Pollution Suspected In Diver Death - Vietnam

[DandyDon]

Mysterious death of diver adds to ongoing environmental crisis in central Vietnam

A diver from central Vietnam died a day after working at a port of a Taiwanese steel firm which has been accused of polluting waters and causing mass fish deaths in recent weeks.
Le Van Ngay, 46, died on the way to hospital on Sunday after suffering chest pains and breathing difficulties, local media reported.
Medical examiners have performed an autopsy. The body has been returned to the family but local media said the results have not been announced.
His coworkers at the International Manpower and Construction JSC (Nibelc), a contractor of the steel firm Formosa in Ha Tinh Province, said he dived down a port of the company on Saturday for construction work at an embankment project.
There has been serious concern about the sea water in Ha Tinh after a large number of fish have washed ashore over the last two weeks, apparently killed by industrial effluents. The same situation has been going on in nearby provinces Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.
Suspicion has centered on Formosa, a major company in the Vung Ang Economic Zone. The firm, officially known as Hung Nghiep Formosa Steel Company (FHS), admitted that it has a large sewage pipe going straight into the sea, but claimed repeatedly that the discharged wastewater has been treated.
Ngay’s colleagues, who have been working for years, said they have not felt well after swimming in the sea recently.
Nguyen Thieu, 36, told Tuoi Tre newsaper he has been working for three years but only noticed unusual health conditions in recent week.
“I have been unusually tired, with chest pain and dizzy after every swim.”
Thieu said the tone of his skin has also changed.
He said his colleagues told him they have had the same experience.
A representative from Nibelc told news website VietNamNet that a lot of workers at the company are worried about water pollution affecting their health.
“But any feeling about health impacts might just be a psychological thing. We do not know the cause for sure yet.”

 

[BFRedrocks]

Wow. Pretty amazing stuff over there. The saddest part (other than the diver's death of course) is this lovely statement from the chief of the steel company suspected of polluting the waters and creating a major loss of aquatic life:

The reporters asked him if Formosa [the steel company] had installed a sewage pipe under the sea to discharge wastewater directly into the sea near the Vung Ang Economic Zone in Ha Tinh Province, where a huge number of fish have died recently. Chou said: “I admit that the discharge of wastewater will affect the environment to some extent, and it is obvious that the sea will have less fish. “But before we built the plant, we had got the permission from the Vietnamese government.
“To be honest, we must lose some to win some. You want the fish, or the steel plant? You have to choose. “If you want both, I will tell you that you can’t, even if you are the prime minister.”

Sad, just sad.

 

[Maverick17]

“To be honest, we must lose some to win some. You want the fish, or the steel plant? You have to choose. “If you want both, I will tell you that you can’t, even if you are the prime minister.”

Sad, just sad.

My understanding is that he was fired/removed very quickly after saying this. I don't have info on the diver, his story is not much noted here. But the event itself, and all the fish, is the big story of the year here and there are protests now throughout the country, although pretty small. Although there is no evidence that the steel plant caused the problem, everyone has assumed it is them. And it is probably the highest likelihood of potential causes for now.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

DDT? Stick to the incident please.

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[Nettie-NZ]

Vietnam protest over mystery fish deaths - BBC News

 

[iamrushman]

interesting info....sad news.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

As an industrial hygienist, I am continually frustrated that people don't publish the chemical(s) involved. The closest I've seen on this one is:

...The agriculture ministry told reporters Saturday that the marine life perished in toxic seawater with abnormally high phosphate content and pH levels. While the toxicity seemed to be abating, the authorities had yet to determine the source of the contamination....
Formosa Plastics suspected of toxic leak in Vietnam- Nikkei Asian Review

But if it were something like phosphoric acid, you would suspect low pH in the water (pH 7 being neutral, and "high pH" being a basic compound).

There was also a reference to a "yellow discharge," but no mention of what was causing it.

Iron (0.30 ppm will stain)

Stains fixtures and clothing red/brown. Unstable in water when water is exposed to oxygen. Yellow water indicates that part, or all of the iron, has oxidized and will precipitate out of the water.
Water Chemistry and Treatment - Utilities - Articles - Chemical Engineering - Frontpage - Cheresources.com

It sounds like the plant started without testing its system, and that they really don't know what is causing the problem. Any forensic testing results on the dead fish yet?

SeaRat

 

[Maverick17]

Any forensic testing results on the dead fish yet?

None that have been released at least. Scientists locally have asked for more details as well.

 

[Joaz Banbeck]

...There was also a reference to a "yellow discharge," but no mention of what was causing it...
SeaRat

A yellow discharge from a steel plant that poisons people and fish? I'd say that it is hydrogen sulfide, a well know by-product of steel production.

That, of course, does not match the 'high' pH. My guess is that some clueless reporter does not understand basic chemistry, and thinks that 'high' is more intense than 'low', and thinks that he is describing something as 'highly acidic'.

EDIT: Coal is used in traditional steel production - usually heated to produce coke - which is then mixed with the iron ore. The atoms/molecules that are attached to the iron find the carbon in the coke/coal to be more inviting, and they transfer to it, leaving the iron unattached.
One of the primary impurities in coal is sulfur. This has to be removed somewhere in the steel making process. Often it comes out in water that has been used for cooling. Such water can be filtered, and in industrialized countries there are firms that will buy the sludge from the filters to use as a source of sulfur.

If the yellow stuff is indeed hydrogen sulfide, then we can conclude that the plant is extremely primitive, and that the minister's comments are inaccurate, for one can have both clean water and steel production. All it takes are a few filters, some pumps, and some plumbing. That is low tech even by Vietnamese standards.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

A yellow discharge from a steel plant that poisons people and fish? I'd say that it is hydrogen sulfide, a well know by-product of steel production.

That, of course, does not match the 'high' pH. My guess is that some clueless reporter does not understand basic chemistry, and thinks that 'high' is more intense than 'low', and thinks that he is describing something as 'highly acidic'.

EDIT: Coal is used in traditional steel production - usually heated to produce coke - which is then mixed with the iron ore. The atoms/molecules that are attached to the iron find the carbon in the coke/coal to be more inviting, and they transfer to it, leaving the iron unattached.
One of the primary impurities in coal is sulfur. This has to be removed somewhere in the steel making process. Often it comes out in water that has been used for cooling. Such water can be filtered, and in industrialized countries there are firms that will buy the sludge from the filters to use as a source of sulfur.

If the yellow stuff is indeed hydrogen sulfide, then we can conclude that the plant is extremely primitive, and that the minister's comments are inaccurate, for one can have both clean water and steel production. All it takes are a few filters, some pumps, and some plumbing. That is low tech even by Vietnamese standards.

Hydrogen sulfide is slightly soluble in water and acts as a weak acid, giving the hydrosulfide ion HS− (pKa = 6.9 in 0.01–0.1 mol/litre solutions at 18 °C). A solution of hydrogen sulfide in water, known as sulfhydric acid or hydrosulfuric acid, is initially clear but over time turns cloudy. This is due to the slow reaction of hydrogen sulfide with the oxygen dissolved in water, yielding elemental sulfur, which precipitates out. The sulfide dianion S2−exists only in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions; it is exceptionally basic with a pKa > 14.
Hydrogen sulfide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would suspect such a reaction when the effluent reached sea water.

SeaRat

PS--I'm a Certified Industrial Hygienist