The Environment Police Department, under the Ministry of Public Security, has recently caught a company in HCM City discharging a huge amount of toxic, untreated wastewater into a nearby river.

 Hao Duong Leather Tanning Joint Stock Company

According to the investigation agency, Hao Duong Leather Tanning Joint Stock Company regularly discharges thousands of cubic metres of their wastewater into the Dong Dien River beside Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park.

Currently, the wastewater treatment system of the company is in disrepair, but its managers were instructing workers to pump the wastewater directly into the environment.

The company’s wastewater is often poured into the river at night to avoid detection. In some cases, the company also does it in the daytime.

The company was using two underground pipelines. In addition, they also designed a self-overflow system in its sedimentation tanks, from which untreated wastewater could flow directly into the river instead of going into the wastewater treatment system at Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone.

Since 2008, the Hao Duong Company has been fined nine times for toxic wastewater discharge, but the highest fine was only VND170 million (USD8,000). The fines turned out too modest compared to hundreds of billions of VND that the firm would have to pay to treat the water to be a deterrent.