Workers from Dung Quat Bio-Ethanol Plant are helping farmers shovel out the dead fish
The village, located in the central province of Quang Ngai, Binh Son District, is located near the bio-ethanol plant, whose pollution, they say, has been putting their livelihoods at risk.
Wastewater from the plant has been accused of killing fish en masse, including those of an 800 square-metre fish farm owned by a collective.
Another 2.2ha rice farm has been severely damaged, along with a total of 4,000 square metres of vegetable fields in Dong Quang and Hoc Bich, owned and run by the villages.
Local people also reported 133 chickens and ducks dead from eating contaminated fish.
On February 14, one day after the local authorities carried out an investigation on the incident, the Chairman of Central Petroleum Bio-fuel Joint-stock Company, which runs the plant, Dang Vinh Nghi, acknowledged the company's responsibilities.
"We are extremely sorry for such a regrettable situation, and will compensate for the farmers' losses,” Nghi said.
According to Nguyen Quoc Tan, head of the province’s Department for Environment Protection, the wastewater came from the plant’s cassava cleaning operation. “The wastewater contained no toxic substances, however the large volume could have caused harm to the fish as a result of a lack of oxygen,” he explained.
Pham Nhu So, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, who are also head of Dung Quat Economic Zone’s management board requested that the plant to quickly deals the problem, then compensate local farmers.
While waiting for a long-term environmental fix, the plant is helping farmers shovel out the dead fish and get access to clean water from other sources.
