Dust from quarries causes serious pollution

In an area of ​​over 38 square kilometers, Tan Truong commune, Nghi Son town (Thanh Hoa) has 11 licensed stone quarries, of which 7 are operating quite vigorously, causing stone dust, noise... affecting the lives of local people.

A stone quarry in Tan Truong (Nghi Son town, Thanh Hoa province). Photo: Nguyen Chung.

Living with… dust

Present at Tam Son village, Tan Truong commune, we witnessed the serious pollution situation, stone dust is affecting the lives of the people. It rained in the morning, the rainwater seeped and softened the thick layer of white dust covering the banana leaves, green trees on both sides of the main road leading to Tam Son village, making it easy to recognize. On the ground, the concrete road surface was seriously peeled off due to the traffic of heavy vehicles, the road surface was also covered with a layer of gray mud from stone dust.

Ms. Ha Thi Nga - a resident of Tam Son village, Tan Truong commune said: The situation of stone dust causing environmental pollution here has lasted for many years, starting from when Cong Thanh Cement Factory started operating (in 2006). Smoke, dust and noise pollution are increasing as 3 more stone quarries have been approved in principle and licensed to operate. Every day, people have to face noise from stone blasting, the sound of high-capacity stone crushers, convoys of heavy trucks entering and leaving the factory and the quarries, along with dust and smoke.

On sunny days, stone dust covers trees and residential areas, and on rainy days, the road becomes a slippery “river of mud”. Faced with this situation, villagers have repeatedly expressed their opinions at public meetings and meetings with voters, but the situation has not improved much. For many years, Tam Son residents have become accustomed to living with stone dust and pollution caused by quarries. This pollution is having a negative impact on the health, life and economic development of local people.

“We require the quarry to strictly comply with the environmental laws as prescribed by the State. This not only helps people feel secure in their lives but also contributes to helping the locality complete the goal of building a new countryside,” Ms. Nga expressed.

Close coordination is required.

Regarding the environmental pollution caused by stone quarries, Mr. Luong Van Dinh - Head of Tam Son village, Tan Truong commune said: In the village, there is 1 cement factory and 3 stone quarries operating at the same time, so it is inevitable that there will be pollution and it will directly affect the lives and activities of the people. This requires that the mine owners must strictly comply with the law on environmental protection during the production process.

“After many complaints from the people, especially the environmental protection monitoring propaganda campaigns of the Commune People's Committee, the quarries have now complied with the regulations on operating hours, regularly sending water trucks and cleaning the village's residential roads... Thanks to that, the environment here has also improved somewhat over time,” said Mr. Dinh.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Hung - Chairman of Tan Truong Commune People's Committee said: The functional agencies of the Provincial and Town People's Committees have regularly inspected and urged environmental protection work at mines operating in the area. Currently, most of the stone quarries in Tan Truong have planted green fences to block dust, watered the areas where stone was crushed, watered and cleaned the road surface. Strictly comply with the blasting and production time according to regulations. Thanks to that, environmental pollution has been minimized.

“In addition to the 11 licensed quarries, there are currently 3 other industrial park projects being implemented. Therefore, environmental protection for the locality is quite a difficult problem. We also require businesses to coordinate closely with the government, join hands to protect the environment, and make efforts with the locality to complete the new rural construction program in the near future,” said Mr. Hung.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/thanh-hoa-bui-tu-cac-mo-da-gay-o-nhiem-nghiem-trong-10300204.html