Hanoi (VNA) - An awards ceremony for an airpollution response competition and a seminar on air pollution caused byindustrial waste took place in Hanoi on June 12.
The events were co-organised by the VietnamSustainable Energy Alliance (VSEA) and the VietnamNon-Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Alliance (NCDs-VN).
The organising board received 77 entries, 50 photos,four videos, and 16 articles, and presented five press prizes, nine photoprizes, and four others they selected.
Speaking at the seminar, former head of the HealthMinistry’s Health Environment Management Agency Nguyen Huy Nga said anestimated every 9 out of 10 people worldwide are breathing dirty air while therate of the elderly and children living with asthma is rising rapidly, not tomention incidences of cancer.
Participants highlighted the need to issue morestringent rules on technical standards as well as fines for industrial waste,which they said should be specified in legal documents, in particular the Lawon Environmental Protection now under discussion at National Assemblymeetings./.
Air pollution costs Vietnam at least 10.8 billion USD each year
Vietnam suffers around 10.8 – 13.2 billion USD worth of economic losses associated with ambient air pollution each year, equivalent to 4.45 – 5.64 percent of the country’s GDP, heard a discussion in Hanoi on January 14.