Authorities in the central city of Danang are planning to remove some stone workshops at the Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village to Hoa Nhon Industrial Park in Hoa Vang District to curb serious pollution.
Artisans at the Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village in Danang City. Photo by Tienphong.
The city's famous traditional craft village developed 500 years ago at the foot of the Ngu Hanh Son Mountain. It was relocated to Hoa Hai Ward in 2011 after causing serious pollution, affecting the tourism activities around the mountain. However, the stone carving activities which produce noise and dense dust have continued to badly affect the environment in Hoa Hai Ward.
Covering a total area of over 35 hectares, it is estimated that 385 workshops in the village process some 400 tonnes of stone daily.
Head of Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village Management Board, Luu Van Tam Anh said that the biggest problem that they have been unable to deal with properly is dust.
"Most the workshops are open so we can't collect the dust," Anh said. "We're mostly using only water to deal with dust. On average, a workshop is discharging nearly 10 cubic metres of wastewater daily. The water flows together with stone powder and dust onto local roads, causing serious pollution."
Workshop owner Nguyen Van Loi said that they have to live with the pollution as this is part of their work. But they also want local authorities to help them prevent it from affecting surrounding residential areas.
"Each of us has only some 100 square metres for production," Loi said. "So we have to use the pavements to place our materials and products. All the processes from processing to transporting cause pollution."
Ngu Hanh Son District People's Committee in response are planning to relocate the 20 percent most polluting workshops to Hoa Nhon Industrial Park in Hoa Vang District by 2026 at the latest, Anh said.
After removing the polluting workshops, the Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village Management Board will co-operate with the Ngu Hanh Son Tourist Site Management Board to launch tours to the 500-year-old village to learn about their traditional craft.
