung Ward, Chon Thanh Town) to the Bung Ruc stream bridge area (Minh Hung Ward, about 2 km from Minh Hung III Industrial Park), the inspection team found that the stream water was clear, colorless and odorless. At the Suoi 01 bridge area (downstream of Bung Ruc stream, the location where the stream water was reported to be red), at the time of the survey at 9:00 a.m. on December 3, the stream water had turned light red and odorless.

At Ba Va bridge area (Minh Long ward, downstream of Suoi 1), surveyed at 10 o'clock, the stream water was still red, with no strange smell.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has requested the Center for Natural Resources and Environment Monitoring to take a water sample in the Ba Va bridge area for analysis. After the analysis results are available, a written notice will be sent to the relevant agencies and residents of Minh Long ward.

By 8:00 a.m. on December 4, through surveys at Suoi 01 bridge and Ba Va bridge, the stream water was clear and no longer red.

The stream appears red

On December 4, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment continued to coordinate with the Police Department for Investigation of Crimes on Corruption, Economy , Smuggling, and Environment - Provincial Police, Chon Thanh Town Police, Minh Hung III Industrial Park Police Station, Economic Zone Management Board, Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Chon Thanh Town and Binh Long Rubber Industrial Park Joint Stock Company to continue to inspect the rainwater and wastewater connection points of enterprises in Minh Hung III Industrial Park.

During the inspection, traces of red water were found at the rainwater connection point of Khoi Nguyen Paper Joint Stock Company. The team inspected Khoi Nguyen Paper Joint Stock Company to determine the origin of the red water traces.

Khoi Nguyen Paper Joint Stock Company has been granted an Environmental License by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for the Khoi Nguyen Paper Factory project, phase 1, with a capacity of 100,000 tons of products/year at Minh Hung III Industrial Park, Minh Hung Ward, Chon Thanh Town, Binh Phuoc Province under License No. 220/GPMT-BTNMT dated September 20, 2022.

The company reported that at 2:00 p.m. on December 2, employees used a specialized vehicle to transport colorants (liquid red colorants) from the chemical warehouse to the production area (papermaking line), then employees used a forklift to bring the colorant containers on the specialized vehicle down to the production area.

Clip of the stream returning to normal

However, due to a forklift operation error that punctured a container, the dye spilled onto the concrete road area of ​​the factory. Due to lack of experience in handling the spill, the staff used a water jet to spray the dye into the stormwater drainage system of the industrial park, then flowed into Bung Ruc stream, and continued to flow to Suoi 01 bridge and Ba Va bridge.

After discovering the incident, the company collected all the remaining water and dyes in the factory's stormwater drainage system to store in tanks and treat them. Currently, there is no longer any water containing dyes flowing out of the factory's stormwater drainage system gas pit.

The water in the stream is clear again.

In addition, the company has provided information about the red dye (liquid) being used at the factory that has been inspected by (SGS), and the dye ingredients do not contain toxic substances.

The inspection team requested the company to review the factory's production and waste treatment processes, ensure that the waste generated is treated in accordance with Vietnamese standards, and have a plan to respond to incidents during production activities, to prevent environmental incidents. During operations, the regulations of the law on environmental protection must be strictly complied with.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has requested the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Chon Thanh town to coordinate with the People's Committees of Minh Long and Minh Hung wards to continue to inspect and monitor the quality of water sources at the stream. In case the stream water has an unusual color, it must be promptly verified and handled to end the agent causing stream water pollution...

Source: https://nld.com.vn/xac-dinh-duoc-thu-pham-lam-suoi-o-binh-phuoc-chuyen-mau-la-196241206191930337.htm