The Department of Health Provision and Environment under the Ministry of Health and UNICEF June 18 co-organized a conference on reduction arsenic pollution in Phu Ly township, northern Ha Nam province June 18-20, the Kinh Te Viet Nam & The Gioi newspaper said Thursday.

The conference aims to map out the measures to reduce arsenic pollution in Red River Delta region, discuss impacts of arsenic pollution of water resources and diagnose for arsenic-infected patients.

Vietnam's arsenic contamination levels in underground water sources are very high and popular in localities of the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta, participants at the conference confirmed.

The UNICEF-funded project conducted by the National Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health (NIOEH) in northern Ha Nam and Hung Yen provinces in 2003-2005 showed that arsenic level found in hair and
urine of arsenic-contaminated water users is high.

Specifically, 70%-80% water wells in Ha Nam are infected with arsenic, exceeding the acceptable level set by the MoH.

Nearly 17 million Vietnamese (or 21.5% of population) are at high risk of being contaminated with arsenic because of using water sources from drilled wells.

(Vietnam & World Economic June 19 p2)
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