HCM CITY
— Test results of five water samples in the area around the Đông Thạnh garbage
dump in Hóc Môn District revealed high nitrate and ammonium levels, according
to the city’s Health Department.
The
substances could transform into a compound that leads to a high risk of cancer
in humans, the department said.
The
department has asked the Preventive Medicine Centre and Cancer Hospital in the
city to coordinate with it in checking the area around the dump and adopting
measures that improve the residents’ health, the Dân Trí online newspaper
reported.
At a
meeting with voters in Hóc Môn District last month, Đinh La Thăng, the city’s
Party Secretary, heard several complaints from local residents on the serious
environment pollution here, the newspaper reported.
The
pollution has affected the lives of hundreds of people living near the dump,
many of whom have been diagnosed with cancer. In one case, five members from a
single family caught the disease and some of them have died.
Residents
have reported the situation to the local authorities many times, but have had
to still live with the pollution for the past several years.
The
secretary criticised the local leaders for their irresponsibility, due to which
pollution in the area had not been checked.
He asked
the concerned agencies to survey and check the pollution near the garbage dump
and to quickly find a solution.
He also
instructed the health department to conduct free health checks for the local
residents to reassess the pollution effects.
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