Air quality in Thanh Pho Nam Dinh

What is the air quality index of Thanh Pho Nam Dinh?

Thanh Pho Nam Dinh is a city in the north of Vietnam on the Red River delta. It is the capital of the province of the same name, Nam Dinh. It is approximately 90 kilometres from the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. In 2018 it had an approximate population of just under half a million people.

In late December 2020, Nam Dinh was suffering from some heavily polluted air. The US AQI number was 154 and the concentration level of PM2.5 was 62.2 µg/m³. The World Health Organisation sets a limit of 10 µg/m³ so Nam Dinh was 6 times over the recommended level.

Why Thanh Pho Nam Dinh is polluted?

The development of industries coupled with rapid urban population growth has caused problems in the air, soil, water and solid waste environment. Currently, most of the perennial construction enterprises accounts for 80 per cent with old and outdated technology, and many do not have a treatment system or filters to adequately deal with the discharge so the waste passes into the environment which is often highly toxic, causing environmental pollution to a wide range of situations.

For newly built industrial parks, environmental protection has been considered from the beginning, but the management system is still limited in their ability to deal with the situation correctly.

The urban transportation system and the operation of fossil- fuel burning vehicles has adversely affected the air environment because of the old inefficient engines and the increasing number of vehicles using the roads.

Pollution to the air environment in urban industrial areas is increasing with gas and dust concentrations exceeding the permitted levels. Such pollutants were carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and nitric oxide (NO_x).

In the industrial zones at An Xa, Bao Minh and Hoa amn, dust concentrations exceed the permitted level between 7 to 8 times. In craft villages and rural areas with a dusty environment, the level is high with figures measuring between 1.15 to 1.4 times higher than the accepted level. Noise is 1.03 times higher too. The main cause of air pollution is that most of the industrial zones do not have exhaust treatment systems and therefore the gases are discharged directly into the environment. It is also a very difficult requirement to enforce.

Is air pollution in Thanh Pho Nam Dinh getting worse?

It is worth noting that the air quality, as recorded at many measuring points in the Northern Delta continues to be at the threshold of serious pollution levels, even surpassing Hanoi. From as early as 5 am, many measuring points were red (AQI threshold of 150 or more). By 8:20 am the average US AQI index measured around 170 yet in Thanh Pho Nam Dinh it measured considerably less at 123.

This low reading is not always guaranteed though, in many districts of Nam Dinh province such as Nam Truc, air quality is very bad with a US AQI number of 289; the air quality measured in Hai Hau district was even worse, with a US AQI number of 292.

Due to the deterioration of roads and the increase in activity in the construction industry PM2.5 concentrations are rising at an alarming rate. Many sites are required to shield their work to try to contain as much dust as possible. They are also required to spray water over the dusty ground to prevent the dust from becoming airborne. Unfortunately, this does not always happen.

There are 71 craft villages comprising of 7 groups. In craft villages, environmental protection is not considered properly, causing serious environmental pollution in 21 per cent of all craft villages.

Van Trang craft village has a daily usage of 50-70 tons of steel, 30 tons of coal and 14 households with hinges and bicycle parts regularly use chemicals in their small production units.

The Co Chat craft village and Cu Tru weaving and dyeing centre have 500 households which produce 1 ton of silk each day, using 10 tons of coal to operate 4 fibre bleaching furnaces. Most of these exhaust emissions go completely unchecked.

Equipment and machinery of the trade village are mostly old, out of date, self-made, and labour intensive. In villages where metal plating, bleaching and dyeing are carried out, it is known that the workers are prone to a much higher rate of cancer. In the mechanical engineering craft villages, the rate of lung and bronchial diseases is also very high.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Thanh Pho Nam Dinh?

Many of the older manufacturing units do not utilise the modern technology when it comes to filters and scrubbers for their exhaust systems. Retrofitting existing chimneys can be expensive, but it can be done. Perhaps the local authorities could offer some financial assistance to encourage them to update their equipment?

The local authorities in Nam Dinh have implemented many drastic and synchronous measures for facilities on the list which cause serious environmental pollution. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment was assigned to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the offending units, strengthening the inspection, examination, and dissemination of laws on the environmental field. Because of these measures, there have been no more establishments causing serious environmental pollution.

What are the effects on health through breathing in Thanh Pho Nam Dinh’s polluted air?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths each year. This is one of the leading contributing causes of the disease and death burden in Vietnam. Common health problems are respiratory diseases such as acute respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, asthma, cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction.

According to WHO, in 2016, Vietnam had approximately 34,232 premature deaths attributed to air pollution, including 11,189 cases of stroke; 3,845 cases of lower respiratory tract inflammation; 2,423 cases of lung, bronchial and tracheal cancers; 10,741 cases of ischemic heart disease and 5,034 cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

With high levels of poor air quality, sensitive groups such as the elderly, children under 14 years of age, and people with pre-existing respiratory problems are recommended to stay indoors. Everyone should avoid strenuous outdoor exercise, close windows and doors, and wear quality dust-proof masks when venturing outside.