Many people in Thach Hai commune, where cancer is the most terrible
obsession, said that after the Thach Khe iron mine exploration project was
kicked off, the groundwater has dropped down and they have had to drill a dozen
meters deeper to get water. However, water from wells is heavily affected by
alum, with an unpleasant odor.
Mr. Nguyen Van Duc, in Thuong Hai hamlet, whose father just died of
cancer, led us to his family’s drilling well, pumped up a little of opaque
yellow water, with a very unpleasant odor. "Previously, drilling wells
were only 6m deep to yield abundant, clear water. But after the Thach Khe iron
mine project began, almost all families had to drill new wells, to the depth
from 15-20m, but the water is heavily infected with alum," Duc said.
Mr. Duong Dinh Toan, Secretary of the Youth Union, a deputy of the
People’s Council of Thach Hai commune, has his father-in-law – Mr. Tran Dinh
Thu recently died of esophageal cancer. Toan said that the water is the culprit
that makes many people die of cancer. The well of Mr. Truong Quoc Thanh, chief
official of Lien Hai hamlet, is also badly infected with alum. The well has
been abandoned. The family has to carry water from a very old well that was dug
in the French-ruled period.
Thanh also said that after the Thach Khe iron mine was put into
operation, the groundwater dropped. Many households had to drill new wells that
are a dozen meters deeper than the old ones but they are infected with alum. He
was also concerned that due to the use of heavily alum infected water that many
people got cancer. Some families stopped using alum water from wells. They
built tanks to collect rainwater for use. But most locals still have to use
alum water from wells.
In village 3 of Thach Khe commune, Ms. Pham Thi Cuc, 52, also uses alum
contaminated water from drilling wells. Cuc said after the iron mining project
was put into operation, her family had to drill a deeper well, but the water is
contaminated with alum. She also guessed that alum water caused cancer. Ms.
Truong Thi Lan in Lien Hai village, whose 3-year-old grandson suffers from
retinal cancer, lamented: "Seeing so many people with cancer, died of
cancer without knowing the cause, we are puzzled."
According to the Thach Hai commune People's Committee, in Dai Hai and
Lien Hai hamlets alone, there were 54 people with cancer in the last 3 years. "Now
we are very worried. We have no heart and mind for doing anything,” said Mr.
Duc from Thuong Hai village.
According to the health station of Thach Hai commune, from late 2009 to
present, the commune has 14 people who died of cancer, 7 who are currently
cancer patients. In the last 10 years, the commune had 88 people died of
cancer. In Thach Khe and Thach Dinh
communes, nearly 40 people caught this evil disease since 2008. Chairman of
Thach Hai commune, Mr. Nguyen Trung Chien said, the number of cancer cases in
Thach Hai is too high. In the last 5 years, the death toll by cancer in Thach
Hai increased 3 times compared to the previous period. The highest numbers of
cancer cases belong to Lien Hai and Dai Hai hamlets, which are very near the
iron mine. "People have long been puzzled, worried. We beseech the higher
authorities to do something like collecting water samples to test and making
conclusions and taking solutions so that people feel assured," Chien said.
Mr. Duong Dinh Tien, chairman of Thach Khe commune also confirmed the
number of deaths due to cancer in the commune increased quickly in the past 5
years. Particular, more residents of the villages that are near the iron mine
died of cancer. According to officials of the two communes, in meetings with
the voters, the local governments and the local people expressed their
concerns, asked specialized bodies to research and tell them what is happening.
However, they have received no answer.
Vietnam.net
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