In the first half of this year, a number of major economic groups such as the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) have loosened their management over the use of toxic waste.

In a typical case, Vinashin’s Cuu Long Joint Stock Company imported 21 transformers from the Republic of Korea (RoK) with manufacture dates from 1960-1980. Of that number, three contained PBC waste oil (Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls) which is very harmful to people and the environment. The remainder were old and even deformed.

Although the import of waste materials and wreckage from old ships has lessened since 2007, they continue to pass through ports in Hai Phong, Quanh Ninh and HCM City.

Many organisations and individuals are granted permits for collecting and treating waste but violate waste management regulations when signing contracts with other businesses, which are not involved in waste treatment.

The illegal disposal of construction waste has occurred frequently in major cities, particularly in Hanoi, causing anger among the population.

At present, 70 percent of 192 industrial parks have no waste treatment system for solid and water waste and 31 out of 33 businesses face the same situation. Most industrial parks do not comply with requirements to assess the impact on the environment and also exploit underground water resources illegally.

In addition, the number of violations in the protection of wild animals is on the rise along with raising wild animal without being supervised relevant agencies. The trade and transport of large numbers of wild animals has become a common occurrence in many localities throughout the country.

For their immediate interests, some locals fell the forests and traffic timber irrespective of the law, causing serious harm to the ecology. This situation is assisted by the loose management of relevant agencies. Some prominent cases were the deforestation of the National Yok Don Park and Pham Van Luat in Ha Tay province where more than 200m³ of Fokienia were exported to Taiwan.

Many localities also face the illegal, massive exploitation of natural minerals that damages not only natural resources but also the environment and landscape there. The minerals include coal in Quang Ninh province, titan in the central coastal area, and gold and construction material in many other places.

The seafood and water sources are being destroyed as people employ illegal means to catch fish.

Meanwhile, epidemics have occurred in a complicated way. In May, hand, foot and mouth disease threatened to spread, especially among children. In Hanoi, Ha Tay and other provinces, acute diarhoea seriously affected people’s health and brought losses to the state budget.

Environmental police departments at ministerial and local levels have coordinated with other functional agencies to investigate and expose some 600 cases of violating environmental laws.

These violations involved water, air, and land pollution, import of old machines and waste that cause pollution, spreading epidemics, and destroying marine and wildlife.

The Environmental Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security forecasts that crimes and violations in the field of environment will continue to increase with more complicated and dangerous schemes, especially in the context of sharp rises in the prices of consumer products and construction materials.