Vietnam will stop using all types of machinery and equipment containingpoluchlorinated biphenyl (PCB), one of the persistent organicpollutants (POPs), by 2020 and safely dispose the substance by 2028.
The target has been set under a national plan aiming to realisethe contents of the Stockholm Convention – a global treaty to protecthuman and the environment from the threats of POPs, to which Vietnamherself is one of the first 14 signatory parties.
Supportingthe country’s endevours, the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment in 2009 approved a PCB management project funded by theGlobal Environment Fund (GEF) via the World Bank, according to Tran TheLoan, deputy head of the Pollution Control Department under theEnvironment General Department
Being carried out nationwidebetween 2010 and 2014 with the GEF’s non-refundable aid of 7 million USDand the Vietnamese Government’s corresponding capital of 10 millionUSD, the project aims to complete a legal framework and raise publicknowledge of the toxic chemicals to mitigate their risks at the lowestlevel.
Through the United Nations Development Programme, theGEF has continued aiding a project to update Vietnam’s implementationplan for the Convention between 2014 and 2015, with a view to realisingthe country’s obligations to the agreement.
Vietnam signedthe Stockholm Convention in 2002, which targets the management andelimination of 23 dangerous groups of chemicals.
Vietnam didnot produce PCB but imported electrical equipment using PCB in the past.From 1960 and 1990, the country purchased at least 27,000 tonnes of oilcontaining the substance. However, being aware of the danger andtoxicity of this chemical, Vietnam has been doing her utmost to realisethe aforesaid resolution.
Globally, many countries havestopped producing PCB. However, a mere 4 percent of the substance hasbeen decomposed, while 31 percent remains existent in the mainland andcoast areas.-VNA
The target has been set under a national plan aiming to realisethe contents of the Stockholm Convention – a global treaty to protecthuman and the environment from the threats of POPs, to which Vietnamherself is one of the first 14 signatory parties.
Supportingthe country’s endevours, the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment in 2009 approved a PCB management project funded by theGlobal Environment Fund (GEF) via the World Bank, according to Tran TheLoan, deputy head of the Pollution Control Department under theEnvironment General Department
Being carried out nationwidebetween 2010 and 2014 with the GEF’s non-refundable aid of 7 million USDand the Vietnamese Government’s corresponding capital of 10 millionUSD, the project aims to complete a legal framework and raise publicknowledge of the toxic chemicals to mitigate their risks at the lowestlevel.
Through the United Nations Development Programme, theGEF has continued aiding a project to update Vietnam’s implementationplan for the Convention between 2014 and 2015, with a view to realisingthe country’s obligations to the agreement.
Vietnam signedthe Stockholm Convention in 2002, which targets the management andelimination of 23 dangerous groups of chemicals.
Vietnam didnot produce PCB but imported electrical equipment using PCB in the past.From 1960 and 1990, the country purchased at least 27,000 tonnes of oilcontaining the substance. However, being aware of the danger andtoxicity of this chemical, Vietnam has been doing her utmost to realisethe aforesaid resolution.
Globally, many countries havestopped producing PCB. However, a mere 4 percent of the substance hasbeen decomposed, while 31 percent remains existent in the mainland andcoast areas.-VNA
