Vietnam - More premature death cases of cancer reported in “cement commune”

VietNamNet Bridge – Local residents cannot count exactly how many people have died of cancer, but they have assured that the death toll is hundreds of people in the last 10 years.

>> Hundreds of people die of cancer in a village

>> The cancer village engulfed in dust and smoke 

Dao Van Manh, Head of Tu Lac Village in Minh Tan commune, said that local residents have to live in “mouse holes” with windows and doors shut tightly to prevent from dust from cement plants.

Manh has to sweep the roof and the floor every day and he can collect “one basket of dust.”

He said that local residents have to experience the most terrible days in spring, when it is wet, and dust cannot go far away and drop into the village’s path. The wet atmosphere, plus the dust and smoke suffocate Tu Lac Village’s people.

When asked about the “culprits” that cause smoke and dust, Manh said that they are cement and kaolin plants, shipbuilding yards and stone exploitation enterprises.

“They dig the earth, destroy the mountains, crush stones to make profit, bringing diseases to local people,” he complained.

Tran Van Thien, Head of the Minh Tan commune’s healthcare center, also said that the pollution has become serious. Though his home is not far from the healthcare center, his clothes always turn white when he goes to the office.

When asked about the people’s health, Thien said many people have died of cancer in Kinh Mon district, but most of the dead lived in Minh Tan commune.

The “death book”

In Tu Lac Village, Nguyen Van Nguyen has been well-known as the “man who does statistical work about the number of people who died of cancer. The noteworthy thing is that many of the people died prematurely.

Nguyen has a “death book” which showed the names, the addresses and the diseases of the dead. In 2001, five people died of cancer in Tu Lac, including three people who died at the age of 38-40. Especially, a man died of throat cancer at the age of 20.

In the latest years, people died younger. Phuong, a girl, died at the age of 20. Trinh, also a girl, died of blood cancer when she was following university education. Minh died when he was 17, a high school student, because of the throat cancer. Ly died when she was 20 and was going to get married.

The book shows that the number of people who died of cancer is much higher than the number of people who died of the old age or of other diseases. Dat and Bam, the husband and the wife, both died in 2006 because of cancer.

Thien, the head of the healthcare center estimates that about 20 people die of cancer every year. However, he admitted that the figure may not truly reflect the real situation, and that the number of deaths is higher.

Thien surprised people when he denied the fact that most of dead people lived in Tu Lac village. He said that the highest number of dead people lived in Bich Nhoi and Ha Chieu hamlets, located in the west of the Hoang Thach cement plant. This means that the number of deaths in Tu Lac Village, which is called the “all dead” village, makes nothing if compared with the two hamlets.

Meanwhile, the representative of Hoang Thach Cement Plant has affirmed that the volume of dust discharged to the air is always below the allowed level. He also said that the plant is examined every year by competent agencies which confirm that the plant has been following necessary procedures in waste treatment.

What causes the high percentage of deaths in recent years, then? The question remains unanswered.

Source: VTC