As Vietnam’s older coal-fired power plants are struggling to get rid of a massive amount of ash and slag, some government agencies have recently suggested that the government lower the country’s environmental standards to help these facilities deal with the industrial waste.
Thanh Nien reports that when Vietnam came up with an updated set of regulations regarding waste treatment in the power industry, Truong Duy Nghia, director of the Vietnam Thermal Science and Technology Association requested that plants established before the new standards came out could continue operation according to the old regulations.
This was because the new environmental standards are stricter and more detailed when it comes to how power plants should take care of industrial by-products.
Nghia cited financial strains as the rationale behind the recommendation as old power plants would have to invest a substantial amount of money in upgrading their facilities to accommodate the new standards.
Doctor To Van Truong, an expert on environmental issues, told Thanh Nien that according to two decrees issued in 2014 and 2017 on treatment of ash and slag, the government purposely only allows plant storage space for two years’ worth of industrial waste.
This is to put pressure on plants to constantly come up with more efficient ways to treat their waste. Most investors for new plants know that it’s impossible to do this without shelling out an enormous amount of money for research and development, but still continue building power plants in hopes that government agencies would amend environmental standards to accommodate their hardships, which is exactly what's happening.
Other experts have voiced their concerns that the absurd suggestion would defeat the purpose of coming up with a set of stricter standards.
“We mustn’t lower the environmental requirements for old plants. Standards are something that all plants must follow,” Le Huy Ba, director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Environmental Management, told VietnamNet.
Phung Chi Sy from the Institute of Tropical Technology and Environmental Protection also echoed Ba’s sentiment.
“I agree that it is necessary to set new standards which must be followed by new plants. As for old plants, they will need time to change technology and make additional investments to satisfy the new requirements. This cannot be done overnight,” he said.
[Photo via Bao Tai Nguyen Moi Truong]
