Hanoi needs to give more attention to water security, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai said on October 22 during the talk with local media about Styrene-contaminated tap water.Hanoi’s authorities and local departments must draw experience in water source management, work out protocols to handle situation of crisis and to closely control and supervise the water source so as for waterworks in the city to apply, Hai said.
Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai talks with local media. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn
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Referring specifically to the latest tap water contamination with oil, Hai said the water supplier needs to take responsiblities for the incident and the authorities are determining the seriousness of the case.
The municipal secretary stressed that Hanoi will work out a set of technological standards of water plant for suppliers to comply with.
Earlier, tap water in some Hanoi’s districts that was contaminated in October 8 when a 2.5-ton tanker dumped used oil into a creek which is five kilometers from the lake leading to Vinaconex Water Supply JSC (Viwasupco)’s waterworks – the supplier of tap water for several districts in the western part of Hanoi.
Two days later, Hanoi residents detected an unpleasant and pungent odor in their tap water. Tests of the smelly water by authorities later found that the level of Styrene, an organic compound that is potentially carcinogenic, was 1.3-3.6 times higher than normal.
Two suspects allegedly responsible for contaminating the source of Hanoi’s tap water were arrested on October 18, while a third suspect turned himself in on October 20.
The three men were purportedly hired to dispose of waste from a ceramics and tiles factory in the northern province of Phu Tho.
The police have launched criminal proceedings into the case.
