At least 100 tons of dead fish washed ashore in central Vietnam
Since early April 2016, at least 100 tons of dead fish have been washed ashore in an ongoing environmental disaster along the central coast of Vietnam, according to a government official.
Fish, apparently killed by industrial effluents, washed ashore in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Vu Van Tam told the press on Thursday, May 5, that the data was compiled from reports of four provinces with mass fish deaths, but it did not take into account dead fish that stayed in the water.
Minister Van Tam said the ministry had conducted tests on the samples of dead fish and found heavy metals in some samples. He did not elaborate.
“As requested by the prime minister, we must submit the test results to the environment and science ministries for further analysis. It will take time until the results are made public, as it has to be accurate and clear,” Van Tam said as quoted by Thanh Nien Daily.
Article published in Thanh Nien said suspicion has centered on Formosa, which admitted it has a large sewage pipe going straight into the sea. But it claimed all its discharged wastewater had been treated. Officials have said they could not find any connection between Formosa's discharge and the disaster yet.
Featured image: Tons of dead fish wash ashore in central Vietnam. Copyright: EPA
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