Now an estimated one million people are reeling from a contaminated tap water crisis after a brick factory was blamed for dumping oily sludge into a river that supplied several Hanoi neighbourhoods. Then came a spate of bad air days that briefly landed Hanoi at the top of major polluted cities list by Swiss-based monitor AirVisual. Long tapped as an investors’ paradise thanks to its low-cost labour and pro-business policies, rapidly industrialising Vietnam is one of Asia’s fastest growing economies.īuoyed by exports of cheaply made goods from Nike shoes to Samsung phones and H&M T-shirts, growth has hummed along at more than five percent for more than a decade.īut that has come at a cost, especially in major cities like Hanoi, the buzzing capital of more than eight million people – and 13 industrial zones – that has been rattled by a series of environmental disasters.įirst came a lightbulb factory fire in August that saw a mercury leak and an official warning not to eat vegetables, chicken or fish from the area. (AFP photo)Ī major mercury leak, tap water contamination, and “alarming” levels of haze: several pollution crises in Hanoi have sparked public fury and accusations that communist Vietnam is putting the economy ahead of the environment. Several pollution crises in Hanoi have sparked public fury and accusations that communist Vietnam is putting the economy ahead of the environment. Commuters wear face masks on a hazy evening in Hanoi in this 1 October, 2019 photo.
0 kommentar(er)
