Dust storms choke Ha Noi

HA NOI — Chronic dust pollution in Ha Noi has worsened to extreme levels in the lead up to the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Illegal transport of construction materials and a rise in street works have been cited as causes for the rise.

According to a recent report by the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the concentration of dust on Khuat Duy Tien Street, presently undergoing street work, had increased from 833.1 to 1,138 micrograms per cubic metre.

Pham Van Dong Street had also been badly affected, as dump trucks regularly carried uncovered loads of sand that resulted in leakages.

According to local resident Hoang Anh Duc, the presence of dropped sand had led to increased traffic congestion and risks for motorists.

"The road is already overloaded with a never-ending flow of vehicles as Tet approaches. Now, part of road is covered with soil and sand, leaving less space for vehicles to manoeuvre," he said.

When asked how authorities were dealing with the problem, Nguyen Van Duc from the local traffic police said: "The team already established a mobile inspection group to catch violators. Over the last days of January, we fined five dump trucks. Subsequently, we requested the companies responsible for those vehicles to ensure such incidents would not recur."

Tran Dang Hai from the Department of Transport added: "We have inspection teams working on a regular basis. But our staff have to cover many other tasks besides checking vehicles. To properly address this problem, we need closer co-operation with other agencies, including the traffic police, the Department of Construction and environmental sanitation companies."

Nguyen Thi Thanh, a local resident at the Khuat Duy Tien-Nguyen Trai crossroads, said: "Nobody ever takes measures to stop dust from spreading. We can hardly breathe if we don't spray water on the road but 30 minutes after spraying, the dust level returns to normal."

"No canvas, no corrugated iron sheet, no water spray, just heaps of sand on the side of the road. And when the wind comes up, it will spread the sand far and wide."— VNS