Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Hanoi’s air quality has been at an acceptablelevel less than two days a week, according to a newly released document.

The data was presented in a report on air quality in Vietnam in the first halfof this year. It was compiled and published by the Green Innovation andDevelopment Centre (GreenID), a Hanoi-based NGO, last week.

They compared air quality parameters in the 2017 six first months and in thesame period of 2016.

Based on the report, from January to June, Hanoi suffered 139 days of excessivePM2.5 level, according to the international standards.

PM, or particulate matter, is the term for a mixture of solid particles andliquid droplets found in the air. PM2.5 particulates are about one thirtieth asthick as the width of a human hair. They can easily pass through lung tissueand absorbed into the bloodstream, causing adverse health effects.

The data showed no relation between the concentration of pollutants and peaktraffic hours. This means air quality has been affected by different pollutionsources, especially energy industry.

Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, GreenID’s environment expert, said that though the airquality was being improved, millions of Hanoi people had rarely had a breath offresh air.

[Hanoi sets environmental protection goals]

The National Technical Regulation on Ambient Air Quality issued by the Ministryof Natural Resources and Environment in 2013 limits the values of PM 10 and PM2.5 concentrations in both short-term (24 hours) and long-term (one day)exposures. However, this standard is still significantly lower than those usedby WHO and the EU.

Vietnam spends about 780 million USD annually on public health costs caused byair pollution.

Children are the most vulnerable. According to UNICEF, air pollution kills600,000 children under five years old a year in the world and causes serioushealth diseases.

Exhaust gas from thermal power plants contains many pollutants, especially SO2,CO, NOx and dust which can spread out to urban areas. If all coal-fired powerplants in Vietnam were built in accordance with the VII power plan with anincreasing capacity of around 40,000 MW by 2030, this would be a major threatto current air quality.

“Many countries including China and the Republic of Korea are closing thermalpower plants because of their consequences on human health. It’s time for us toconsider the developmental path in order not to sacrifice our children’s livingenvironment and fresh air. By using recycled energy, we can balance goals ofeconomic development, environmental protection and community health,” said NguyThị Khanh, Director of GreenID.-VNA