Results of the project were announced at a workshop held in Hanoi on Mar. 17 by the Pollution Control Department under the General Department for Environment and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The project, which was carried out from August 2009-March 2011, measured exhaust fumes from small- and large-sized factories and vehicles like cars and motorbikes nationwide.
According to the survey, an average of 667,000 tonnes of Sulphur oxides (SOx), 618,000 tonnes of Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 6,820,000 tonnes of Carbon Monoxide (CO) are produced each year.

The Pollution Control Department said that the quality of air in the country’s major cities, some industrial zones and craft villages is on the trend of decline. The increase in the number of cars and motorbikes and low quality fuel caused large amounts of exhaust fumes.
The department has compiled a guide book on regulations on the pollution index, and built a model to measure air pollution with the aim of raising the country’s air pollution control capacity.