Hanoi urgently controls air pollution

Photo caption — Hanoi air pollution. Photo: VNA

Under the direction of the City People's Committee, the Department of Agriculture and Environment is in charge of regularly updating information on air quality and monitoring the VN-AQI (Vietnam Air Quality Index) at monitoring stations on the electronic information portal. Notably, the City requires increased application of technology, using remote monitoring systems such as satellite remote sensing, drones (flycam), and AI-integrated traffic camera systems to monitor, detect and strictly handle illegal burning of garbage, straw and agricultural by-products.

Regarding construction management, the Department of Construction is responsible for closely monitoring investors and contractors, requiring 100% of construction sites to strictly implement measures of covering, washing vehicles and spraying mist to reduce dust. In particular, for large-scale projects (over 10,000 m2), it is mandatory to install an automatic dust monitoring system (sensors, cameras, AI); add covering materials (trees or specialized materials) to the ground surfaces under construction to prevent dust from spreading into the environment...

To ensure public health, the Department of Education and Training is tasked with instructing schools to limit outdoor activities for students on days when air quality is at the “Poor” level. In cases of severe pollution (VN_AQI ≥ 301), schools should consider suspending or adjusting school hours accordingly. Similarly, the Department of Health recommends that people, especially the elderly, children and people with respiratory diseases, limit going out in the early morning or at night when the pollution index is high.

Regarding traffic and urban sanitation activities, the City Police directed the Traffic Police and Environmental Police to increase inspection and handling of vehicles that are past their expiration date, emitting black smoke, and vehicles transporting materials that spill...

Air pollution in Hanoi is a concern. Photo: VNA

The People's Committees of communes and wards direct environmental sanitation units to increase the frequency of street sweeping, vacuuming and prioritizing road cleaning spraying at main traffic routes during off-peak hours (at night and before 6 am every day). At the same time, the People's Committees of communes and wards assign the police force at the commune and ward levels to act as the core, coordinate with functional units to increase patrols, control, detect and strictly handle according to the law the acts of burning solid waste, burning straw, agricultural by-products in violation of regulations and completely stop the use of honeycomb charcoal stoves.

In addition, the City People's Committee requires cement and steel factories to increase the use of clean raw materials, ensuring quality according to the law on product quality to minimize the concentration of pollutants in emissions; strictly implement measures to cover, spray water to suppress dust and other measures to minimize dust and emissions in areas containing coal, raw materials, slag, internal transportation routes and around the factory.

At the same time, research and apply options to regulate, reduce operating capacity or postpone major maintenance and repair schedules (if any) on days with pollution warnings at the "Very Bad" level (VN-AQI > 200) to reduce emissions into the environment. In case of serious air pollution (VN-AQI ≥ 301), cement and steel factories need to limit, suspend or adjust operating hours accordingly.

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