Vietnam’s Chemical Army under the Ministry of Defense completed the remediation of the most polluted area where fire occurred at Rang Dong Light Source and Vacuum Flask Joint Stock Company (Rang Dong JSC)'s factory in Hanoi at the end of August, local media reported. Deputy Head of the Military Chemistry Institute Dau Xuan Hoai said the original plan was to remove debris and carry out decontamination work on clear terrain. However, it was changed during the process, with the removal of debris and remediation at the same time.
An bird’s eye view of burnt Rang Dong light bulb warehouse in Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Khanh
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"In the first phase, they remove the debris in the total area where the pollution was the heaviest and gave it to us (about 2,000m2)," said Hoai.
The remaining less polluted area is being cleaned up.
Some other 4,000m2 still need to be cleaned, pending debris removal work by URENCO 10 Company.
CEO of URENCO 10 Company Le Hong Phong said that they are removing waste in the remaining 2,000m2 and the work will be completed on September 28 or 29, and the last terrain of 2,000m2 will be cleared and handed over on October 2 for the last phase of decontamination.
On August 28, the fire suddenly erupted violently in the factory compound of Rang Dong JSC. Firefighters rushed to the scene to put off the fire. However, the fire was huge and there were many flammable objects in the warehouse.
Following the fire, facing the danger of ambient poisoning around the factory, local authorities, the Hanoi People's Committee and other specialized agencies implemented environmental monitoring measures and made public parameters to alert people.
Under the request of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Rang Dong JSC applied measures to prevent waste water from being discharged into the city’s sewerage network as well as install water sprinkler system to reduce foul odor.
The health authority in Hanoi provided medical checkup for residents around the company’s premises.
