Every year nearly 200,000 Vietnamese people are found to be cancer patients
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Rapid urbanization and the development of craft villages and industrial zones have created a large volume of wastes that pollute the environment. Meanwhile, activities related to the treatment of wastes are still ineffective and therefore have serious impacts on the environment and humans' health.
Dr. Tran Hong Ha, the director of the Environment Protection Agency, reported that on average, about 15 million tonnes of solid wastes are discharged each year, including more than 150 tonnes of toxic wastes. It is forecasted that by 2010, the volume of solid wastes will possibly increase 24-30 percent. Vietnam for a long time paid little attention to treating wastes and protecting the environment, which has led to environmental pollution that directly harms humans' health. 'Cancer villages' in Ha Tay, Phu Tho and Hai Phong are some examples.
A workshop was held in the city of Hai Phong from July 31 to August 1, 2007 to discuss matters related to the investigation and evaluation of environmental impacts on humans' health. At the workshop, Nguyen Duy Bao, the deputy director of the Institute for Occupational Health and Environmental Sanitation, said, “The evaluation of environmental impacts on humans' health is aimed at providing bases for making necessary changes to existing policies in order to reduce the inequality in terms of community health. It also provides basis for commitments to improving humans' health.”
Reality shows that in some residential areas near industrial zones, the concentration of SO2, CO2 and NO2 in the air is higher than the allowed limits. In addition, 1,500 craft villages that are operational throughout the country (mostly in northern provinces/cities) every year discharge 774,000 industrial wastes. Moreover, the wastes that come from hospitals/clinics and households are also untreated. Untreated wastes have polluted the water and the air, directly harming people's health. This situation is popular in developing countries where environmental protection is not cared for. The Ministry of Health said that every year only 10 percent of Vietnamese workers have their health examined on a periodical basis and the results of examination show that their health is not in a good condition. Nasal and bronchial diseases account for more than 40 percent of the total. Suffering these diseases are mostly mining workers and those who are involved in construction material and textile production.
Recently the Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Sanitation, the Military Health Department, the Institute of Military Sanitation and Epidemic Prevention, the National Institute of Nutrition, the Thai Nguyen Medical University, and some Japanese experts carried out some research projects to learn about the impacts of gold exploitation on the health of residents in Hoa Binh, Bac Kan, and the impacts of ore and non-ferrous metal exploitation on the health of residents in Thai Nguyen and Cao Bang. The results of research show that mining activities have caused environmental pollution and serious impacts on people's health in those areas.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that every year nearly 200,000 Vietnamese people are found to be cancer patients. Hospital K in Hanoi, one of the leading cancer treating centers in Vietnam, receives 150,000 cancer patients every year. As many as 70,000 Vietnamese people die of cancer each year. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment attributed the situation to the seriously degrading living environment. Humans with no sense of environmental protection are the ones to blame. Better late than never, it is necessary to take timely and effective measures to minimize environmental pollution and its impacts on humans' health. |
